Creaking bottom bracket on newish bike

[ClaireSaud]

Hopefully I don't sound daft posting this .............. I bought a new Orro Terra Via in September last year and it comes with a Token PF30 bottom bracket. Since December it has been creaking, steadily getting louder. I took it back to my LBS today and they removed it and regreased it. They thought I had jet washed the bike, definitely not! I am concerned because I've only covered 1600 miles on the Orro, commuting to work and back on roads. Should I expect more mileage before having to regrease it or is this something I will have to deal with every few months please?

 

[Apollonius]

Not unusual, I would say. If you look at the bearings themselves and see how exposed they are, then you will not be surprised at how vulnerable they seem to be. getting a good barrier of lithium grease will help, but in today's world a bottom bracket bearing is a short-lived consumable. It is very hard to keep water out of a bottom bracket unless you only ride in warm, dry conditions, and where is the fun in that?

 

[marzjennings]

PF30 sucks, it's poor design that some manufactures are already looking to replace it with, surprise, surprise, a threaded bottom bracket. Mine started to creak after just over a 1000 offroad miles and I'm expecting the creaking to begin again in about a month or two. The moment my current frame is available with a threaded bottom bracket I'm 'upgrading'.

 

[screenman]

Are you sure it is the bottom bracket, often it is the seat rails or seat tube.

 

[cyberknight]

The more i here about the woes of press fit BB the more im inclined not to buy a bike with one .
http://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/press-fit-bottom-brackets-creaking-is.html

 

[screenman]

The more i here about the woes of press fit BB the more im inclined not to buy a bike with one .
http://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/press-fit-bottom-brackets-creaking-is.html

Do not get a press fit, mine costs me nearly 0 .001 p per mile.

 

[Drago]

Moving BB bearings outboard was a daft idea, and proving as popular as a fart in a space suit.

 

[ClaireSaud]

Thanks for all your replies, you've been most helpful. Time to get myself trained and tooled up to regrease it regularly. Thanks again

 

[boydj]

My Focus has the PF30 bb, but it has remained quiet so far. From my research on the subject the adapters required for a 24mm Shimano chainset are all problematic, including the Token one. The Praxis Works adapter seems to get the best reviews, but it's expensive.

 

[cosmicbike]

PF30 on my Boardman CX lasted less than 1000 miles before creaking. 20 minutes spent stripping & re-greasing has left it nice and quiet for the last 4000 miles.

 

[StuAff]

Zero creaking on my Litespeed's PF30 in many miles since it was built up in October 2015. Wheels Mfg BB, as specified by Litespeed on their own complete bike builds.

 

[si_c]

The more i here about the woes of press fit BB the more im inclined not to buy a bike with one .
http://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/press-fit-bottom-brackets-creaking-is.html

What's annoying is the tendency to fit press fit bottom bracket shells to alloy frames now too.

Been looking at bikes to get this year and my primary concern is BSA bb.

 

[ClaireSaud]

My Focus has the PF30 bb, but it has remained quiet so far. From my research on the subject the adapters required for a 24mm Shimano chainset are all problematic, including the Token one. The Praxis Works adapter seems to get the best reviews, but it's expensive.

Thanks, I just took a look at the Praxis. I'll wait and see if it starts creaking again and maybe consider the adapter. At least I have a plan B, cheers

 

[Pale Rider]

Cannondale released a technical bulletin to fix creaking press fit bottom brackets because they had so many.

If I recall they specified which grease to use, but that was all it came down to - grease it.

The manager of my local bike shop is no fan of press fit bottom brackets, but he says they give a reasonable service life on a road bike, provided you can put up with/sort/don't get the creaks.

Press fits are a dead loss on a mountain bike due to mud and grit ingress.

All of which reminded the shop manager of another brand which had a short bottom bracket locating tube which pushed into the bottom of the seat post.

Nearly every one creaked.

The manufacturer fix was to dribble linseed oil into the top of the seat post, the thinking being it was runny enough to run down the tube, but thick enough to hang around when it reached the bottom.

And, as the manager told me, the bike smelled nice.

Might be worth a try with a creaking press fit bottom bracket if you cannot be bothered to dismantle and regrease it.

 

[gavroche]

, and where is the fun in that?

Where is the fun in riding in pouring rain?