HATE creaks and clicks!!!
Steel frames w/GOOD ABEC5 Bearings, and lots of grease in the BB.
REAL Peddles (no PU bushings, ferchristsakes!!!) I now ride Velo Orange Platforms, with 3 sealed bearings per pedal, on chrome moly. They also sell kits of new bearings at a great price. Lots of grease in the peddles.
I'm a big guy, (6'2", 240), and I haul an old labrador (80lbs+) in a trailer a lot of the time. I break a chain or two a year, standing on it out of a steep spot.
I also started and ran a bike shop many years ago, and have been involved with mechanical pursuits in my subsequent careers (Commercial fishing and construction).
Most modern bikes and components seem to be built for buck and a half when wet dudes, and the whole idea of carbon fiber and unobtanium when something like STEEL would, like, ACTUALLY WORK??? (Duh), in a torque/twist situation, seems to have been lost in time.
So, I have chosen to ride Surly Frames, ABEC5 (minimum) bearings, and absolutely NO PU Bushing pedals (those were designed for people who never even ride uphill, anyway).
IMHO, the only movement allowed is in the frame (steel), or the tires (Fat, low pressure), or, god forbid, the squish bits.
Two cents
Cheers
Kevin
PS. Still cry over the theft of my Raleigh (Carlton Factory) Professional MK IV. Full Campy, and the current "Gravel Grinders" at $4G are a joke in comparison. The point is, steel on steel, where it matters, beats plastic where it matters, every time.