Went to ride my mountain bike at the weekend and the BB30 BB is seized up again. I don’t use it much these days and this is the second one in maybe 6 days of riding. The issue seems to be a combination of poor seals around the SRAM bearings and lack of drainage in the frame.

So, while Specialized have been busy inventing SWATs and new axel standards, they’ve managed to produce a mountain bike that’s allergic to water.

The options seem to be, drill a ~2mm hole in the frame to drain the BB, and / or buy an £80 BB30 with stainless or ceramic bearings.

Anyone else have this problem and how did you solve it? Is drilling the frame a good idea?

Praxxis. Less than silly expensive stainless / ceramics, and the bearings are replaceable* with whatever types you want (standard sized ones).

* OK, Technically they’re not – removing the bearings voids the warranty. But what use is a warranty for a BB with seized bearings? And seized bearings aren’t a warrantable item. So you can either have a BB that’s useless but has a warranty that you can’t use, or replace the bearings yourself, get the BB back working but don’t have a warranty any more. Mine’s 3 years old and 3rd set of bearings.

https://www.merlincycles.com/road-bike-bottom-brackets-cups-75284/?brand=praxis

Get a BB30 adaptor and try another type of BB?
Doesn’t sound a great option, but its probably better than drilling your frame.

You need one of these,

LINK

Ask your LBS if they have the tool to fit it because it’s not cheap. The seem solid though and more importantly quiet. I wish they were available when I had my Stumpy Evo.

HAd the same on my Enduro

2 BB30s seized in 6 months

Now done 5 months on a Praxis with no problems at all

SRAM BBs are absolute garbage.

Give C-bear bb30 bearings a try.

Praxxis here, although other versions/manufacturesrs are available.

3yrs in my enduro with only the occasional remove/grease to stop small creaks.

Dont expect modern OEM ‘standards’ to be anything other than a good thing… for the manufacturer. Not the consumer. And, ignore most bike shops on the subject, as they’re too close to the subject to get a proper perspective. They also have plenty of time to remove, replace, change things every few rides.

Praxxis in mine was 2 1/2 years old before I replaced the bearings, average 2 rides a week over that time.

SRAM BBs are absolute garbage.

I’ve got BB30 on 3 bikes (Cannondale road & MTB and a Whyte 19c) that I have absolutely no problems with… maybe it’s just low quality frames that are the problem? 🙂

Reckon you should probably ride it a bit more mate!

😉

Had exactly the same problem on my mine! The Sram BB’s bizarrely let water in but don’t let it out again & this kills the bearings in no time. The drain hole I drilled didn’t cure this, so I press fitted an FSA threaded adaptor in. This takes standard external shimano bearings & has been 100% successful for the last 2 years… Won’t buy a bike with press fit BB again!

I’ve got BB30 on 3 bikes (Cannondale road & MTB and a Whyte 19c) that I have absolutely no problems with…

There’s one of these in every thread!

I’m on the OP’s side. They’re one to the worst things ever put on bikes. Even Specialized now spec the Praxis BB that was designed as a remedy for their own stupid, creeky designs and some of next years bikes are threaded.

Thanks for helpful replies everyone. Possibly a daft question but if I get a bb30 adapter would I be able to fit a standard hollowtech 2 bb and if so would my cranks still be compatible?

been using H2 for years with few problems but don’t know much about bb30

Ours had a pre drilled hole under the protective film underneath the bottom bracket. Just put a hole through it and its been fine.

What kills BB30 is water ingress – it gathers in the BB shell and kills the bearings – at least other BB designs don’t run the bearings in water! If you can, fit a mudguard / cover seat-tube slot and drill drain hole in BB shell. Also replacing regular grease with marine grease will keep the water out the bearings.

BB30 is the biggest crock ‘o’ shyte going.

Its seized because you hardly use it…

If you used it more they would get rough but not seize, if you at least spin the cranks a few times now and then it won’t seize and 90% of the time it is just the drive-side one that wears out, so getting one with replaceable bearings is good because you can just change the one that is knackered.

Lardmans second post is good. His first isn’t. I’ve got bb’s over ten years old because I never ride my bike….time is irrelevant.

That’s probably the 63rd time I’ve made that point here. Rips my knitting!

Stick man, i have an unused Praxis BB that’ll fit your stumpy if you’re interested – but it’s for a normal GXP cranks, not BB30 cranks. FWIR, most Spesh FSR’s run BB30 cranks. If yours doesn’t and you’d like my Praxis, just let me know.

Lardmans second post is good. His first isn’t. I’ve got bb’s over ten years old because I never ride my bike….time is irrelevant.

That’s probably the 63rd time I’ve made that point here. Rips my knitting!

Maybe a more coherent post might help with the repetition? What exactly are you trying to say?
That it’s true that Standards and bike shops are not the best thing for longevity, or impartial advice? Or, that you don’t agree that a Praxxis system is worthwhile?

Or that 2-1/2 years is irrelevant, as it does not clarify the mileage?
On the basis that most people on here ride a reasonable amount, i’d have thought a presumption of average mileage would be a safe one, not to mention being a less stress inducing, knitting tearing option.

Being as i have a few bikes, the mileage would actually be quite low, but in the high hundreds at least. Enough to have an opinion about a bottom bracket i think.

Grease the bearings before installation.

Drill your hole (ooh er)

I’ve had a number of BB30 and PF30 bikes and the BB tolerances have been all over the place, all have had issues (rapid bearing wear, creaking, clicking, working loose, walking sideways)

Some of the frames had BB shell that crushed bearings, others required gap-fill compound or hefty smear of carbon fibre assembly paste inside BB shell, to stop cups moving. When I ran workshops in 2 Specialized Concept Store, we were supplied with DP420 epoxy to glue the cups into the frames.

Praxxis Works the best for poor tolerance frames (the collet expands, gripping the BB shell), but it has its limits; on my last Stumpjumper I had to use carbon paste on everything but the threaded metal interior. The bearings are nothing special, I’d advise carefully removing bearing shield and packing full of marine grease before installing the BB.

I won’t buy another BB30/PF30 bike.

Praxxis Works …….the bearings are nothing special, I’d advise carefully removing bearing shield and packing full of marine grease before installing the BB.

But as above they’re dead easy to press out and replace when they do give up.

I glued some specialized osbb cups into my enduro and they have stayed in place and allowed me to change just the bearing. But I only seem to get through one pair a year.
But I don’t pressure wash it or use it in the worst of the winter

On my 5th BB in 2 years – trying a Wheels Manufacturing one this time. A BB30 bottom bracket would be a show stopper in buying a new bike, they simply don’t work for me in UK conditions. I’ve had Shimano ones last years before needing replacing, whatever marginal benefits BB30 is meant to bring to the rider are not worth the faff and costs of constant BB replacements to me.

I’m surprised people would discount a bike because of BB30, when there is a solution. Sure, other things being equal it might be a deciding factor but if I was spending hundreds or thousands on a bike, another £50 to put an aftermarket solver in there wouldn’t phase me. Especially as it isn’t even really £50, because all BB’s wear out in the end, it’s £50 less whatever the cost of your next BB would be.