fsa bb30 with 24mm spindle reducers and ultegra chainset

Elijah2010

hi everyone, just took the plunge and bought the 2014 felt z4 .now im new to the road bike game and dont know the pitfalls. i have a fsa bb30 bottom bracket with 24mm spindle reducers with ultegra 11 speed chainset.everything was fine for 2 weeks then bottom bracket started clicking so rang wiggle and they said take it to your local bike shop for tighting up and greasing. when i picked the bike up at the shop he said it would probably need bringing back again as they tend to untighten and let road crud in .he said you could change the chainring to a fsa gossamer chainring but do i really want to spend more money to downgrade,is there anything else i can do if the problems keeps occuring thanks for any advice regards paul.

jgsi

From what you wrote, you have less preferable option of BB30 swapout.. i.e. you are still retaining the pressfit bearings in the frame.
As you already have the Ultegra chainset, the major expense is avoided.
To fully convert the bottom bracket to do without the bb30 bearings is a DIY job, but you may want a shop to do it for you.
The FSA BB30 threaded converter costs 15-20 quid.
An 6800 Ultegra hollowtech bottom bracket costs same amount.
A few appropriate tools and...
Job done.

mitchgixer6

Well I've had a full summer of creak free riding with a 6800 crank using the wheels mfg adaptor's and some Loctite bearing retainer. Av quick Google will tell you everything you need to know.

trailflow

Packing lots of grease around the bearings and around the bearing shell will help stop water getting in.

If the problem comes back you can replace the BB30 bearings or do a full conversion job as above.

It sounds like Wiggle fobbed you off. If the bike is only two weeks old ,they should send you a set of free BB30 bearings or pay for your bike shop repair cost,at the very least,or both.

You dont need a new chainset.

If you have the tools (which you should) you can tighten the crank bolts up yourself periodically. If they mean the bottom bracket untightens, that's BS.

Elijah2010

thanks for your help if it loosens again i will take these answers to my local bike shop because wiggle dont seem to think theres a problem never again i will buy a bike online .i just want to ride my bike.

This is the conversation i had with wiggle:

info: Welcome to Wiggle Live Chat, all our operators are currently in chats at the moment and will be with you shortly. You are currently 1 of 1. We will be free to chat very shortly. Thank you for your patience in the meantime.

info: You are now connected with Harry

Harry: Hi, it's Harry here. How can I help you today?

paul: hi you emailed me two days ago to say take my bike to the bike shop to get the bottom bracket checked out, theyve not touched it so therse no charge but they say i need to convert the bottom bracket,This is what he said : you have less preferable option of BB30 swapout.. i.e. you are still retaining the pressfit bearings in the frame. As you already have the Ultegra chainset, the major expense is avoided. To fully convert the bottom bracket to do without the bb30 bearings is a DIY job, but you may want a shop to do it for you. The FSA BB30 threaded converter costs 15-20 quid. An 6800 Ultegra hollowtech bottom bracket costs same amount. A few appropriate tools and... Job done.

Harry: I am sorry I am not able to answer your question. Please kindly bear with me while I transfer you over to one of our product specialists who will be more than happy to advise you further.
info: Please bear with us, we are now transferring you to the relevant operator to help with your query.
info: You are now connected with James

James: Hi Paul.

James: Please bear with me while I have a look into this for you.

paul: ok thankyou

James: Can you confirm what the original problem was Paul?

paul: yes the bottom bracket keeps loosening when im riding i.e it will not stay tight and is spoiling my rides its clicking constantly .

James: Can you confirm the bike it is on as well please?

paul: its a felt z4 2014

James: The bottom bracket would not need converting; to do so using this adapter would mean that once it is converted, that is it, there is no going back to standard. I don't understand why you were told this. Generally if the bb keeps coming loose it will usually need stripping, regreasing and the crank bolts re-torqued to pre-load the bearings.

paul: so il get that done,what kind of price am i looking at to get that done ?

paul: also if i get that done how will that affect my warranty if someone else has touched the bike ?

