Raceface crank compatible with Shimano bb?

rossgalway

Hi, I have a race face ride single crank and the raceface x type bearing has gone. Can a get Shimano external cups as they are a lot cheaper? Cheers

JBA

You should be able to.
The Race Face spindle diameter is 24mm as is Shimano.

steve_sordy

I had a RaceFace BSA 73mm bottom bracket on my Whyte. It had outboard screw in bearings that looked exactly like the the Shimano ones. But mine was different!

I bought myself a standard Shimano Hollowtech II BB and set to work. It was a disaster! I ended up with trashed components that left me without a usable bike. My other bike was part way through a conversion from 2x10 to 1x12, so things were desperate! I ended up taking the Whyte to the LBS and they sorted it all out. Instead of refitting a RaceFace BB, they persuaded me to fit a Hope BB (they do many types)

The note I made at the time went like this: "The crank is 24mm dia at the chainring end and 22mm dia at the other. It has a plastic sleeve on the crank to bridge from the 24mm dia section to the 25mm internal dia bearing in the RaceFace BB.

I have no idea why RaceFace have that plastic sleeve, but that was the bit that got knackered when I tried fitting it into the 24mm inside diameter bearing in the Shimano BB.

Your crank and RaceFace BB particulars may be different to mine. But the message is "check carefully and don't assume" like I did, that just because it looks the same from the outside it will be the same on the inside! :roll:

PS: The RaceFace BB failed after less than 800 miles, when I would normally expect a Shimano BB to last at least double that. The LBS guy had told me that RF BBs are made of cheese, which is why I had tried to replace it with a Shimano!

rossgalway

Thanks for that. The bike is only a year old and the Raceface bb has play in it. Would you recommend changing to a hope? Are they worth the extra?

steve_sordy

rossgalway wrote:

Thanks for that. The bike is only a year old and the Raceface bb has play in it. Would you recommend changing to a hope? Are they worth the extra?

Only you can decide whether they are worth the extra. The internet is full of people singing the praises of Hope kit, including BBs. I always used to get Shimano Hollowtech II because they were cheap and had a predictable life (about 1300-1500 miles for me). Because they were quick and easy to replace, I worked out that it was not worth the cost of converting to more expensive BBs like the Hope. But on this occasion, the bike was relatively new (a few days less than a year), BB replacement had been an absolute pain and so I decided to give Hope a chance. The type I bought was in stainless steel, type no BBSSXCN. The thread in the frame is known as BSA. The kit comes with all spacers and other parts required to fit the crank. Replacement bearings are available. That was the key thing for me, the LBS said it's a doddle to do, cheap to buy was implied, although I didn't ask. The Hope BB has been completely trouble free, although I would expect that as it has so far done fewer miles than the old FSA.

Finding out exactly what you need is a pain. (well it has been for me).