One thing that irrationally bugs me is people discussing kit longevity without reference to mileage or conditions of use. E.g. my Hope Ceramic bottom bracket has lasted me three years, must be good. (Big deal, I've a Mavic bottom bracket from the early nineties still in use - about once a month only).
I built an Orange R8 on the 2nd of May last year, using an 2010 XT bottom bracket and chainset. The XT bottom bracket lasted 2933km until replacement with a Hope ceramic bottom bracket on the 12th January this year.
The Hope ceramic bottom bracket has a rough drive side bearing after 1314km.
The bike is a mud plugger and is regularly hosed down with a mains pressure garden hose. I mention this in defence of what I think is poor longevity from both bottom brackets. What really goes against the Hope is that it gained most miles during the spring period of dry, dusty trails when the bike wasn't washed or slithering about in the mire.
Just posting this to help inform buying decisions (not that anyone ever uses search 
)
I'll be going back to an XT bottom bracket, although I love Hope kit - the same bike has Hope hubs, brakes, headset and seatclamp. Surely bicycle engineers can manufacture a better bottom bracket, or create a better standard bottom bracket dimension than that which we currently have? Personally I think they just love me buying a bottom bracket every 6 months.
