BB upgrade

[Palaeodom]

Looking to upgrade my BB, it doesn't seem to keep out the dust and dirt from the trail very well. I have to take it apart and clean it more often than i think i should need to.

 

What do people recommend i upgrade to? There are a bunch of BBs out there but unsure which to seriously look at.

 

I'm happy with the crank set for the moment as its still pretty new and the SLX is pretty sturdy and only 30g heavier than the XT.

[BigGuy]

1st choice Chris King.

2nd choice Hope Ceramic.

[Palaeodom]

Will they both fit with my SLX system?

[Weight Weenie]

King has a grease gun you can use to pump out old grease and inject new grease without removing the bb, which seems like a good idea to me.

 

I spent lots of money on a Hope ceramic BB and I feel its a waste. Doesn't seal well IMO and bearing cost a fortune and need a special grease aparently.

 

Think you would be better off with either buying a cheap bb and replacing regularly the whole unit or getting a bearing press and then buying bearings to put in the current cups when they get creaky.

[Johan Bornman]

External cup BBs are notoriously poor and there is nothing you can do by way of servicing or cleaning to extend their life. The Chris King, like BG says, has a sort-of solution in that you can eject the old grease. However, the cost of the BB and the grease adapter will make you cry.

 

I suggest the following approach.

 

1) Drill a 6mm hole in the bottom of your frame BB shell. This will allow water that enters through your seatpost area, to escape and not rot the BB from the inside.

2) Find a mechanic that uses the Enduro BB bearing replacement system and has the right tool to press out the old bearings and new ones in. The Enduro bearings cost R180-00 or thereabouts for two. It requires about 30 minutes of labour if the crank has to be removed and BB cup taken off. If you take the cup on its own to your mechanic, it is a 10-minute job.

 

Ceramic bearings are a foohfee. Allow fools to spend their money on that whilst you buy cheap steel replacement bearings.

[Palaeodom]

Got the hole in the bottom of the frame so thats a start.

 

Why are the Enduro bearings better?

Edited April 27, 2011 by Palaeodom

[kosmonooit]

The BB's I worked with have a tube in the middle with Oh rings that seal into the cups, and the Hope ones has a nice turned Al fitting. Surely this seals the water out that's coming in from the frame side? Others like SRAM have plastic tube but also with the seals. The problem comes with water getting in from the outside, esp. with pressure washers.

 

Also I don't understand the point of pumping in grease if the bearings are sealed, although some claim to be able to lift the seals of the bearing and regrease, personally I will replace the bearings as a unit when needed and during major service.

 

So perhaps something like a Hope system is good investment: since its made well. Then get a BB bearing pusher-puller, like this RaceFace one) and order some spare bearings as well (Hope have Stainless steel ones as well as ceramic)

 

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/150/40434.jpg

 

 

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/150/36419.jpg

 

pics from CRC web site

 

I don't think Ceramic is worth the extra costs, but stand to be corrected here. Okay there is the placebo factor.

 

But watch out if you have GXP type cranks it takes a different BB, and although Hope make an adapter I found it developed some play since it just an Al insert,

Edited April 27, 2011 by kosmonooit

[Brian Fantana]

As far as I know Enduro bearings are cycling specific bearings.

From personal experience I can assure you that their suspension pivot bearings last longer than SKF bearings which are similar in price.

Although I am not convinced that enduro bb bearings last longer than SKF, I use their bearings for the bb, because I order the suspension pivot bearings from them anyway.

 

Rushsports are the enduro agents in SA.

[Johan Bornman]

Got the hole in the bottom of the frame so thats a start.

 

Why are the Enduro bearings better?

 

I doubt they are any better than the best out there. Like someone said, some of the Enduro bearings are cycling specific. This means two things - most bicycle sizes including some odd proprietary sizes as found in BB adapters and, suspension-specific bearings. Although suspension bearings are standard industrial cartridge bearings, the standard product doens't perform well in suspension applications. Bearings like to roll and make full revolutions. This way the grease that's pushed out from between the two rolling surfaces, gets replanished. If, like in a suspension system, they simply oscillate a little bit, they quickly run dry and become notchy. Enduro has tackled this problem by putting more grease into the bearing. Most bearings are only about 30% filled with grease, not full, as you would expect. Increasing the grease increases the rolling resistance but who cares on a damped suspension system anyway?

 

Enduro also claims to have a special seal lip designed for suspension. I never managed to get my head around this feature of theirs.

[The expat cyclist]

I use the enduro BB setup from Rushsports. I have had one bearing fail out of 7 (my bike and the wifes bike in 2 years) so far. And by fail I mean water got into the bearing, and it was kaput! Not that these bearings keep out water completely - this one was just horrible for some reason.

 

The enduro bearings IMO keep out crap a lot better than the origional Shimano setup! If you order from Rushsport it is R165 plus R60 delivery. Order before 12 and you get it the next day.

[Dicky DQ]

Sorry for the hijack, but as you are talking BB's here, what is the benefit of these new pressfit BB's? And then more importantly how do you get them out to replace them?

 

All the BB's I have used give trouble as soon as there is any play, so the pressfit needs to be super tight, so too should the removal be.... Maybe a new special super dear removal tool.

 

Or am I missing something?

[Christopher Brunsdon]

And this is why I still run cheap old square taper