BB maintenance questions

Yea I’m with the above, if the bearing comes out that freely then the hole it’s going in is loose. I had TREK warranty a chainstay on my old MTB because one of the pivots was loose because they made the hole too big

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Mine is a 2011 one and I suspect they had got their act together a bit better in 2018. It was my first proper bike and I knew less than nothing back then. Didn’t even know what a bottom bracket was.

I hate BB30 - usually it lasts 5000km then it starts to be crunchy. Rem9ving bearings, cleaning it and greasing can extend life by another 1000km.

Not sure if ceramic bearings would be better.

I kind of like the BBInfinite potentially. The ABEC-7 is fine but wondering if I should spring for Ceramitech just for a lifetime warranty, and the WS2 coated is awesome, it’s in the Silca drip wax I use and keeps things so smooth

The question I always have, what are the advantages of press-fit BBs? I just don’t see why they were ever used in the first place.

Supposedly so frame designers could make wider BBs and/or make stiffer cranks with 30mm axles. But mostly, it was so they could make frames cheaper. That pushed the technical burden of correct installation on shops (that aren’t that skilled or motivated) or consumers (lack of skill and tools).

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Of course these are all theories :tophat:

No. They use steel races, just like other bearings.

Aluminum cylinders are much better - but many manufacturers use fiber-reinforced nylon, because it’s cheaper and easier to install.

The difference is though that you can easily replace the cups when they are threaded, where most of the tolerance issues are.

Refer to this, and to Hambini.

No creaks or anything out of my 22,000 mile BB90, my experience leads me to believe these problems are largely exaggerated much like cracked Ultegra cranks. I’m changing mine soon because it just seems wrong not to haha.

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