James: Usually it will be around 30 ish pounds to get the bb stripped as per above, and this would not affect your warranty at all.

paul: ok il get that done, is there any advice you could give me if it loosens again once its been done and what kind of timescale would be reasonable to contact you again if it does loosen because apparently online alot of peopleare having the same problem.

James: If it continually loosens and doesn't show any signs of being repairable by a local bike shop it might be best to get back in touch and we may need to arrange a collection of the bike so our workshop team can check the parts and the frame as well.

paul: i have to pay for the repair,do i send you the bill? how does it work ?

James: Yes, attach an image of the bill that you will recieve to an email and we will re-imburse this.

paul: no problem thanks for your help

I didnt tell them id alread had it tightened and greased at my local bike shop.

trailflow

First of all. BB30 bottom brackets dont untighten. They are pressed in. Crank bolts may untighted over time (every shimano crank is the same - very easy to sort with a 5mm hex key). This might of been the reason your bike was clicking or it could have been bearing related. Anything from poor installation,dry bearing shell, dirt and grit inside the bearings, not enough grease or bearing failure etc. It also could have been to do with the 24mm spindle adapter not fitted correctly.

At least Wiggle have offered to help. Also pay for any costs and even collect the bike if they need to. What else do you want them to do ?

and your bike is now ridable is it not ?

If the bike shop are telling you you're bottom bracket 'untightens'. They are telling you lies.

Elijah2010

thats fair enought but you dont know how many times ive emailed them with no replies aslo wiggle have no telephone number to contact them. when you have saved every penny for 18 months to get together £1884 .for the bike you want to be able to ride it

trailflow

i agree you shouldnt have to deal with this so early on with a new bike. The BB30 idea is flawed but Cannondale (who invented it) or the bike industry wont admit it.

Elijah2010

took the bike out for a ride now the bb is greased and tightened first 8 miles click click click then it stopped .next 24 miles nothing only started again when i got out the seat near home . checked bb when i got home still tight the joys of bike riding.

trailflow

Could the clicking noise be something different by any chance like the end of the front derailleur cable hitting the crank arm every rotation ? or a wheel magnet hitting a computer sensor (if you have one) or anything like that ? have you done a thorough check for anything else that could be causing the clicking sound.

g00se

When they say it's 'loosens' they may be referring to how some press-fit spindle reducers may 'walk' out of the BB shell over time. I think this is primarily down to the quality of the tolerances in the frame's BB shell.

But first check out the click isn't coming from somewhere else. Assuming it's in time with one crank rotation, it could also be you transferring your weight and a creak coming from somewhere else - especially if it happens under load. A friend was going over and over his BB trying to fix a click and it turned out to be the front hub quick release.

If it is the BB, there are options to allow you to use the standard external bearing cups of the groupset by inserting a threaded shell - or is you have a bit of cash, this has the best reputation:

https://praxiscycles.com/conversion-bb/

Elijah2010

i got off the bike 5 times in the first 6 miles spun the front wheel nothing then the back nothing again turned the crank smooth as silk checked the bb still tight. checked wheel magnet for speedo that was fine too seriously considering using my ipod.

g00se

Find someone to borrow a different set of wheels and skewers - and try some different pedals too - just some cheapy £5 platforms to check it out if you can't borrow any others.

Elijah2010

im going to start eliminating what the click is ,my question is my winter bike runs on mavic aksium with a shimano 12/28t 10 spd cassette can i put this on my problem bike with has a ultegra 11 speed chainset and set at the back for a 11/32 cassette both cranks are 50/34 just to check for clicking i wont change gears while im riding cheers paul.

plodder73

I have a Felt z5. I have had what I thought was BB problems for months. I even changed the chainset to a Shimano one and bought a Praxis Works adaptor, the noise continued. I then checked the one bolt I hadn't tightened which was the rear mech hanger bolt, which was slightly loose. The noise seems to have stopped, touch wood, just check that when you are doing your cheks.

Elijah2010

cheers mate i will give it a try.

Elijah2010

changed the pedals today had some spares in the shed guess what no clicking,i can,t believe it was something so simple as that. i want to thank everybody that gave me advice on this matter you have saved me a fortune.the lesson here is check everything before you start spending cheers paul.