Are 'good' bottom brackets worth it?

radhartgeorge

Hello all,

I'm seeking the opinion of others regarding an impending bottom bracket purchase. Historically I have used a standard Shimano Hollowtech II and it has served me very well despite receiving very little attention on the maintenance front. However with the recent acquisition of SRAM etap groupset (including crankset) a change is required, which brings me to my question:

Do I invest in a 'good' BB such as a steel bearing Chris King ThreadFit and relevant conversion kit for SRAM - approx £180 or go with the 'standard' SRAM GXP Team bottom bracket for £25 and accept that it'll need replacing occasionally?

One would imagine the former will last longer than the latter but I could get 7 replacements and not have to worry about purchasing re-greasing tools or alike for the CK. I'd get a brand new set of bearings every time which has a certain appeal. Additionally, I've had no complaints with my Hollowtech BB and that's probably equivalent to the SRAM GXP team BB.

I guess I am wondering if anyone out there has weighed up this one before? Other than lasting longer, does the Chris King BB actually feel any better? How much of this is perceived given you'll have just shelled out the best part of £200 for it?

Thanks in advance...

lostboysaint

Personally I believe they are. I use Hope in all the MTBs and also had one on a road bike. Haven't got round to changing the latest road bike's BB yet, because it doesn't need it, but when I do it'll be for another Hope. Superb product, very reliable, great sealing, smooth.

1986sv

radhartgeorge wrote:

I'd get a brand new set of bearings every time which has a certain appeal. Additionally, I've had no complaints with my Hollowtech BB and that's probably equivalent to the SRAM GXP team BB.

- This sums it up for me, if it ain't broke...

apriliarider

I have used cbear - creak free and ceramic at around £80- really good pieces of kit and 7500 miles so far and no issues (with etap crankset as well)

svetty

I use a Hope threaded BSA BB in my winter bike as you can replace the bearings in the cups - the first initial purchase is more expensive than the stock BBs but thereafter I can just replace the bearings so not too expensive in the long run.

For press-fit BB30 the situation is a little different.......

paulbnix

I had a similar situation after changing to SRAM Etap altough I bought a Force GPX crankset rather than the Red.
I decided to go with a Hope BB plus the GPX adapter.
SRAM GPX BB did not seem to have a good reputation and I have had bad experiences with FSA MegaExo.
All is good so far (after about a year and 4000 miles).

radhartgeorge

paulbnix wrote:

I decided to go with a Hope BB plus the GPX adapter. .

Hope BBs are sufficiently cheaper than Chris King for me to consider it a middle ground - I also like that they are British made.

Regarding the GXP adapter, is this the same as the Truvativ adapter?

captain_tiara

I have the older incarnation of the GXP BB. It is possible to replace the sealed bearings in them, at a cost of about a tenner. Newer team GXP were pants.

Ceramics are a bit nicer, but you can replace multiple times for same cost.

If I were starting again I'd go Hope.

JakeJ

apriliarider wrote:

I have used cbear - creak free and ceramic at around £80- really good pieces of kit and 7500 miles so far and no issues (with etap crankset as well)

I've also just bought a c-bear BB to go into my new frame, it's not fitted yet so can't comment on how it works, but I saw a pro bike had it so I bought one....

A friend of mine once called me a consumer whore.

paulbnix

Regarding the GXP adapter, is this the same as the Truvativ adapter?

Yes its this one
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/hope-bottom-bracket-truvativ-gxp-converter/rp-prod26899

grenw

I have a GXP BB on one of my mtbs. Costs around £20 and last around 3 years. Seems reasonable of both counts to me

ugo.santalucia

For the home mechanic they aren't.
You can buy a Shimano HT2 for as low as 11 pounds... there is simply no way a Hope or CK would outlast the equaivalent money spent on Shimano.

If you pay a mechanic to do the job, then it might be worth spending more for your BB.

I have to say the latest Shimano are more durable than those of 10 years ago

paulbnix

I agree about Shimano HT2 - that green gloop in them is magic.

Unfortunately they don't fit GPX cranks :-(

Nick Payne

Depends what sort of BB shell you're talking about. For square taper cranks on a BSA threaded bike, I just use the cheap Shimano BBs - I have some of them that have been in use for well over a decade and still feel perfectly smooth when I pull the cranks and spin the axle.

OTOH, several years ago I put together a bike for my wife that has a 386EVO BB shell. The original press-fit bearings, as supplied with the frame, lasted about a year before being shot, as did the Token replacement that I fitted. I then sprung for one of the considerably more expensive Wheels Manufacturing BBs that screw together and use angular contact bearings, and so far that has lasted about twice as long and still feels smooth.

cycleclinic

If you want a cheap long lasting BBB use a square taper. The only modern bbs that I have found that last are campagnolo British thread. That does not help for SRAM. The gxp BB work well enough but if you are a high mileage rider changes may be more frequent than you'd like. Whether that's worth the cost of a cbear, hope or CK BB I don't know.

mercia_man

I have an original 1990s Campag Athena square taper bottom bracket on my BSA threaded touring bike. Both cups are adjustable so you can fine tune the chainline - very handy when using a triple. It still runs as smoothly as when I fitted it some 20 years ago.

FatTed

I use the standard SRAM GXP BB, lasted about 25,000 Km before needing replacement.

CharlieV453

Ive never used anything nearly as pricy a the ck but my low end bb has worked perfectly fine through mud, rain and everything else for well over a year. The ck should last longer, that's understandable, but 7 normal bb's should easily outlast 1 ck and not require any maintenance bar swapping over the bb's. In my opinion go for cheap which wont even need replacing often at all. However, if you wanted to save more, invest in some tools to knock out the bearings (or make your own, there are plenty of tutorials on the internet) as the bearings cost even less to replace and if maintained well should last for absolutely ages.