Bottom brackets and bearings (slight rant)

Bike Forum

Bottom brackets and bearings (slight rant)

20 posts & 9 voices | Started 3 months ago by DezB | Latest reply from PaulD

Tags:

No tags yet.

DezB - Member

Has anyone actually managed to successfully change the bearings in a HTII type BB?

I just tried it and the plastic covers (ie 'top hat' on Shimano) makes it impossible!
MegaExo and Shimano take the same bearings, so thought I'd swap the good Shimano bearings to the MegaExo and the FSA bearings don't come out without demolishing the plastic cover. Swines.
And I've been led to believe (on here) that you can use a Shimano BB with a FSA crank - well the top hat on the Shimano BB doesn't fit over the FSA axle, so you can't!

Hmph.

Posted 3 months ago #
Trekster - Member

Took mine to bits last night. Managed to find a pipe coupling that the cups fitted into and held that in the vice. Small screwdriver and a gentle tap removed the top hats no bother. Just need to source some bearings

Posted 3 months ago #
Northwind - Member

Getting the top hat out was easy enough for me, can't remember exactly what I did though, for just that reason. Poked them out from the inside I imagine... Getting one of the bearings out of some Shimano BBs is pretty awkward as it's almost blind on the inside.

Oh and I just fitted an FSA (Gravity Light) crank into an SLX bottom bracket, it was tight but it went.

Posted 3 months ago #
DezB - Member

@Trekster - So you reckon you'll get them back together ok? And they'll be sealed enough?
Shimano are so cheap it's not worth the bother I reckon.

@Northwind - yep very tight - pushed the Shimano on to the FSA axle and could only get it off by screwing the BB cup into the frame. Hit the axle to remove and the top hat was left stuck on the crank!

Posted 3 months ago #
bm0p700f - Member

Unfortunatley Shimano do not sell the plastic cover seperatley so if you break it when removing your need a new BB.

Raceface BB do supply spares for there X-type BB's. So you can remove the bearings and put good quality 6805 bearings in and fit new plastic covers. I do not know if the are compatable with FSA cranks though.

Posted 3 months ago #
druidh - Member

Raceface, FSA and Shimano should all be interchangeable.

Posted 3 months ago #
DezB - Member

Ah, just gonna bite the bullet and buy a FSA BB. Annoying cos I thought I'd got a really cheap crank.

Posted 3 months ago #
Northwind - Member

PSSST want to buy an FSA BB 24mm Megaexo, never fitted. £20 posted

As for replacing bearings, I did it, wasn't satisfied with the results, discovered that a brand new SLX BB cost a comparable amount to 2 quality bearings, won't do it again.

Posted 3 months ago #
DezB - Member

PSSST want to buy an FSA BB 24mm Megaexo, never fitted. £20 posted

I do indeed!

[edit] ygm

Posted 3 months ago #
Northwind - Member

Well I think it would be unethical to talk about such a transaction in this thread but if you were to email me on andrew@blackjack.f9.co.uk it is quite feasible that someone on that address might have one

Posted 3 months ago #
DezB - Member

I might have already done that... ethics don't come into it

Posted 3 months ago #
Northwind - Member

Fine. Just don't tell nobody, right?

Posted 3 months ago #
getonyourbike - Member

This is such a secretive transaction, I'd neber of thunk it having happening

Posted 3 months ago #
kinda666 - Member

Drop the BB shell into a cup of boiling hot water, top hats come out really easy then!
I've ditched my FSA afterburner cranks now for some SLX ones as I found it difficult to source bearings for the FSA and new cups were costing me £30 a pop, and didn't last that long anyway!

Posted 3 months ago #
mtbmaff - Member

Superstar sell replacement top hats and Hope make a tool for replacing bearings, both work perfectly.

Posted 3 months ago #
Northwind - Member

Incidentally, even though my cranks fitted perfectly into my Shimano BB, I'm slightly less impressed with the fact that they hadn't cut either pedal thread all the way through- both needed tapped out before they'd take a pedal. I knew there was a reason I buy Shimano cranks!

Posted 3 months ago #
DezB - Member

Well, at least mine have been used, so I know they work!
Shoulda stuck with the square taper ones I already had. The XT BB is from about 1999. Still smooth as silky pyjama bottoms.

Posted 3 months ago #
Trekster - Member

http://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/advanced_search_result.php?categories_id_src=4475&only_in_cat=1&inc_subcat=1&search_in_description=0&Two_Teds_1=6805&x=0&y=0&gclid=CIWcnpu5j64CFeontAodqXZghA

Des...I was just at a loose end/in between jobs at work, taking stuff to bits is what I do

Mtbmaff....made my own tools

Posted 3 months ago #
DezB - Member

I've got the tool, Trekster. Its just the things ain't designed to be taken apart... ok the Shimano top-hat can be replaced, but the MegaExo is different - has a plastic cover and 2 rubber seals - both of which get mangled when removing the bearings.
This leaves you with a rather useless cup & bearing combination.

Posted 3 months ago #
PaulD - Member

Dez,

Check this out at CRC....I got a set 'by accident' when they completely mis-priced the huge Race Face Shop BB bearing kit.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=64642

Seems you get all the bits, but the question of quality remains...

Like you, I prefer square taper and XT or more recently Token BBs.

PaulD

Posted 3 months ago #