Bottom Brackets

Cipollini

In need of a bottom bracket. I'm running a Deore Chainset with a shimano deore BB51 bottom bracket. Wondering what bottom brackets are compatible. Will road ones fit. Looking at the Ultegra one or is it better to stay with MTB specific ones.

Chunkers1980

Buy MTB. Any HTII.

cooldad

Get and XT or XTR, bit more expensive than Deore, last a hell of a lot longer.

Cipollini

So Mtb specific ones better than road then? Any ideas on cheapest place to get a xt or xtr one from

nicklouse

Cipollini wrote:

So Mtb specific ones better than road then? Any ideas on cheapest place to get a xt or xtr one from

well thy are designed to work with MTB set up which road ones are not.

buy road if you wish but you might have issues.

cooldad

bikediscount.de - XTR £25 posted.

Northwind

I'm not convinced XTR is better than XT/SLX- it's a different design but they seem to last about the same. Deore are a step below for sure- not just inferior seals but also they're just not as hard, I dented the races on my last one.

A good alternative is the Gusset EXT24- not too expensive, but much more servicable than Shimano, the bearings and shields are easy to remove and replace if need be. They don't last quite as long as XT if you leave them alone, but, if you give them just a little TLC (even if just a clean out, better if you regrease) every so often they last much longer. And then when they die, you can easily replace the bearings. Better and cheaper in the long run and less stuff to landfill.

ricardo_smooth

uberbike BBs get a good rating and the stainless one isn't badly priced for one with replaceable bearings

cooldad

Agree on the XT/XTR thing, but as it's the only bit of fancy stuff on my bike (except the rider of course) and no one else can see it, I am happy to pay a few £ more.
Trouble with replaceable bearings is something I've found with my headset - pair of bearings is more expensive than a new one.

Northwind

Yeah, pair of quality bearings for these isn't that much less than a new XT bearing. The life's good provided you look after them a little- like, every couple of months for me so not often- I reckon I got about 3 times the life out of the last set of bearings than I would expect from XT

But, on the other hand, it's red, and everyone knows red ones are faster.

ricardo_smooth

Yup, reasonably priced bearings, good reviews about their longevity. Red is only faster if you live in the southern hemisphere. Once you go black, you don't go back :shock:

Cipollini

Went for XT in the end. Picked it for £14.50. Thought it was a good price