Bottom bracket life

onemoresolo

fat_tail wrote:

thanks - I bottled it this time and went for Dura-Ace bb for £25 from Merlin because my BB was definitely not happy on the ride home last night.

Hopefully, the Dura Ace might last a bit longer than the cheddar cheese Tiagra

Hope so, I've just fitted a spare one I had in the parts box to my commuter! With hindsight I would have bought the Trailbright one again because the bearings are replaceable and cheap versus a whole new BB.

mudcovered

I've had the following on my CX bike:
FSA Mega Exo (fitted at factory) - Replaced after 1500miles.
Shimano Ultegra - Replaced after 3000 miles.
Shimano Ultegra - Still going strong after about 6000 miles.

I think they are finally figuring out how to get the bearing seals to work.

fat_tail

onemoresolo wrote:

fat_tail wrote:

thanks - I bottled it this time and went for Dura-Ace bb for £25 from Merlin because my BB was definitely not happy on the ride home last night.

Hopefully, the Dura Ace might last a bit longer than the cheddar cheese Tiagra

Hope so, I've just fitted a spare one I had in the parts box to my commuter! With hindsight I would have bought the Trailbright one again because the bearings are replaceable and cheap versus a whole new BB.

Update - Dura-Ace still going strong and smooth with 5000 kms on the clock. Tiagra is shoot.

Levi_501

I have just replaced the drive side bearing (non drive side was still smooth) on my ceramic Hope external BB.

It had covered just over 5,000 miles (yes I tally my rides - sad I know) and was used all winter, rain, sleet, snow etc, not to mention all the traffic light Grand Prix(s)

If anyone wants confirmation of Hope BB IMHO, they are about as good as you can get.

slowbike

Nice - would like a longer life bottom bracket - my HTII 105 bracket is just giving up - clicking on pushing down drive side ... but the £96 for a hope ceramic one is a bit OTT - I could get 5 Ultegra ones for that - if each lasted just 1000 miles then I'd break even - they last more than that

Levi_501

Hope replacement bearings are £25-30, which brings the cost of the next 5,000 miles down. Plus the are silky smooth bearings.

I have had a couple of Shimano HT2 BBs and in my experience if you get out of the garden you are doing well; that said I have not tried an Ultegra.

slowbike

£14 for Ultegra 6700 from CRC ... so at that price it's 6.8 cheapos to the expensive
If the cheapo lasts 2k miles (my 105s have lasted that in my ownership + whatever the previous owner did) then that's 13500 miles (rounded down) - or 2.7 worth of the hope BBs

£96 + 25+25 - or £150

but then if the Hope BB doesn't click annoyingly like the Shimano one or you're a high mileage rider then it's probably worth it. (my riding is split across 3 bikes atm - so less stress all round)

neal1984

Ok I'll come clean - I know sod all about BB's. What I do know is that by first bikes BB failed at around 500 miles and was replaced under warranty. My now 11 months old third bike has covered only around 2000 miles and has a really annoying crack that I think is the BB (still investigating and oiling). If this is the case can anyone suggest a good replacement. It is a FSA PF30 (same that failed after 500 miles on first bike.

EKE_38BPM

My Tiagra BB has developed an intermittent clicking so I'm going to be in the market for a replacement. Looking at the Stainless Steel Hope and comparing it to Ultegra. Is the Hope BB (or any other premium BB) that much better?

godders1

I would wager if a hollowtech BB is giving up the ghost really quickly the crank arm cap is too tight. I tend to use Tiagra/105 BBs on my winter bike and while they are not the most durable they should last a good few thousand miles if installed properly.

Given they can be had for a tenner and they take about 10-15 minutes to replace that'll do for me!

fat_tail

EKE_38BPM wrote:

My Tiagra BB has developed an intermittent clicking so I'm going to be in the market for a replacement. Looking at the Stainless Steel Hope and comparing it to Ultegra. Is the Hope BB (or any other premium BB) that much better?

I would recommend the Dura-Ace. It seems to be robust. As I said earlier, after seven months of heavy use approx 5000km it is still good. smooth as silk. And I think they sell them for £24 at merlin. Others are cheaper, but as I am not a bike mechanic, I would rather not have to change a BB every 2-3 months.

Levi_501

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Is the Hope BB (or any other premium BB) that much better?

I think they are worth the initial higher initial investment. Both my bikes (commuter/MTB) and the wife's bike have Hope Ceramic BBs.

Also, IMHO, ceramic BB are they way to go.

twoshots

For what it's worth, my SRAM GXP Team BB lasted 8000km before I finally changed it. Admittedly I could have changed it earlier as the cranks had started to wobble but it was still usable at 8000km.

iPete

I just binned a knackered Hope, annoying as the red matched the bike, red Hope hubs etc.

Unfortunately the tools + bearings are too expensive when you can buy an Ultegra BB for £10.

That's a good 70,000+ miles for the same price.

UndercoverElephant

A quality BB is one of the pleasures in life.

I love my Hope BB on the Equilibrium, about 5,000 miles so far of super-smooth deliciousness. No sign of it packing up soon, thankfully.

