Bottom backet going but can't be removed.

chuckcork

Can someone advise.

I have a CB Roubaix Triple, purchased in April 2007. I've done probably around 9,000km on it since then, and now I reckon the bottom bracket bearings are going, as there is a noticeable wobble in it, a 2-3mm worth.

I've taken into my local bike shop, but they believe they cannot remove the cartridge without permanently wrecking the bike? Another bike shop owner in Cork reckons he can remove it, albeit with a cold chisel.

Could anyone advise if this is feasible? I saw the latter trying to remove the sealed cartidge with an extractor, and I pointed out to him the threads were damaged so it wasn't going to go in, at which point the cold chisel was suggested. Is there another way to get it out, without a cold chisel?

Last thing I want is to wreck it sufficently that I'm looking at a replacement frame instead of just a relatively inexpensive part....

nicklouse

what is the BB? and what is the problem?

gtvlusso

Hiya,

Have you tried a fecking huge torque wrench? What kind of BB? At the moment, I know that the square taper BB in my commuter is never gonna come out without wrecking the threads so I am gonna use my dads gas welder and cut the BB shell out and re-weld in a new one ( I am a preety experienced metal worker on the side!). Not always feasable for most people to do this and aluminium welding is really only for the experienced, but it is possible to do and have done. Mostly I find that my big torque wrench or a torque bar welded onto a specific tool (like the shimano octalink thingy) works fine. Remember to grease up the new BB with coppaslip when you put it in!! Chisels are a bit extreme - may knock it free though in 2 taps!

Basically making a biger lever is my method, if you get my jist!

G

pawlfreehub

Couldn't be specific without more details but there's nearly always a way, I once had to cut the axles off a seized BB using a super fine angle grinder disc, then remove the seized cups with a combination of hole saw and die grinder, you need to find a bored/ tame engineer not a bike shop, perhaps try a frame builder who will usually have suitable engineering expertise.

Monty Dog

Model of BB would be useful - the cheaper Shimano cartridge jobs with plastic cups can literally be pushed out with a fly press or a thumping big hammer - a lot less drastic than cutting off the BB shell! Re OP and removing BB shell - many alloy frames are heat treated, so mucking about with welding can weaken a frame as you change the material properties, likewise, getting the BB shell out of whack is never going to feel right

oldwelshman

chuckcork wrote:

Can someone advise.

I have a CB Roubaix Triple, purchased in April 2007. I've done probably around 9,000km on it since then, and now I reckon the bottom bracket bearings are going, as there is a noticeable wobble in it, a 2-3mm worth.

I've taken into my local bike shop, but they believe they cannot remove the cartridge without permanently wrecking the bike? Another bike shop owner in Cork reckons he can remove it, albeit with a cold chisel.

Could anyone advise if this is feasible? I saw the latter trying to remove the sealed cartidge with an extractor, and I pointed out to him the threads were damaged so it wasn't going to go in, at which point the cold chisel was suggested. Is there another way to get it out, without a cold chisel?

Last thing I want is to wreck it sufficently that I'm looking at a replacement frame instead of just a relatively inexpensive part....

I had this problem with my BB and I had carbon cranks and LBS said he would have to saw them off as the threads were stripped in the extractor.

I siad fxck that I will have a go.
I used an old wood chisel, a 1.52 one and I grinded the edge off so it was about 2mm thick, which meant it fitted nicely in betwwen crank and BB face.
I put release oil on the bb axle, then put chisel between BB and crank and exhurted force, then rotated crank and changed position of chisel. I did this several times and eventually got the crak off.

I presume it was the crank arm you could not get off due to stripped threads of course

chuckcork

Monty Dog wrote:

Model of BB would be useful - the cheaper Shimano cartridge jobs with plastic cups can literally be pushed out with a fly press or a thumping big hammer - a lot less drastic than cutting off the BB shell! Re OP and removing BB shell - many alloy frames are heat treated, so mucking about with welding can weaken a frame as you change the material properties, likewise, getting the BB shell out of whack is never going to feel right

Don't know exact details, Falcon Cycles website just describes it as "durable cartridge bottom bracket" without giving any specifics.

piedwagtail91

i wouldn't have thought that you could tell by just looking that you couldn't get a cartridge bb out. you really need to get the cranks off and give it a go.
some may looked rusted in and impossible to move, but sometimes thats not the case.
getting the left cup out first may be easier then pour some penetrating oil in and let it soak into the right cup.
I'd find a bike shop that doesn't see a cold chisel as a necessary "first go" tool.

always_tyred

What response are you getting from Falcon cycles? Or Specialized themselves?

A bb should last a lot longer than 9000k, unless you are a scubacyclist and on a frame that new, it should certainly not have seized. I would have thought it reasonable to try the "kicking up a stink" approach and see where you get.

nicklouse

TBH i would go for a second opinion.

not found a bb that i have not been able to remove with the correct kit.

