Bottom Bracket help please

lllnorrislll

I currently using a freebie Townsend MTB, which up to the beginning of the year was living up a loft at my Father in laws, after buying it approx 17 years ago and riding once.
I do approx 50 miles a week and the Oversized steel framed Townsend BSO and is now one of the scruffiest / least desirable bike with the most expensive lock, left in a high theft area and therefore perfect for dumping in all weather outside work.
That said I am trying to hone my maintenance skills, to keep costs down and keep it moving and I have decided to turn my attention to the bottom bracket, as new sealed units appear cheap, but after looking at various online articles, I am confused to what I have and what it can be replaced with.
The spindle lent is approx 127 in length and I was hoping to replace it with a sealed unit for ease, but after reading Sheldon, it looks as if I have an older style of lock ring jobby.
Can someone advise - will I get away with hammering the ring off, removing and replacing the whole lot, or am I looking at buying specific tools and parts?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36646371@N06/10534447093/

The Rookie

Hammer and screwdriver the lockring off, remove the bearing cup and replace with a decent sealed cartridge, you'll need the right tool fit the new BB.

lllnorrislll

Thanks - I have a bottom bracket tool as part of the cheap Aldi set I bought to get going. This is what I was hoping to hear.

The Rookie

Just remember one side is left hand thread and one right hand!

Asif Tufal

I used a lockring spanner at only £3.85. The left-hand side needs to be unscrewed anti-clockwise but the right-hand chainset side needs to be unscrewed clockwise. Here's a link for the tool: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BICYCLE-BIKE- ... 27cc46e6cb

lllnorrislll

Thanks Asif. The question is now, do I get the the tool and risk never using it again ( mind you can never have enough tools), or do I attempt to bodge it and risk having no bike if it fails for a period.

The Rookie

The bodge will either work or not, if not then the locking will still be tight and work as it does now.....I've found the cheap ones won't undo a stubborn locking anyway and have to resort to the hammer and drift!

oxocube1

The lockring should be easy enough to get off with the hammer and screwdriver but the cups can sometimes be stubborn depending on whether they have seized up. A 16mm spanner is what you'll need for it without getting the specific tool (a 16mm cone spanner is best but a normal one should suffice). Hopefully it isn't seized into place and its a standard thread on the non drive side (anti-clockwise undo).

The driveside could be an issue. Depending on what type you have but most of those adjustable BBs use a circular cup with two square edges, which usually can only be removed using the specific tool, or a 36mm spanner if you have one. Sometimes you can get lucky and it is only hand tight but again it could have possibly seized up over time. The driveside is an opposite thread so clockwise to undo.

Good Luck!

Asif Tufal

I removed stubborn cups after a liberal spraying of WD40 and then carefully using a heat gun on the cup itself. The lockring spanner comes in handy for old bikes and cheaper kids bikes. And yes, you can never have too many tools!