I have had the below BB in my giant reign for just on 12 months and its shagged. This is the second time in 2 years i have had to replace it. Should i just get another one as 12months is a good life span or is there a better one out there.

http://www.raceface.com/components/bottom-brackets/bottom-brackets/x-type-race-xc/

The GXP one I have in my Full sus is quite heavy but Has lasted longer than 12 mnths. I have XT BB in the HT and its much lighter. no comments on the durability yet.

Soooooo many options to go for, the problem is that none of them seem without their faults!

Has to be said though that the Raceface HT2 BB's seem to be universally regarded as one of the worst.

One option you have is to get the origianl bearings pressed out, and some new ones (which you should have filled with grease first) pressed in. This is perhaps the cheapest route, though of course it depends on the bearings you buy.

Most expensive route would be to go down the route of buying a Chris King BB with the associated regreasing tool. Together they'll set you back well over £100, but from what I've heard, it seems to be the answer to HT2 BB longevity.

Or there's also Hope, Shimano, Acros, Superstar (dare I say it, though I just bought one with SKF bearings in which should last a lot longer than the cheapy bearinged versions), and god knows how many others! Shimano OEM ones seem to last about the longest though of the cheaper BB's from what I've seen. Good sealing and lots of grease in the bearings seems to make a LOT of difference to longevity though…

Mboy thanks for the advice ill look into all the options you mentioned and see what cash i have left at the end of the month.

Having kept the last BB I had and using a very large wall bolt have managed to bodge a home tool for removing the bearings with out damaging the casing and so am wondering if anyone could recommend a replacement bearing. I have heard ceramic bearings are good and think Enduro do some too but not sure what’s best or if living in a throw away society I should just purchase a new BB for £22 and throw the old one away repeating every 12 months.

I knocked my BB bearing out by mistake the other day when fitting the cranks back on (anyway, long boring story about wrong granny ring) – I then realised just how straightforward it is to prize off the seals and re-grease.

I found that an offcut of fork steerer was the perfect size to use to knock the bearing back into the casing. So – when I need new bearings I'm going to replace just the races. Quite frankly it is just a con to call them "non-serviceable" – they are!

By the way, my previous set lasted about three years – I never wash my bike – I don't think those two are unrelated.

Glen, what bearings where you using?

Oh sorry – Shimano. External, LX (I guess that's SLX now is it?). Happened to have a few inches of carbon steerer in my shed – perfect tool to knock 'em back in square. Only problem I can see is damaging the seals, which is quite easy.

Have just swapped out my 960 XTR BB as it was past its best and have replaced in with a Hope ceramic one. it's lurvley and silky smooth, a definite improvement.