FSA bottom bracet bearings

Hyjanks

These bottom bracket bearings came with my new Fezzari CR3 bike. The bike cost me over 3 grand, so I was expecting to get top-notch components. Such was the case except for the FSA SL-K bottom bracket (I have no complaints about the cranks).
The bearings went out after 1800 miles. So, I type "FSA bb30 bottom bracket complaints" on Google and came up with all sorts of complaints about the lifespan of these particular ceramic bearings. What I found in addition to other complaints was that two other bikers experienced the same 1800 mile life before they broke down (popping sound from the bottom bracket especially while standing on the pedals, exerting force).
So, I tell Fizzari about the situation. They send me a set of new bearings. I contact FSA and get hints about installation and lubrication.
As with those other two cyclists I mentioned, this second set of bearings went out after 350 miles.
Both FSA and Fizzari both tell me that this is unusual. Well, just check out the Google search I mentioned and see for yourself.
Avoid this BB30 bottom bracket like you would the plague!
I spent an extra $250 (Fizzari let me have a "deal" on these components--big deal) on a Shimano 6800 crank set with a BB adapter for the bike and I couldn't be happier.
Live and learn. Learn from my mistake.

sungod

bb30 should last for ages, if it's failing that fast then either the frame, the bearings, or both, are crap

fsa bearings are fine, so your bb shell is probably the culprit

if the bb shell has any surface irregularity or is ovalised or is simply the wrong size it can cause the races to deform, this results in rapid bearing wear, can be extremely rapid with ceramic

example: i tried a relatively cheap no-name ceramic bearing last year, it took one short ride to cause damage to one of the bearings, checked the dimensions and bearings were out of tolerance vs. bb30 specification: too tight a fit->deformation->destruction

straight back in went the 3 year old hybrid ceramic bearings, which are still running smooth today, because everything is in tolerance

onbike 1939

sungod wrote:

bb30 should last for ages, if it's failing that fast then either the frame, the bearings, or both, are crap

fsa bearings are fine, so your bb shell is probably the culprit

if the bb shell has any surface irregularity or is ovalised or is simply the wrong size it can cause the races to deform, this results in rapid bearing wear, can be extremely rapid with ceramic

Not in my view and others would agree with me.
My experience is that these bearings can wear quickly even after the BB shell surfaces have been properly faced and I know this as I undertake this job myself. To be fair the quality and particularly the sealing of other brands of outboard bearings are also lacking.

turnerjohn

onbike 1939 wrote:

sungod wrote:

bb30 should last for ages, if it's failing that fast then either the frame, the bearings, or both, are crap

fsa bearings are fine, so your bb shell is probably the culprit

if the bb shell has any surface irregularity or is ovalised or is simply the wrong size it can cause the races to deform, this results in rapid bearing wear, can be extremely rapid with ceramic

Not in my view and others would agree with me.
My experience is that these bearings can wear quickly even after the BB shell surfaces have been properly faced and I know this as I undertake this job myself. To be fair the quality and particularly the sealing of other brands of outboard bearings are also lacking.

erm so in that case their no better or worse then anyone elses !

FSA bearing have always lasted really well (never worn one properly out tbh) but then thats mainly out-board mega exo type - my BB-rite is still going strong after thousands of miles

onbike 1939

turnerjohn wrote:

onbike 1939 wrote:

sungod wrote:

bb30 should last for ages, if it's failing that fast then either the frame, the bearings, or both, are crap

fsa bearings are fine, so your bb shell is probably the culprit

if the bb shell has any surface irregularity or is ovalised or is simply the wrong size it can cause the races to deform, this results in rapid bearing wear, can be extremely rapid with ceramic

Not in my view and others would agree with me.
My experience is that these bearings can wear quickly even after the BB shell surfaces have been properly faced and I know this as I undertake this job myself. To be fair the quality and particularly the sealing of other brands of outboard bearings are also lacking.

erm so in that case their no better or worse then anyone elses !

FSA bearing have always lasted really well (never worn one properly out tbh) but then thats mainly out-board mega exo type - my BB-rite is still going strong after thousands of miles

I think such faint praise may be described as "aiming low and missing".

If that's your experience with the Mega exo bearings then you should be spending lots of time doing the National Lottery. I've just replaced one which I fitted for someone just last winter and it had done less than 200 miles. LH bearing rusted solid due to the poor sealing and the stupid position which make these vulnerable to wet and spray. I didn't relish telling the guy that this was likely to happen again and he would be better by far to fit a new chain-set with conventional cartridge bearings.
All in all, these outboard bearings are not fit for purpose.

sungod

mine don't fail like that, and i ride mine through the winter, 200 miles is 2-3 weeks, four winters so far on the same bearings (sram)

perfectly fit for purpose

onbike 1939

sungod wrote:

mine don't fail like that, and i ride mine through the winter, 200 miles is 2-3 weeks, four winters so far on the same bearings (sram)

perfectly fit for purpose

Ah well.....that's all right then, all those complainers whingeing about nothing...makes you sick.

sungod

that's right, if you want to make a claim that bb30 is bad, show the statistics

how many bb30 frames are there?
what is the average mtbf?
of these, what proportion has an issue that is not due to poor manufacture, installation or maintenance?

that's how you evaluate performance of a design

have you these figures? if not, you're just whining

if my bb rusted after 200miles i'd feel pretty sick too, but what was the cause? lack of grease? crap bearings? water entering via the seat tube and washing out the grease from inside? etc. etc.

a good engineer will investigate, understand and formulate a solution, not whine about it

onbike 1939

sungod wrote:

that's right, if you want to make a claim that bb30 is bad, show the statistics

how many bb30 frames are there?
what is the average mtbf?
of these, what proportion has an issue that is not due to poor manufacture, installation or maintenance?

that's how you evaluate performance of a design

have you these figures? if not, you're just whining

if my bb rusted after 200miles i'd feel pretty sick too, but what was the cause? lack of grease? crap bearings? water entering via the seat tube and washing out the grease from inside? etc. etc.

a good engineer will investigate, understand and formulate a solution, not whine about it

Many thanks for your courteous reply.

Clearly I'm lacking your experience in these matters despite forty years repairing bikes and running bike maintenance classes, so I bow to your greater expertise and will hope to improve by following your posts. No further input from me but keep up the good work.

sungod

glad to help

robbo2011

IMO, The BB30 is not a great design and will only last if you are prepared to carry out regular maintenance every few months. If you are someone who considers this to be too much hassle, then steer well clear because you will have problems.