Previous to that, I had a Token BB which was also excellent and packed up after 10,000 miles.

Either of which I would choose over any BB made by Shimano. Tried several from Tiagra to Ultegra, none of which lasted to 2,000 miles. And after that they expect you to bin them. I don't want to bin something when I can just replace the bearings! That just seems wrong.

slowbike

UndercoverElephant wrote:

A quality BB is one of the pleasures in life.

Can you tell the difference whilst pedalling between a newly installed Hope Ceramic BB and a cheap Shimano one?

UndercoverElephant

Slowbike wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

A quality BB is one of the pleasures in life.

Can you tell the difference whilst pedalling between a newly installed Hope Ceramic BB and a cheap Shimano one?

I can, but that doesn't mean that everyone will. Apparently, some people can't believe that "I can't believe it's not butter", isn't butter. I'd spot it a mile away.

rjsterry

UndercoverElephant wrote:

A quality BB is one of the pleasures in life.

I love my Hope BB on the Equilibrium, about 5,000 miles so far of super-smooth deliciousness. No sign of it packing up soon, thankfully.

Previous to that, I had a Token BB which was also excellent and packed up after 10,000 miles.

Either of which I would choose over any BB made by Shimano. Tried several from Tiagra to Ultegra, none of which lasted to 2,000 miles. And after that they expect you to bin them. I don't want to bin something when I can just replace the bearings! That just seems wrong.

While I agree with the sentiments, I'm slightly surprised that 10,000 miles constitutes excellent performance. That's barely a full two years riding for me. I'd be still thinking of them as 'new'.

Ouija

rjsterry wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

A quality BB is one of the pleasures in life.

I love my Hope BB on the Equilibrium, about 5,000 miles so far of super-smooth deliciousness. No sign of it packing up soon, thankfully.

Previous to that, I had a Token BB which was also excellent and packed up after 10,000 miles.

Either of which I would choose over any BB made by Shimano. Tried several from Tiagra to Ultegra, none of which lasted to 2,000 miles. And after that they expect you to bin them. I don't want to bin something when I can just replace the bearings! That just seems wrong.

While I agree with the sentiments, I'm slightly surprised that 10,000 miles constitutes excellent performance. That's barely a full two years riding for me. I'd be still thinking of them as 'new'.

And barely a year for me. But i've had cheap Shimano BB's that lasted less than a fortnight and usually no more than two to three months. At which point you have to throw them away. These days i use BB's that allow you to change bearings. Doesn't have to be a top of the line Hope with ceramic bearings. Just something cheap that allows you to push the bearings out and put new ones in (cheap ones, expensive ones or even ceramic ones.... doesn't matter). Usually works out cheaper to buy some decent bearings and stick them in non expensive cups than to keep buying expensive bearing/cup combos from Hope etc.

UndercoverElephant

rjsterry wrote:

While I agree with the sentiments, I'm slightly surprised that 10,000 miles constitutes excellent performance. That's barely a full two years riding for me. I'd be still thinking of them as 'new'.

You must still be using them internal BBs. Putting the bearings on the outside, even with a bit of sealing and mudguards, may be good for stiffness, but it sure ain't good for longevity.

That's progress, though.

rjsterry

To hell with stiffness*; Square taper FTW 8)

Gussio

Swayed by public opinion I've invested in a Hope ceramic BB for the road bike. It is replacing a DA BB and being used with an Ultegra compact chainset. So the thing has arrived and comes with 2 x 1mm spacers and scant little instruction. A spacer either side of the BB shell? No spacers? 1 spacer? Help....

godders1

One either side.

http://www.hopetech.com/wp-content/uplo ... ctions.pdf

UndercoverElephant

Or you can use both on one side, if you 'dress' on a certain side.

rubertoe

RJ

I'd take a sq taper, if it was good enough for eddie, it is good enough for me.

AVOID FSA at all costs, you may as well pack the bottom bracket shell with lard.

Kieran_Burns

£99 for a BB???? :shock:

fat_tail

Shimano dura ace bottom bracket installed last year this time still going strong. Compared to the tiagra cr*p that came on the bike originally. I ma going to order another one just in case but £22 a pop from Merlin they are a steal.

itboffin

been there tried most of them well sort of

ceramic really smooth and effortless but needed a light lube and adjustment every once in a while, i still have it and it looks like new but not currently fitted to any bike.

ShimaNO 105, ultegra & dura ace 5600, 5700, 6600, 6700 and 7900 models all seemed to me to be identical and only one had a problem which was me overtightening i suspect.

loads of square taper campag all through the range and everyone of them was a pleasure to fit remove and ride, cranks never came loose stiff or wobbly once.

FSA ....WTAF IS THAT CRAP!?! who designed and tested FSA ISIS :evil:

menthel

My 105 BB is creaking after about 2000km. I will strip it all down and clean and hope that fixes the matter.

iPete

Normally does!

I've finally got myself a BBT-19 and torque wrench, will see if my BBs go any longer now they are fitted as specified.