Bottom bracket Upgrade

the_spooks

Had my Cube attempt with 105 for a year and noticed the BB has developed a noise from drive side. Bit annoying with it only having done around 1500-1800 miles and looked after etc but anyhoo. Can I "upgrade" the BB to try and prevent this ie fit an Ultegra or Dura ( assuming they are better quality) ?
If anyone has recommendations on what to fit I would appreciate it.

cooldad

What sort of BB? Cartridge, external...

tonye_n

With a cube attempt it should be External BB. Which means that you CAN upgrade to ultegra or dura ace versions.
1500-1800 miles is actually about par for live expectancy IMO.
Whether to upgrade? From my understanding, the difference is mostly in the quality of the seals than anything else.
Dura Ace may run smoother. The price difference is not much though, so it's one of then easier upgrades on the pocket.

desweller

tonye_n wrote:

With a cube attempt it should be External BB. Which means that you CAN upgrade to ultegra or dura ace versions.
1500-1800 miles is actually about par for live expectancy IMO.
Whether to upgrade? From my understanding, the difference is mostly in the quality of the seals than anything else.
Dura Ace may run smoother. The price difference is not much though, so it's one of then easier upgrades on the pocket.

You're having a laugh, right? That's, what, 4 to 5 months' riding?

tonye_n

DesWeller wrote:

tonye_n wrote:

With a cube attempt it should be External BB. Which means that you CAN upgrade to ultegra or dura ace versions.
1500-1800 miles is actually about par for live expectancy IMO.
Whether to upgrade? From my understanding, the difference is mostly in the quality of the seals than anything else.
Dura Ace may run smoother. The price difference is not much though, so it's one of then easier upgrades on the pocket.

You're having a laugh, right? That's, what, 4 to 5 months' riding?

Well I would expect replace say a 105 level bb after 12 months of regular (almost daily) use.

desweller

tonye_n wrote:

DesWeller wrote:

tonye_n wrote:

With a cube attempt it should be External BB. Which means that you CAN upgrade to ultegra or dura ace versions.
1500-1800 miles is actually about par for live expectancy IMO.
Whether to upgrade? From my understanding, the difference is mostly in the quality of the seals than anything else.
Dura Ace may run smoother. The price difference is not much though, so it's one of then easier upgrades on the pocket.

You're having a laugh, right? That's, what, 4 to 5 months' riding?

Well I would expect replace say a 105 level bb after 12 months of regular (almost daily) use.

So more like 3,000 to 4,000 miles then.

To the OP: whatever bottom bracket you get, if you smear a bit of silicone grease around the area where the dust cap meets the cup you can help prevent water from making its way into the bearing.

rolf_f

tonye_n wrote:

DesWeller wrote:

tonye_n wrote:

With a cube attempt it should be External BB. Which means that you CAN upgrade to ultegra or dura ace versions.
1500-1800 miles is actually about par for live expectancy IMO.
Whether to upgrade? From my understanding, the difference is mostly in the quality of the seals than anything else.
Dura Ace may run smoother. The price difference is not much though, so it's one of then easier upgrades on the pocket.

You're having a laugh, right? That's, what, 4 to 5 months' riding?

Well I would expect replace say a 105 level bb after 12 months of regular (almost daily) use.

Really? They must be absolutely crap quality then. I've so far had probably 7000 miles out of a Campag Centaur BB and it seems fine. The only BB I had to replace after a very short time was a Truvativ one and they were renowned for being rotten. I find it hard to believe that a Shimano BB would be expected to be that poor - especially since the £15 Shimano BB I put in my old tourer has also covered many thousands of miles without complaint.

desweller

Rolf F wrote:

tonye_n wrote:

DesWeller wrote:

tonye_n wrote:

With a cube attempt it should be External BB. Which means that you CAN upgrade to ultegra or dura ace versions.
1500-1800 miles is actually about par for live expectancy IMO.
Whether to upgrade? From my understanding, the difference is mostly in the quality of the seals than anything else.
Dura Ace may run smoother. The price difference is not much though, so it's one of then easier upgrades on the pocket.

You're having a laugh, right? That's, what, 4 to 5 months' riding?

Well I would expect replace say a 105 level bb after 12 months of regular (almost daily) use.

Really? They must be absolutely crap quality then. I've so far had probably 7000 miles out of a Campag Centaur BB and it seems fine. The only BB I had to replace after a very short time was a Truvativ one and they were renowned for being rotten. I find it hard to believe that a Shimano BB would be expected to be that poor - especially since the £15 Shimano BB I put in my old tourer has also covered many thousands of miles without complaint.

The HTII design tends to trap the water that runs off the down tube and seat tube between the dust cap and the crank. As the dust cap / cup interface is only protected by a sliding seal, it starts to leak very early on in its life and lets the trapped water in. I think the extra material on the crank on the drive side makes it more prone to trapped water; it's always the drive side bearing that fails.

It should still last for more than a few months though.

I'm guessing the BB on your tourer is square taper? These units have bearings that are well inboard, so the problem of water retention is not present. I don't know what the Campag unit is like.

rolf_f

DesWeller wrote:

I'm guessing the BB on your tourer is square taper? These units have bearings that are well inboard, so the problem of water retention is not present. I don't know what the Campag unit is like.

You are guessing accurately! As for the Campag - I do use Cruds on the bike I commute on so the BB is more protected than it might be but either way it is still working fine (so far!).

Mind boggles as to what Shimano were thinking of with these BBs.........