the bottom bracket problem with modern bikes.

[si_c]

Simple solution... Change back. Cups are easy enough to source as are axles, ball bearings and square taper cranksets.

As long as you have a threaded shell you'll be fine.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Its not better though, is it? Its all hype for the fashionista, so they invent some guff about stiffer axles of something to justify smaller bearings and moving them outboard, and then charge more money. Then they get to dip regularly into your wallet agan and again during the life of the product. Brilliant.

This is the modern day business model - be it credit scoring (absurd), contact lenses, TV packages, cars (PCP's) the business world wants a constant drip, drip, drip from the consumers wallet/purse (had my 'don't be anti-sexist head on there ) into their bank a/c's. Predictable cash flows and all that jazz.

 

[Wobblers]

That's the progress that we're urged to embrace.

My oldest bike is on its original 39 year old bearings and is as slick as a spivs hair, which makes the modern stuff laughable.

Of course it's progress! For the manufacturers. It's easier and cheaper for them - and as a bonus us poor schmucks get to have to buy replacements at outrageously inflated prices (BB30 uses industry standard bearing that cost very little - guess how much they'll sell it to you?).

Progress means more profit, doesn't it?

 

[tommaguzzi]

I am going to try and drift the bearings out of the old caps this week and if i mange it i'll take them to City Seals and Bearings in Sheffield and see if the have anything that fits.
I'll report back any progress.
I also like Si-c's idea about retro fitting a square taper crank. But i am then wondering what chain rings i can get to fit the new crank arms I'll have to buy to fit the square taper crank. I use compact 50/34 they are 110 BCD.
It could all get a bit expensive changing everything and so i might be better off just biting the bullet and changing the existing bb's at 22 quid a go or less if i find a way to reverb them.

 

[Milzy]

Victor meldrew is starting threads on here again

 

[Venod]

I am going to try and drift the bearings out of the old caps this week and if i mange it i'll take them to City Seals and Bearings in Sheffield and see if the have anything that fits.

I have replaced the bearings in old caps several times, usually sourced of the net quite cheap.

I did invest in Hope cups and bearings for a Cannonondale MTB, they lasted well and were still OK when I sold the bike

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

The Tiagra, in my 'blue' Ribble (that replaced it) required a new BB at about 2 years old
It had developed play, & was bone dry on the drive-side, with the bearings breaking up

Sorry, almost three years, looking at the 'date-stamp' on the image
Not bad useage, I suppose really, for a £10 item, that's in the firing line of all weathers, & has a lot of work to do

The drier drive-side is at my finger-tips

 

[Cuchilo]

The manufacturers are businesses. They make money or they go bust. The most lucrative market is the chopper market. Choppers like shiny things, they don't care if stuff lasts, because "the LBS can sort that out, innit". The manufacturers of the shiny stuff seem to live by the mantra 'make it pretty, but make it sh177y' that way, you capture the chopper market ( where the money / volume is ) and if you don't care how durable your shiny crap is, that's okay, just make a slightly shinier piece of crap, and they'll lap that up, and replace the previous piece of less shiny crap, with the new piece of super shiny new crap. The problem is, the people who aren't so easily impressed, and just want stuff that works, and lasts, are not spending as much money, so they can get stuffed. It's a sad state of affairs, but that's business.

I find it very funny that you blame people buying bling yet you go for the bike supermarket brands that promote this kind of bike building . Not that there is anything wrong with that but to be high and mighty about it ......

 

[Drago]

This ridiculous obsession with weight doesn't help. Components pared to the bone, and made with inappropriate materials.

 

[Racing roadkill]

This ridiculous obsession with weight doesn't help. Components pared to the bone, and made with inappropriate materials.

To the point that the actual pros have to find ways to make their bikes the required minimum weight for the event. Filling the bars with water, then freezing them, putting fishing weights down the seat posts, and using an Ultegra cassette, rather than a Dura-ace cassette, because the Ultegra cassette weighs more, are but a few examples.

 

[tommaguzzi]

as promised an update from a retired person with too much time on his hands. this is for my sram/truativ gxp bb

City Seals and Bearings only stock the drive side bearing 6805 2rs (£6). they do not have the non drive one. thats not so bad since its usually the drive side which fails. the bearing drifts out of the cap easily. remove plastic insert and the circlip first, i then used the rear of a 1" socket with the cap resting on open vice jaws and tapped it gently with a small hammer.
i then put the new bearing in the freezer for 10 mins and heated the cap in boiling water, sat the bearing on the cap and tapped it in with the socket, then refitted the circlip and plastic insert.
i also found it is possible to tease off the plastic seal on the non drive side bearing and remove the plastic ball guide without damaging them. i could then wash the bearing in degreaser and repack it with grease.

lastly this photo below shows why the drive side bearing fails all the time. i removed the plastic seals and ball guide to reveal the stupidly small balls in the drive bearing. (smaller than the non drive too.)

 

[GuyBoden]

Complete old style steel BB, various lengths. £7.95

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete-...ps-bearings-set-various-lengths-/261257922918

 

[Drago]

Once the cups were moved O/S the BB there was all the space needed to fits some big
meaty bearings, but the weight obsessed would complain and they wouldn't sell any spare bearings.

 

[mjr]

Complete old style steel BB, various lengths. £7.95

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete-...ps-bearings-set-various-lengths-/261257922918
View attachment 349266

Real old style cyclists don't use cages in the BB and so have more balls than that!

 

[tommaguzzi]

The problem with old style square taper bb's is getting modern10sp compact 50/34 chainrings to fit on the new crank arms i would have to use on the old style bb.
At least now i have a cheaper option of renewing just the drive side bearing and maintaining the non drive one.