I have a Hambini BB30 on my Tarmac SL6, they’re solid and I highly recommend - I only have 1,500 kms on mine. They are a breeze to install, they are also serviceable.
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Perhaps that’s why his videos are so over the top: libel laws usually have carveouts for comedy, so perhaps he dials his quirky personality to 11 for the videos?
But I agree, I can’t watch it. It’s just not my cup of tea. I can only watch him in small doses. I prefer Peak Torque.
Another vote for BBinfinite, which I think is the same concept as the Hambini BB (i.e single shell so you take one of the tolerance issues out of play). Fitted to my R5 and works very well.
Re Hambini, the ‘shock jock’ tactics aren’t entirely to my taste but I don’t think anyone can dispute that he calls it as he sees it and he’s bought increased visibility to the poor manufacturing tolerances that the bike industry seems unwilling to solve. Kudos to him for that.
One thing re: spin tests that I experienced with his BB, I have the Ultra Low Friction bearings, and they were pretty damn stiff when I first installed my BB30. I contacted him about two things - how easily his BB installed (it was frighteningly easy with my makeshift press), and the fact that the spin was awful when I did. He wrote back within 12 hours (very professional), and said to check the preload and then let it run in for 250km. Preload was good, and after the run in, the BB spins better than any bike I’ve ever worked on. The same will apply whenever I replace the bearings re: spin test before run-in period. Ignore it!
Spin test is kinda pointless, but it does make us feel better when it goes well. 
Oh, god…this x10000!!
A “spin test” for a BB is practically worthless. There is no load on the system and is not indicative of how the BB performs once under load.
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Yes, agreed a “spin test” is pointless and no way to really tell what conditions bearings are in. However, if you know that the crank spins like x after install and x after service and then all of the sudden doesnt spin at all after your recent service you know that its time to change them haha.
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Glad they work for you guys, but I can’t get past the graphic on their website showing unrealistic time savings in a time trial based on switching from ABEC-7 to Hybrid Ceramic bearings. Also, $160 derailleur pulleys.
Scroll go down to “Real World Ceramitech Advantage” figure.
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I’m sure Hambini’s bottom brackets are great. What gives me pause is not his youtube channel over the topness but the other things he’s done. Like:
Cyber stalking a female cycling journalist and her boyfriend. He made web pages about them and doxed them. His youtube minions also seem to jump into the fray to defend him and help him attack his online enemies.
His famous aero wheel test also seems like it was fabricated. He ignored the repeated requests for data or even a photo of a wheel being tested in his supposed employer’s aerospace grade windtunnel.
He also seemed to fake cease and desist letters from Flo lawyers. It’s a little over the top as a publicity stunt. The internet detective caught and debunked him.
It all just seems like stupid high school level antics but doxing people and trying to ruin personal and corporate reputations online is over the top.
I also don’t agree with the vibe in his videos where he makes it sound like almost every carbon frame is a piece of crap and needs a $250 bottom bracket solution to be fixed. My guess is that the number of frames that really need his type of solution is very very small. The vast majority do fine with a regular bottom bracket, correctly installed, with the right Loctite retaining compound. (And I do note that doing this correctly is a challenge for the average LBS.)
And if I needed his type of solution, I’d probably use BBinfinite or similar mostly because it’s available in the US and the price is denominated in dollars rather than pounds. I’d also look at Kogel, Praxis, etc. Many of the screw together solutions look pretty good. It kind of depends on the frame, the problem, and the solution needed.
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I saw a post from her the other day tweeted out and it was disturbing. I don’t have the link handy but I think folks should really examine that before supporting this guy
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I partly agree. The frames are send to him because people and other shops are unable to solve bb issues. He investigates and comes up with a verdict and a solution. There are quite some expensive frames send over to him. And I think he’s right that you should expect more from €2000 frames.
Makes that all the frames bad from those specific companies? No. But those examples shouldn’t have left the factory at all. And that combined with the prices is why he’s so critical.
