Bottom Bracket

Sodafarl

A bit of a random question. How long would you expect a bottom bracket to last before replacement.
Bike bought new in October 2013 and approximately 500-600 miles done on it.
Told by the supplier that they would expect it to be changed within the 600 miles.
Same bike with less miles on it same thing happened to a young fella I work with.

zx6man

Mine has done 3000 so far, Old square taper one on a carrera tdf, ridden all weathers.

The Mechanic

You need to tell us what type of BB you have. Is it sqare taper, hollowtechII, BB30 etc. It makes a big difference to longevity

BillyImp

Mine has done about 10,000. Kind of thinking it could do with replacing soon but if it aint broke...

dowtcha

First one started creaking at about 800 miles and replaced when it hit 1500. Second one still fine at 5000 miles. My BB is a FSA-BB-4000-Omega-Drive-MegaExo. BB are now consider consumable, you may get longer on the replacement.

Sodafarl

Dowtcha wrote:

First one started creaking at about 800 miles and replaced when it hit 1500. Second one still fine at 5000 miles. My BB is a FSA-BB-4000-Omega-Drive-MegaExo. BB are now consider consumable, you may get longer on the replacement.

Not 100% sure but think mine is the same. On my Triban have done easy 5000 miles have had 4 back wheels of decathlon though with out any questions asked. Thanks folks for the comments.

Tjgoodhew

I have a BB30 on my Caad8 which started creaking and knocking after 300 miles. I was told by Evans that it had worn out already and this was quite common for them to wear out as they were a "consumable part".

Took it for a second opinion at my LBS and they said it was possibly dry and needed regreasing - They did this and the noise stopped only to come back after about 2000 miles. I then had the bearings replaced and 600 miles later it has been fine.

I guess its just the luck of the draw in how they have been put togetehr in the first place

wilshawk

Ive never changed a bottom bracket on any bike, got a 20 year old bike still using the original BB on that, I could only guess on the milage, probably 5000+

Nickoo

just replaced mine on my pinarello after about 4000 miles

Initialised

I did two on my last bike with maybe 8000 miles, two pretty brutal winters, three floods, several river fordings and plenty of gravel and mud riding, between them. With less abuse I'd expect much longer. My current bike is a year old and has done around 8000 miles already and is showing no signs of BB wear despite the odd bit of abuse on mud and gravel.

Monty Dog

If the bike's been ridden a lot in the rain through winter without mudguards then there's your problem - external bearing BBs in particular don't last long in these conditions.

southdownswolf

The last HollowTech II BB on my bike lasted about 4500km, but about 1500km of those were on a trip with very little maintenance and some very nasty weather.
Old fashioned square taper seem to last for ever if maintained.

defride

It's not for a shop or manufacturer to decide what a 'consumable' is or isn't. What's important is that a part is fit for purpose and lasts for a reasonable period. Brake blocks could be construed 'consumable' however if they're knacked after one short ride they're not fit for purpose.

I'd not be fobbed off by a shop saying a BB is a consumable and only fit for 300 miles as mentioned in one of the posts. I don't think 5-600 is reasonable either, up to the individual to decide whether to pursue, I doubt very much whether a small claims court would think it reasonable. To my mind if the BB has'nt been designed to be ridden longer than 5-600 miles in normal riding conditions it's not fit for purpose. Also, if it's not been fitted correctly and has worn quickly as a result there's also cause for complaint.

I started to get some creaking from the bb area on a 6 month old bike so undid the crank arm bolts, got out the torque wrench and tightened to the recommended torque. That's all that was required, so service is important, a good shop should be checking this sort of thing first up.

marcusjb

I'm terrified reading these sort of things - about to have my first bike ever with external bottom brackets - there's no way around it!

Square taper in the distance bike is on around 18000 miles with no intervention required.
Square taper in the fixed - they get a pounding and are fairly cheap units - but I still get 5000 miles from them

I really hope that external bottom brackets aren't as bad as some people make out. 600 miles is nothing - couple of weeks riding in summer - has to be wrong.

Garry H

marcusjb wrote:

I'm terrified reading these sort of things - about to have my first bike ever with external bottom brackets - there's no way around it!

Square taper in the distance bike is on around 18000 miles with no intervention required.
Square taper in the fixed - they get a pounding and are fairly cheap units - but I still get 5000 miles from them

I really hope that external bottom brackets aren't as bad as some people make out. 600 miles is nothing - couple of weeks riding in summer - has to be wrong.

Wouldn't be too worried. GXP on one bike has done at least 10,000 miles and is still trouble free. I've just replaced one on another bike after probably 6000 miles, GXP as well.

Pedro77

Mine is over 600 and spinning perfectly and noise free. I have done nothing in terms of BB maintenance so far. It's a FSA Megaexo that I don't rate that much, personal preference but has performed perfectly so far.

Although the OP 300 miles seems a bit odd, perhaps wasn't torqued correctly, installed badly or "unlikely" faulty unit.

Definitely not enough 300 miles but common sense should be used from both parties involved... Getting lawyers in the case as not fit for purpose, etc is why the world is not an happier place... Good old customer care and reasonable customers is all is needed... Not defending the LBS on this occasion but too many times we will blame the other party very easily... A bit like driver vs cyclist...

Pedro

Sodafarl

Thanks everyone for the replies. I still haven't got the bike back as it has been sent to the warranty dept. They think the frame alignment is off and may it mean a new frame.
I really don't think the bike was checked over properly prior to me getting it.
I will let you know how it gets on.
The shop has had the bike as long as I have. Really taking the heart out of owning it.

Grill

Over 7k miles on my Foil (PF BB86) and still going strong.
I had to change the BB30 on my winter bike twice in 2k miles...

desweller

I suspect it's not miles as much as water ingress and / or poor fitting.

Sodafarl

3 people I know with vitus my own a young guy I eork with same model and a mate I cycle with 2014 model all the same problems. One bike is less thana month old something wrong somewhere. Thanks agsin for the feedback. I know it is only a small sample but worrying all the same.

kettrinboy

600 miles for a BB , my 2006 Giant FCR2 has done nearly 20 k miles on its original BB through rain and shine and shows no signs ofgiving up yet , on my Scott CR1 the original Ultegra HT2 BB lasted 15 k miles.

Peddle Up!

I seem to nosh them up like there's no tomorrow. I consider myself lucky if I get 900 miles from a set. Granted I ride in the wet but I don't use a pressure washer on the bike so what's going on?

Also, there is a fair bit of "drag" in the bearings. If I give the crank on my hybrid a push the pedals rotate freely, but if I do the same on the road bike (Madone) it stops almost immediately. The LBS (who are good) say this is normal but that seems to run counter to the ideal of a free-running drive chain. Thoughts?

Rodders30

That doesn't sound normal. Perhaps the bearings are not in line with each other and causing a high load on them.

Any bearing should rotate freely and smoothly.

homers_double

My spesh developed a clicky creak on the last ride so assuming the MTB tools I have will fit the roadie bits I'll have it on the stand one night, stripped, cleaned and regreased and back in.

Clicking here might help you with some maintenance