Now i am not saying that the threads have have still been there on some of the older rusted bb shells.

acannons

I had a similar problem and was suggested by my LBS to use a large deep bowl with very hot water and dip the bottom bracket in it for a few minutes the heat will cause it to expland enough to lossen the BB. It does work.

chuckcork

Always Tyred wrote:

What response are you getting from Falcon cycles? Or Specialized themselves?

A bb should last a lot longer than 9000k, unless you are a scubacyclist and on a frame that new, it should certainly not have seized. I would have thought it reasonable to try the "kicking up a stink" approach and see where you get.

Specialized?

I've done maybe 9000km, not underwater at all, though riding home along the N25 (Cork to Midleton) the first day back at work this year, night, 4C riding into a strong head and side wind with rain and sleet hitting me from the front and spray thrown up by trucks hitting me on the back, it certainly felt like it.

I like the suggestions here, lots of penetrating lube/a hot bath for the frame sound achievable, or (unlikely) find a cycle shop that is prepared to do so for me.

Now to explain to the missus why I'm pouring boiling water over the bike? Does it like a good cup of tea as much as I do?

always_tyred

Uh - only saw the "Roubaix" tag and envisaged something with wiggly seat stays with a bit of silicone in the middle of them.

The point is, something is very wrong, most likely in part or entirely due to assembly of the bike. I live in Scotland. The term "tarmac" up here refers to a rough, bonded gravelly surface festooned with excavations filled with fine gravelly objects perfectly suited to act as bearing grinding paste. In today's litigious times, salt is applied to the roads in Edinburgh when it is predicted to drop below 10 degrees in Lerwick. I've had the same bb for 4 years on my commuter on which I do about 5k miles a year - so about the same as you. Of course, it might well be stuck in the frame, but I've not needed to find out.

The general approach I was thinking of was to contact the manufacturer - they will not want people having bad experiences with their bikes because of poor practice on the part of vendors. You never know, there might be some leverage to be had there, in discussion with the vendor. Did Faclon cycles offer any kind of warrantee? What about Claude Butler (CB?)? Even the bb manufacturer?

The closest I ever had to success with this tactic was with a wheel builder, who shall remain unnamed. He used American Classic hubs. However, in an effort to get his headline wheel weight below the magic 1400g, he disassembled the hubs, took the cartridge bearings out, took the seals off (2hich probably added up to about 15g in total) and reassembled them. The bearings lasted about 1000 miles.

I had a discussion with the manufacturer, got a set of new bearings and the next time I looked, the wheel builder wasn't selling those hubs any more.

always_tyred

Uh - only saw the "Roubaix" tag and envisaged something with wiggly seat stays with a bit of silicone in the middle of them.

The point is, something is very wrong, most likely in part or entirely due to assembly of the bike. I live in Scotland. The term "tarmac" up here refers to a rough, bonded gravelly surface festooned with excavations filled with fine gravelly objects perfectly suited to act as bearing grinding paste. In today's litigious times, salt is applied to the roads in Edinburgh when it is predicted to drop below 10 degrees in Lerwick. I've had the same bb for 4 years on my commuter on which I do about 5k miles a year - so about the same as you. Of course, it might well be stuck in the frame, but I've not needed to find out.

The general approach I was thinking of was to contact the manufacturer - they will not want people having bad experiences with their bikes because of poor practice on the part of vendors. You never know, there might be some leverage to be had there, in discussion with the vendor. Did Faclon cycles offer any kind of warrantee? What about Claude Butler (CB?)? Even the bb manufacturer?

The closest I ever had to success with this tactic was with a wheel builder, who shall remain unnamed. He used American Classic hubs. However, in an effort to get his headline wheel weight below the magic 1400g, he disassembled the hubs, took the cartridge bearings out, took the seals off (2hich probably added up to about 15g in total) and reassembled them. The bearings lasted about 1000 miles.

I had a discussion with the manufacturer, got a set of new bearings and the next time I looked, the wheel builder wasn't selling those hubs any more.

chuckcork

The general approach I was thinking of was to contact the manufacturer - they will not want people having bad experiences with their bikes because of poor practice on the part of vendors. You never know, there might be some leverage to be had there, in discussion with the vendor. Did Faclon cycles offer any kind of warrantee? What about Claude Butler (CB?)? Even the bb manufacturer?

I contacted Falcon Cycles, and made the point that the LBS guy reckoned he couldn't get it out at all, and another LBS (that I bought it from) thought a cold chisel would do it. Response from Falcon was contact your local detailer, which of course both are!

Other suggestion was contact the importer, but I can't see that doing any good unless I'm prepared to ship them the bike, which would probably cost more than buying a new frame + BB and doing a switch of components, or just buying another bike and making sure this time Its taken out and lubed up first so I can take it out later.

I haven't tried the BB manufacturer, I don't know who they are.