Bottom bracket. Which one?!

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adds21

Rider of bikes
Location
North Somerset
I have a Ribble Winter which is starting to make a creaking / clicking noise from (I think) the bottom bracket. It's had very little maintenance over the last few thousand miles, so I thought I'd attempt to remove, and maybe replace the bottom bracket to see if that sorts out the noise (and also, because it's about time I learned how to do it!).

The chainset is a Shimano Sora Triple, but I have no idea how to find out which BB I need to get? I'm a bit new to this level of bike maintenance! Are bottom brackets all interchangeable, or do I need some specific to my frame/chainset?

Also, do I need a BB tool to remove the existing one? A small amount of Googling appears to indicate I need a Shimanon TLFC32 tool, but to be honest, I'm a little out of my depth here!

Thanks for any advice you can give, specifically which/what type of BB I need to get.
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
Presuming you have external bearings.

I'm not a Shimano expert in these things but basically you have to get the specfic BB for the chainset as the bearings have to match the axle.

If the chainset is Shimano FC 4503 then I'd get a Shimano FC 4500 BB. You can see in the adverts that this will do for 4500,4503 and 4550 chainsets.

You can take the existing bearings off using any tool that will grip - eg a vice etc. You can then check the model number which should be on the inside sleeve.
(The drive side undoes clockwise (wrong) and the non-driveside undoes anti-clockwise (normal).

The tool is needed to tighten up without scratching the cups.
 
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