Bottom Bracket Advice

corriebee1

Morning All

Apologies for my latest "advice-needed" thread. I'm looking for a bit of help with selecting the right bottom bracket for my bike.

I've done around 4,000 miles now on my Felt Z6 without doing a great deal of maintenance on it. Most of my miles are commuting in the summer months so the bike's still in relatively good nick. However, i have now got a grinding noise coming from the bottom bracket area when pressing hard on the pedals which makes me think it may be time for a replacement?

This is my bike: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-z6-tiagra-2012/

The bb on it is listed as an "FSA Mega Exo".

I'm totally naive and this will be the first bit of proper bike maintenance i've ever done (I did buy a decent bike tool set a while ago in anticipation/trepidation!). Can anyone suggest a suitable replacement for that bb? Are there different sizes/types that i need to be aware of, and can i tell what they are from the info' in the wiggle spec'?

Any thoughts much appreciated!

Nellyspania

If at all possible go with a Shimano replacement; FSA BB's are renowned for being a) More expensive & b) Totally pants

A BB shouldn't die at 4K unless it is poor quality or you are a heavyset powermonster who rides out of the saddle a lot

timothyw

You need one of these:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fsa-bb-4000-omega-drive-megaexo-bottom-bracket/

You probably need a standard shimano bottom bracket tool to fit it, but I'm not certain.

When you take out the old one, clean everything (i use baby wipes), then grease it (threads and chainset axle).

Should be done in under half an hour, even as a first timer.

As mentioned above, you might want to consider switching to a shimano chainset at some point, not least because shimano bottom brackets are markedly cheaper than this FSA one.

gbsahne001

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19728657#p19728657]TimothyW[/url] wrote:

You need one of these:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fsa-bb-4000-omega-drive-megaexo-bottom-bracket/

You probably need a standard shimano bottom bracket tool to fit it, but I'm not certain.

When you take out the old one, clean everything (i use baby wipes), then grease it (threads and chainset axle).

Should be done in under half an hour, even as a first timer.

As mentioned above, you might want to consider switching to a shimano chainset at some point, not least because shimano bottom brackets are markedly cheaper than this FSA one.

Eliminate other noises first though; I thought I had a dead BB but I changed the rear mech recently, only to find the noise has vanished.

elbowloh

I have a 2012 Felt z6, after 6 months I swapped out the chainset and BB for Ultegra.

Although the Ultegra bb has since been swapped out for a shiny Chris King ceramic one. Not that the ultegra one is crap, but rather due to my need to buy shiny expensive things.

corriebee1

Guys

Thank you so much for humouring my inane questions. That's all really helpful. I am keen to try and replace as many of the components as i can over time to get to a shimano setup. Then i only have to learn how to deal with one set of components and only need the one set of tools!

From what i'm reading, if i want to replace the bb for a shimano bb (possibly advisable) then i'd have to also replace the chain set? That's cranks, front compact, bb, anything else? Or can i still run the FSA cranks and other bits off a shimano bb?

A heavset powermonster? Not just yet!

mudcovered

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19729050#p19729050]corriebee1[/url] wrote:

From what i'm reading, if i want to replace the bb for a shimano bb (possibly advisable) then i'd have to also replace the chain set? That's cranks, front compact, bb, anything else? Or can i still run the FSA cranks and other bits off a shimano bb?

FSA cranks just about work with a shimano BB (at least mine did) but it requires a little more force to push the axle through the bottom bracket cups. In operation it was fine and still had a better lifetime than the FSA BB it replaced. With a shimano crank and bb it just slots in (no force required) and so far the lifetime has been better still. Not sure if that's because the parts match better or if the seals have improved in the bearing cups.

captain_chaos

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19728539#p19728539]corriebee1[/url] wrote:

Morning All

Apologies for my latest "advice-needed" thread. I'm looking for a bit of help with selecting the right bottom bracket for my bike.

I've done around 4,000 miles now on my Felt Z6 without doing a great deal of maintenance on it. Most of my miles are commuting in the summer months so the bike's still in relatively good nick. However, i have now got a grinding noise coming from the bottom bracket area when pressing hard on the pedals which makes me think it may be time for a replacement?

This is my bike: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-z6-tiagra-2012/

The bb on it is listed as an "FSA Mega Exo".

I'm totally naive and this will be the first bit of proper bike maintenance i've ever done (I did buy a decent bike tool set a while ago in anticipation/trepidation!). Can anyone suggest a suitable replacement for that bb? Are there different sizes/types that i need to be aware of, and can i tell what they are from the info' in the wiggle spec'?

Any thoughts much appreciated!

I had a few of those Mega Exo BB - utter rubbish. Eventually (after replacing it for the 3rd time - 1 of them under warranty) got a standard Shimano 105 Hollowtech (I think). Identical fit/function as the Mega Exo and about 1/2-1/3rd of the price. The only Shimano one I have bought so far has done ~8-9000 miles and still as good as new vs about 2-3000miles absolute maximum for the Mega Exo which were noisy and failing at that point. Don't get a Mega Exo

mudcovered

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19729326#p19729326]Captain Chaos[/url] wrote:

Don't get a Mega Exo

Yep. Took my LBS advice on that one and went shimano after the first FSA one wore out in 1500 miles.

Mike

MisterMuncher

The FSA Omega isn't compatible with Shimano BBs. The models above it (Gossamer, Energy) are, then the SL-K and K-Force are different again. The only BB that fits is the 19mm ID FSA Omega Drive one, which is made of cheese and fog.

Tbh, it's not a great crank in any guise. I've had a MegaExo and Bb30 version, and cheerfully binned them as soon as was feasible.

mudcovered

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19730441#p19730441]MisterMuncher[/url] wrote:

The FSA Omega isn't compatible with Shimano BBs. The models above it (Gossamer, Energy) are, then the SL-K and K-Force are different again. The only BB that fits is the 19mm ID FSA Omega Drive one, which is made of cheese and fog.

3 different BB standards across a single crank range :shock: . No wonder they are made of cheese as there is no chance to spread the engineering costs of making a good BB across the range (and no trickledown of high end tech either).

Good info though.

Mike

corriebee1

Great advice guys. Thank you!

So.... the solution is to spend a bit of money (oh dear!) and buy a new chainset?

If i buy a new compact chainset (this one? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-ultegra-6700-double-10sp-chainset/rp-prod39017)


and bottom bracket..... This one?

(http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-ultegra-6800-bottom-bracket/rp-prod108701?utm_campaign=bazaarvoice&utm_medium=Default&utm_source=AskAndAnswer&utm_content=Default)

I might be in good shape?

Geez, it's a dark art this bike maintenance thing!

MisterMuncher

That will work together, yes. However, unless you need bigger gearing than you already have, stick with a compact chainset (50/34 teeth). Also, Ultegra is second-top of the Shimano range. Not that it won't work or anything, it's just dearer than the lower ranges.

Merlin have the current 105 chainset for 70 quid, or the previous model for 60. That seems a better deal to me. Any Shimano BB will work with any Shimano crank. For your frame, it must be English threaded, and the higher up the range, the longer it's likely to last.