can a mountain bike bb be fit onto a road bike?

[jifdave]

last year i had a new octalink hollowtech bb on my mountain bike then went out and bought a triban 3....

was thinking would it be possible to swap it over to the triban?

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

With the exception of a couple of obsolete chainset models, mtb Octalink (i.e. Octalink 2) don't work with Shimano road Octalink chainsets (which are Octalink 1) - mixing them up is a sure way to damage the chainset irreparably. However, provided you have a) consistent bb shell width and b) a front mech that can handle any chainline and chainring difference satisfactorily there is nothing to stop you using a mtb chainset/bb combo on a road bike or vice versa.

 

[VamP]

The Ultegra HTII BB looks exactly the same as the XT, except a big sticker on the XT that says MTB use only, and the fact the plastic connecting piece that goes inside the BB is a different size. I disregarded the sticker, used an old road plastic connecting piece and fitted the XT BB to my cross (road like) bike without any issues.

That's HTII mind!

Edited: crossposted - and yeah - that is not an Octalink that I was referrring to.