Just got myself a xt ht11 crankset from the classifieds and need a matching bottom bracket.

So in your experience is there any point shelling out the extra ££ for a xt/slx bb or are the deore ones just as good?

Durability is my main concern, this is an upgrade from a shoddy Truvative gxp jobby that only last a few months.

thanks in advance

Hate to say it but aftermarket BB – I'd go for a Hope myself from my experience 🙂

My Deore has done 4 rides and is seized solid. Now sat here wondering whether to buy another King one as my first King is 15months old and running like a dream.

CK is way out of my price range to be honest, might begrudgingly fork out for a hope though. I'm pretty lax with maintenance so something that's fit and forget would be great.

How long is the warrenty with hope?

I've had no problems with the Shimano ones – but I will send the shells to have upgraded bearings put in next time. The Americans rave about these:

http://www.mountainbikecomponents.co.uk

Not sure about the length of warranty but I bet if/when they go hope'll stick em in FOC 🙂

A lot of parts are as good as you maintain them. I have an XT BB that is 18 m onths old and still going well. Every couple of months I strip the crank and BB out, clean, inspect and re-install. Doesn't take much time or effort for that matter.

Never used a Hope or CK bb so cant comment on them. A company called BETD Components does aftermarket bearings for Shimano HT BB's, you send your BB to them and they replace the old bearings with new ones. Could be a cheaper alternative to Hope.

While I was typing TooTall beat me too it lol

Had a hope BB for 1.5 years – cleaned it out once – grit in bearings so degreased, regreased and they are spot on (stainless steel) – My experience thus far 🙂

My Deore has done 4 rides and is seized solid.

I have a nearly new one as well it's rubbish

Like the sound of that. I can buy an xt bb, wear it out over the course of however long, then replace/ upgrade the bearings and wear them out all over again for less than the cost of a hope bb.

Looks like a winner to me.

Either or – but you did say you didn't want to do much maintenance 😉

12 months out of my last slx. just got an 'as new' xt off here for £20 so will see how that goes on. would have sent the slx off to betd if i didn't get the xt though, heard good things.

Typically HT2 BBs tend to die prematurely if the preload on the LHS crank is too high. The preload nut really only needs to be finger tight.

The one important difference between slx and deore is in the cranks, not the bearings (the former has an axle that is stronger due to thicker walls). AFAICT the bearings are exactly the same, so I always use deore bearing cups. Like stayhigh I inspect the bearings 3 or 4 times a year, and keep them greased; this is like 15min job (a bit of care is needed not to break the external plastic seal when doing that). I ride several times a week through out the year regardless weather and can't say I had any bother with Shimano BBs.

when will someone import this to the UK?

or better still, manufacture it in taiwan and sell them to us cheap (i'm talking to you superstar components!)??

http://www.enduroforkseals.com/id114.html

MY XT BB is still running fine despite 2 winters riding and a hose down every week. Never greased anything so far.

i had deore on two bikes without any problems (3 years use, muddy conditions etc)

just don't go with superstar

Take a look at acros. Haven't heard any one talking about them for a while but they're meant to be very good

peacho…..I made my own bearing puller for my bottom bracket

From some mild steel, aliminium washers and some bolts thats was kicking around the workshop. and about half an hour on the lathe