A BB86 frame has come up for sale at a decent price, it’s a bike that’ll be used as a commuter and so will be getting wet.

Do they all creak / is there a way to prevent this and do they require regular maintenance?

I’m used to BSA, which has been a fit and forget for me.

Thanks!

BB86 is much maligned, mainly because the OEM BB’s are of poor quality and have no way of making sure the 2 bearings stay in alignment with each other, which allows movement and causes creaking.

How do you fix it? Fit a good quality BB like the Hope PF41 unit, with 2 halves that screw together inside the frame this maintaining constant alignment, and don’t over tighten your cranks so you’re not adding any extra preload on the bearings. I’ve done thousands of miles on the same BB in my road bike, it’s still as smooth as the day it went in. But importantly too, should the bearings ever die, they are just MR2437 Enduro bearings that are replaceable separately for very little, but you’ll not need to replace them often. It’s not a cheap solution I’ll grant you at £90 plus the cost of the tools to fit it (we fit for free at our shop if you buy from us, I’d ask your local Hope dealer nicely as the tools are about £50), but it’s a hell of a lot better solution than the plastic crap offering that is a Shimano BB71!

mboy – Member
BB86 is much maligned, mainly because the OEM BB’s are of poor quality and have no way of making sure the 2 bearings stay in alignment with each other, which allows movement and causes creaking.

How do you fix it? Fit a good quality BB like the Hope PF41 unit, with 2 halves that screw together inside the frame this maintaining constant alignment, and don’t over tighten your cranks so you’re not adding any extra preload on the bearings. I’ve done thousands of miles on the same BB in my road bike, it’s still as smooth as the day it went in. But importantly too, should the bearings ever die, they are just MR2437 Enduro bearings that are replaceable separately for very little, but you’ll not need to replace them often. It’s not a cheap solution I’ll grant you at £90 plus the cost of the tools to fit it (we fit for free at our shop if you buy from us, I’d ask your local Hope dealer nicely as the tools are about £50), but it’s a hell of a lot better solution than the plastic crap offering that is a Shimano BB71!

Thank you!

Is the BB91 much better from Shimano, the BB9141B?

Agree that PF41/BB86/92 is pretty good – been running 2 frames for a number of years and both been creak-free / reliable unlike the ‘hell’ that is BB30 and derivatives. Got a KCNC BB on one – similar concept to Hope but cheaper and SRAM in the other.

dovebiker – Member
Agree that PF41/BB86/92 is pretty good – been running 2 frames for a number of years and both been creak-free / reliable unlike the ‘hell’ that is BB30 and derivatives. Got a KCNC BB on one – similar concept to Hope but cheaper and SRAM in the other.

Do you have a link to the KCNC one? The only ones I can find are press fit not threaded.

or is it this? http://www.bicyclehero.com/gb/kcnc-bb86-adaptor-86-5x41mm-for-shimano-24mm.html?gclid=CM2LkNm3rM0CFQWfGwodV6AJZg

I found these:
http://wheelsmfg.com/bb86-92-outboard-abec-3-bb-for-24mm-shimano-cranks-black.html

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/mr-ride-Ceramic-Bottom-Bracket-BB-frame-BB86-adaptor-Shimano-24mm-crankset-Black-/131585699761?hash=item1ea31e6fb1:g:AMEAAOSwECZUolfe

I used the rotor 4130 ceramic bearing set in the bb86 on my canyon inflite cx bike. I used loctite 271 to install the bearings and didn’t have an issue.
Frameset and bearings for sale…

and don’t over tighten your cranks so you’re not adding any extra preload on the bearings

Or get some angular contact bearings. I’m running ACBs in my commuter BB.

My bad – yes the KCNC BB86 is a press-fit. Not touched it since installed, so forgot how it went in.

OH has a wheels manufacturing thread together one, it seems pretty good on the creak front so far (since Christmas-ish). Did kill one of the bearings, only realised on undoing that whichever one of us did the preload had overdone.

Tool to install a WM one is cheaper than hope and (if I’ve got the hope installation correct) doesn’t require you to remove one of the bearings.

I would recommend checking the bb shell has no obstructions though- my commencal has a notch for the swingarm which means it can’t even take normal bbs, let alone thread together ones.

Is the BB91 much better from Shimano, the BB9141B?

No.

Slightly better quality bearings (not really the issue) in the same plastic press in cups and poor quality sealing from the elements for another £15… Save up, buy the Hope, honestly it’s worth it!

Cheers for the responses guys.

I decided to stick to BSA. 😆

+1 what swanny said.

wheels mfg screws together but the tool is cheaper than Hope’s and the bearings are decent.