Viewing 6 posts - 41 through 46 (of 46 total)
  • Fit and Forget Bottom Brackets
  • accu
    Free Member

    +1 for the hope stainless…have them on both bikes since nearly 2 years..still smooth and going strong

    min0rtheat
    Free Member

    Im not sure there can be a fit and forget solution for bb’s in their current design as the fundamental problem is failure through ingress of water and mud, leading to premature bearing wear. Until the BB design changes Im not sure there will be much improvement.
    If you look at great engineering companies, producing proucts for the mtb world like ChrisKing and Hope their basic design is the same (has to be or it wont fit) but the difference will be the sealing of the bearings from the crap we ride through.
    I think the bearings are so small so the seals cant be sealed sufficiently – crud gets in and they must be replaced. Stainless and ceramic might last a bit longer but as soon as that grease turns to grinding paste your days are numbered. I know they are quite different but look at the crap that car bearings go through and how often are they changed? Reason? They are huge and well sealed.
    Get some designers on the case and make us an everlasting BB!
    Im all for regular maintenance of a cheap BB shell with regular changes of decent grade bearings from a bearing supplier.
    I guess that doesnt go with the OP query but just my 2p.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    TandemJeremy – Member

    “I have several octalink bbs – they just work. The only ht11 I have swas a race face – failed very quickly and replaced with a hope. If that fails then the bike is being converted to octalink,”

    To be fair, raceface external BBs are absolutely awful. I reckon an internal BB made to the same standard would be pretty awful too.

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    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    min0rtheat
    I think the bearings are so small so the seals cant be sealed sufficiently

    Octalink has nice big balls and is well sealed. Thats why they last. I took an old one apart – they really are well engineered

    skinnysteel
    Free Member

    Hope Ceramic here

    nicko74
    Full Member

    TJ – you’re obviously a big fan of Octalink, but I had a couple of them and they had the old problems of square taper (thread loosening from NDS cranks if you’re goofy-footed, leading to rounded tapers) without really solving the issues. As all the people who use UN73s can point out, if you get on with them, the sealing and bearings are pretty much bulletproof in square taper BBs.

    Plus Octalink are getting scarcer to find, no?

    In the end, after spending a packet on decent cranks, BBs and getting them fitted properly, I just gave up and went to HTII. I’ve not ridden it much yet, but so far no rounded tapers*

    *I know, the axle’s round already, so there.

Viewing 6 posts - 41 through 46 (of 46 total)

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