Bottom bracket - about to die?

DHA987S

My bottom bracket has started to creak. I initially thought it was just a bit of dirt from a very wet ride last week, but after a decent wash it keeps creaking when you put a decent amount of power into a pedal stroke.

It's 5 months old, and is a pressfit internal joby. Will it be beyond my, admittedly basic skills to change?

butcher of bakersfield

Have you made sure the nuts are tight on the crank arms? They can have a habit of loosening up. And when that happens it tends to wear at the crank arms themselves (especially so with the square tapered style spindles), hence the creaking when they start moving on the spindle.

I have an octalink jobbie (I think it's called) on mine, and it creaks a bit, and comes loose once in a while, but for the most part it fairs much better than the square tapered ones I've had in the past. Still a fair bit of life in it yet.

edit: they're easy to change too. But do make sure you get a proper bottom bracket tool, and a crank puller. I've learnt the hard way in the past, and almost destroyed frames what with all the sawing and hammer swinging!

And inspect the crank arms for damage, The alloy is a lot softer than the spindles in the BB, and usually comes off worse, in which case it may not be the BB that you need..

rhialto

Here's how I changed my pressfit BB. You can judge for yourself if it is within your abilities:

Step 1: remove the old BB (probably a Shimano pressfit). When I attempted this the first time, I did not have a removal tool and I destroyed the BB trying to remove it with a piece of an old handlebar and hammer. The removal tool makes the job A LOT easier. You can get this one: Park Tool BB Bearing Remover Tool - BBT90 - http://www.parktool.com/product/pressfi ... t-bbt-90-3, or you can make one by cutting vertical slots in a piece of copper pipe (diam less than 24mm) and gently bending the resulting leaves outward. Check out the photo of the Park tool and you'll get the idea.

Step 2: install the new BB. Grease the cups and push them in. I tapped mine in with a hammer and block of wood but if it's a tight fit, you may need a press. I have read of people using headset presses for this but you can also make one for cheap. I purchased 12mm threaded rod, a bunch of washers and 4 nuts. The washers were larger diameter than the cups. Line up the cups, get them partway seated and then put your bolt with washers through the spindle hole. When you tighten the nuts, the washers will press the cup in to the frame. Do it slowly and make sure the cups go in straight.

step 3: re-install the cranks and ride.

If you are more a visual person, check out this video produced by WeLoveMountains, a bike shop in Hull:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW0xmT6ONus

Hope this helps.