Recommed me a quality ISO square taper BB

moonshine
moonshine Posts: 1,021
edited January 2011 in Road buying advice
I am building up a new fixed gear winter bike / commuter at the moment and i am looking for a recommendation for a good quality ISO suare taper BB that will last a few years.
I had initially planned to put a Hope BB on, but now realise that they now only do external BB's, so that's out.

Any ideas for a good, durable BB that is better than the standard Shimano UN54 Bottom Bracket Square Taper BB? Cost needs to be reasonable, but i would pay a bit more for some quality.

Suggestions?


Ta

Comments

  • Down the Road
    Down the Road Posts: 949
    ISO for European cranks - Cmpage Veloce are still around and go fear eons.

    JIS for Shimano cranks. UN54 is about the best you'll get.

    Nobody is wasting time (money) on old styles
    Racing is life - everything else is just waiting
  • moonshine
    moonshine Posts: 1,021
    ah... yes, sorry, i should have said JIS, not ISO....my bad... :oops:

    The issue is most single speed / track chainsets seem to be square taper.
  • dilemna
    dilemna Posts: 2,187
    edited January 2011
    There is nothing wrong with the Shimano UN54 BB. They have good seals. The one on my bike is still going strong - still turns smoothly and no play, after 10 years and around 75,000 - 100,000 miles I would guess.

    I did buy a UN73 as a spare when they were still available, they are a tad lighter with hollow axle but I have heard the sealing isn't so good. Anyway I should imagine Shimano will produce the UN54 BB for a few more years yet.

    Also you need to be specific with the size of BB you need as some might be NLA.
    Life is like a roll of toilet paper; long and useful, but always ends at the wrong moment. Anon.
    Think how stupid the average person is.......
    half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
  • moonshine
    moonshine Posts: 1,021
    dilemna wrote:
    There is nothing wrong with the Shimano UN54 BB. They have good seals. The one on my bike is still going strong - still turns smoothly and no play, after 10 years and around 75,000 - 100,000 miles I would guess.

    I know, but the plastic nondrive side cap just seems so cheap and nasty...
  • dilemna
    dilemna Posts: 2,187
    moonshine wrote:
    dilemna wrote:
    There is nothing wrong with the Shimano UN54 BB. They have good seals. The one on my bike is still going strong - still turns smoothly and no play, after 10 years and around 75,000 - 100,000 miles I would guess.

    I know, but the plastic nondrive side cap just seems so cheap and nasty...

    It is not that cheap and nasty! When the BB is installed and you're riding your bike you'll forget about it. You can get a UN54 from Merlin for £14.95. A Campag BB would be twice or three times the price.

    http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... ket_19.htm
    Life is like a roll of toilet paper; long and useful, but always ends at the wrong moment. Anon.
    Think how stupid the average person is.......
    half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
  • moonshine
    moonshine Posts: 1,021
    dilemna wrote:
    Also you need to be specific with the size of BB you need as some might be NLA.

    It will be a 68mm BB, English threaded, but axle length will be defined by whichever chainset i go for in the end, so that is "fluid" at the present time.

    Just looking for ideas....
  • Hoopdriver
    Hoopdriver Posts: 2,023
    Phil Wood do lovely BBs in any size shape and cup-fitting you like - British, Italian, Swiss - the lot. They are pricey, sure, but they sure do last and are just about the best you can get; nothing cheap and nasty about them whatever. I've got one on my best tourer - perfect.
    http://www.My-Bicycle-and-I.com
  • MichaelW
    MichaelW Posts: 2,164
    The UN54 is good but if you want the best, Royce are about the same grade as Phil Woods.

    You can get fancy looking ones with carbon spacers branded as Genetic and Token (all looks the same to me)

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