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I agree that we should get more for our money but on the other hand this is the cycling industry where things are generally does as cheaply as possible in volume. The industry may use advanced materials but they don’t use aerospace level manufacturing tolerances. If they did, our pricey $5,000 frames would cost $20,000.
When I see Hambini going on and on about how bad a certain brand is, I think about the other million frames out there where people are pedaling along with a properly installed standard bottom bracket.
I’ve only seen one or two frames in Hambini videos that look really bad. The others that he calls “shite” because they didn’t meet some stringent spec he made up.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the industry is getting back to threaded bottom brackets.
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I get he’s abrasive and all that, but this is messed up.
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Yeah…I never liked the guy much before, but he now officially receives my “FTG of the Week” award.
FTG.
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Whoa. Hold on. Is ‘Hambini’ the instigator that is referenced in the Michelle Arthurs-Brennan blog? I must have been sleeping under a rock or something.
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Yes.
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Good Lord. That is atrocious, sickening, and deeply offensive. I’m out of words.
I guess I wasn’t too far off in my initial reaction to his YT persona.
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Unbelievable that a man would engage in that kind of misogynistic bullying in the 2020’s and think it’s in any conceivable way acceptable.
Honestly, who can subscribe to this guy’s unrepentant bile? Doing so is feeding his ego and pocket and probably encouraging him to further excess.
As other have said, I found him objectionable before, but after reading this I have no words for the man. If I had one of his BB’s on a bike of mine I’d rip it out.
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I’m kinda surprised this is not better known…I had never heard of this incident before today, and I track a fair amount of events in the bike industry.
I can only hope that those who have somewhat defended Hambini here have a massive change-of-heart now.
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Yes. @stevious posted it way up above but it didn’t get any traction until now when someone posted a link.
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On Hambini - I like the engineering side of his content and the fun presentation of the material. Yeah, his frat house/locker room approach to calling out issues and people… not good.
…it’s also too technically critical… he’s using the wrong power of microscope. You’re talking about 2 bearings that need to face one another. Perfect bearings, cranks, and holes are one solution, but another solution is the plastic retaining cup and spindle bushing/‘shield’. Rather than look at the overall goal of measuring total package longevity and nhv, he’s just measuring holes. He’s measure a round hole in a plastic material, which someone has already installed a piece of hard metal into - the small imperfections of the hole are going to conform to the hard bearing.
I’d callout the likes of @dcrainmaker and @gpl -albeit being much approachable/considerate personalities - for doing a bit of the same thing looking for imperfections in power meter accuracy these days. Zoom out! Sure, the $1000 solutions do that, but below some price point, it’s smart just to label something within 3% “accurate” / ‘consistent’ vs “Hyperaccurate & consistent”.
(I’m thinking of something like the Sram Rival PM, which had some issues, but more or less did the job for $220. Putting a million data points of doubt on a PM that’s more of less getting it right is probably pushing the cost of these products up $100+ in order to hit that .5% margin as well as limiting single side solutions. We don’t need “scientific /reference” grade data (especially given the variables), we probably don’t need “Pro” grade data, but “car speedometer” level data will serve most folks - and you can grade the products as such without degrading the product. I mean, I don’t see you really doing the same for speed/distance/time measurement. )
On BBs, they’re bearings in a mount. BBinfinite I haven’t found whatever their seals/grease are to hold up to any water. My Wheels Mfg (enduro) BB lasted 3 years on my road bike, my BBinfinite bearings have been changed 3x this year on my gravel bike (they both get drenched, the BBinfinite were not in one of their shells). Trek uses NSK bearings for their BB90 ( and it’s cheaper than buying regular NSK bearings), so I’m going back to them. Shimano does the right thing here by ‘floating’ the bearing in a plastic shell.
On the different shells for threaded, I don’t like the threaded without a shim/washer between the frame and BB shell as the paint gets tore up when you install it. Then Hambini and BBinifite solutions are slide-in alignment tubes, which work just as well. You’re not going to be able to really remove any of them, so best to go with the one that won’t mess up your paint.