Is it me or do these shimano BB wear out rather quickly? I seem to be getting through one pair every 6 months on the MTB and same on the road bike compared to about 12 months use out of the old sealed type. Its obvious when you think about it since the bearings have a poor plastic over and are exposed to the elements…But i’ve gone and got the crank now…so are their any really good alternative BB to shimano??

My ultegra road ones are fine after 2 or 3 years and have been on 2 bikes.
My XT ones lasted 2 or 3 years and then I had the bearings replaced with Phil Wood ones and they’re still going strong.

new chris king ones have a 5 year warranty but cost 100 quid 😯

Seems mine has finally given way on the drive-side, its just got a little stiff. Got to be 2 years of on-off riding, some alpine fun and more than a few lake-dunkings and knee depth river crossings 🙂

xt in month 8 now and no problems

Where’s sootyandjim today…… 😉

2-3 years for me…

same as solamanda found them reliable and used them in some nasty conditions.

Never replaced one yet (touch wood). My Ti hardtail is a running 2nd hand XTR BB and has been through rivers, peatbogs and SITS 2008. Oh – and I don’t do any “maintenance” on it either, just gets washed when the bikes does (every 3/4 rides)

Mine’s still good after two years

about a year each time – mid winter Peak rides seem to wear anything out to be fair, and square tapers did not last any longer IIRC

I have them (shimano) on the bike i use every day, after 2 years still going strong.
Dont overload the preload adjuster, just nip it up, back it off a quarter of a turn and nip up again……

My XTR one – nearly 3 years, and was still ok when I sold it.

I’m getting worried about my RaceFace one after a few months though. Yes, yes, I was warned!

about three years out of the XT on one bike and a year for the Hope on the other bike, neither are worn out.

Have to admit that last year i didn’t do much on the MTB’s mud, mud and more mud….

Mine lasted 1.5 years – OK I suppose for a cheap BB but went out and got a hope – not as expensive as Chris’s but silky smooth.

Shimano XT here and so far 1 year of muddy rides. took the seals off last night for the first time and squirted in some more grease. not much crap under the seals but there wasn’t much grease either.

yup- my race face one has only lasted 6 months….

and I’ve just bought a new one for the other bike- doh!

Yeah the RaceFace one was crap. Creaked after about a month, died within a year. I had the bearings replaced by sideways cycles, Phil Wood??? i think for £35ish, its been fine for nearly 2yrs 😀

bought mine three years ago and am on 2nd set of bearings

My last one from a deore crankset lasted about 10 rides! The previous XT one did about a year. I am now using a stainless “Acros” bb on my XC bike which was reasonably priced and seems smooth…time will tell. I definitely think XC riding esp in mud eats bbs fastest.

About 2 years for my XT ones with regular wet use