Just a quick poll type thing.

Has anyone noticed the increased stiffness from HT2 over octalink/square taper? And how does the longevity of HT2 bearings compare to octalink/square taper?

I’ve ordered some of these but I’m now being told HT2 lasts longer than octalink, which from what I’ve read it doesn’t.. Can some one confirm this?

And I’ve been told there is a huge noticeable difference in stiffness, although I would have thought this may be down to newer/higher model crank arms. So can anyone confirm this too?

bearing life is not as good as internal bearinged bbs but a lot better than the first gen of HT2 stuff

they are a lot stiffer, even ht2 deores way stiffer than ht1 xt ime
;the crank arm sits flush against the bearings so theres no room for the axle to flex

So stiffer yes, longevity no.

Makes sense, that extra stiffness probably causes the lesser lifetime because for the axle to flex it will put a lateral force(which non-angled bearings hate) unevenly across the bearing surface which would cause wear.

I reckon you would never notice any difference in stiffness unless it was made of cheese! at the price its well worth it imo unless you want to be bang on trend, but then you would need a push fit bottom bracket to be on trend, and they are rubbish and a pain to service yourself. At that price just keep replacing the bottom brackets then in the future stick it on the partners bike! Or get a SKF bottom bracket which will last.

i think HT2 feels stiffer, but i am disappointed with the general reliability of the bearings from a variety of sources. They do seem to give up quicker.

Stiffness, absolutely, I’m still using squaretaper in one bike and it’s noticable. Not totally sure it’s a problem, mind. I did go through an awful lot of crank arms in t’olden days though.

Durability… It’s not because HT2 is great, they’re just OK, it’s because octalink is s***e. Or at least, the standard ones are. Teeny tiny bearings. There’s some aftermarket ones that are well regarded, SKF I think. OTOH square taper lasts forever. My commuter’s knocking on 20 years old and has done god knows how many thousand miles and is only on its 4th 😆

Is it that exact one you’ve ordered? Doesn’t look all that cheap considering it comes with no BB. Cyclebasket will do you a Deore 590 for £55 with BB

Stiffer, yes, very definitely.

Bearing life barely adequete. Better than ISIS and Octalink but not a patch on the old square taper.

On the plus side, not yet had an “external” BB seize into the BB shell…

I went to HT2 from a ISIS splined bb and cranks and the increase in stiffness was very noticeable (I was unaware they were meant to be stiffer btw, I was just stripping some weight off a cheap bike). It’s almost like the difference between a middling steel and alu frame, just that extra bit of eagerness, but you will get used to it and stop noticing.

I dont understand some of the posts. I should have probably said I already have an octalink crank that uses the same size BB as the one I’ve ordered. I decided to change it because of the cheesy flex my cranks have at the moment and yes its certainley the crank arm flexing as you can see the arm bend through out its length.

I wasnt aware there was an issue with bearing life on octalink bottom brackets. I must have missed that one.

The cranks I’ve bought are £27.99 not £39.99 as some of you may have read.