Hi all

I’m speccing up a new bike on the cycle to work scheme and rather like the look of the singular swift ss with an eccentric bb. The plan is to use an alfine on the frame. Given that I’m likely to be doing around 4,000 miles a year on whatever i get I need to bike to be as low maintenance as poss.

so, eccentric bb’s – good? bad? ugly?

tell me about them

ta

creaky. At least mine is.

Not creaky on two of mine (both Phil Wood style)

I haven’t heard a squeak/peep from mine on my love/hate.

The one on the tandem is fine. IMO its the neatest and best engineered solution

No problems with the one I had on my GT peace – the simplest design – just locked in place by two big bolts pushing into it.

Have only had it six months, but no problems or creaks on mine (Bushnell on an old InBred). As TandemJeremy says, it’s a great solution – *so much* better than trying to finesse wheel alignment and chain tension at the same time on Mrs Finnegan’s Alfine’d InBred. Suffice to say I’m looking out for a 16″ EBB InBred frame for her…

EBB’s are not all the same. the phil ones are just a shell with 2 set screw/bolts. the bushnell ones have expanding wedges and can be prone to creaking if not looked after. don’t know about the ones on a chameleon or other bikes.

would have one over sliding drops/disk mounts any day.

mine’s a Bushnell. However the creaking may be coming from the BB itself.

It can’t cope with my awesome power output I fink…
😉

One on my chameleon is fine. No squeaks, just sits there

Mine is a Thorn one with two pointed bolts in the bottom. Fairly standard stuff, never had a problem.

They can’t take over-zealous adjustment, or the holes in the alloy EBB shell will run together. I wait till my chain starts to fall off going down hills, then I adjust it. This gives about three positions required over the lifetime of any chain: New, tighten, tighten, throw chain away.

The Singulars use a Phil Woods set screw EBB.

The one on my Gryphon doesn’t creak at all.

Some of my Bushnell EBB’s do though.

The one on my GF Rig used to creak, but a simple service with copper slip has cured it.

I saw quite a bit of EBB faff-age at SSUK, I dare say there was just as much (if not more) of the usual non-EBB faff too, but I noticed the EBB cos I thought they were supposed to be minimal maintenance.

(no experience of them, just making an observation)

The EBB on the tandem is a taper wedge type – when I first got it I found it a bit of a faff but once you get the technique its rather eay really. It never creaks

Sanderson Soloist has its own EBB design – see here.

Had no creaks or slippage from mine in 6 months so far.

Bushnell and coppaslip here. No creaks, takes a bit of adjustment finesse initially but once you have sussed how to do that, no issues at all.

thanks all

jonv – was it you that sold me a handsome dog ht frame a few years back?

PITA when they need adjusting on trail.

Otherwise they do the job but in a heavier and more expensive way than track ends.

yes, may well have been yossarian.

Sorry, it’s out of warranty now 😀

one on my purple rig doesn creak ….

Sorry, it’s out of warranty now

🙂

Just to let you know it recently racked up its 10,000th mile with me and is still going strong

PITA when they need adjusting on trail.

Good maintenance should mean this isn’t necessary… and actually a Phil Wood EBB is dead easy to adjust on the trail, much easier/quicker than sliding dropouts.

Otherwise they do the job but in a heavier and more expensive way than track ends.

Possibly so, but there is no better solution to the issue of chain tensioning and compatibility with disc brakes, IMO.

So it’s a Phil one I need. OK.

Cool.

The Phils have been very reliable for me – no problems with them for a couple of hundred frames now that can’t be solved by a bit of grease and cleaning.

So it’s a Phil one I need. OK.

Cool.

you made the right choice.

I’m not convinced by EBB’s, I’ll be sticking with my Whyte 19 dropouts, light, simple and 30 seconds to adjust chain tension.

You’ve not got the full compliment of bolts in there have you? I thought it was three per side for the pivot/clamping thing? And you have to line it up by eye?

Niner bikes have a new EBB that has been getting good reviews.

Another thorn one here and never a problem in 3 years.

I thought it was three per side for the pivot/clamping thing?

Three if you’re using it in geared (non-adjustable) mode, two in adjustable mode.
The pic shows the geared dropout BTW, they supply a second dropout without the mech hanger as well.

The pivoting drops are a nice idea, I did some drawings for some a few years back but ended up not taking it any further. As brant said, you always need to adjust each side separately and getting them perfectly square can be problematic. There is a lot of braking force through that top pivot as well which is a possible area of failure. The Whytes seem nicely designed and made to reduce this likelihood. Even then, you still have four bolts to loosen/tighten to adjust the chain tension where an ebb does it with two.

The Niner ebb’s are nice conceptually, but the execution seems a little flawed. Firstly they rely on the bb shell having perfectly parallel faces, which as anyone who has faced a bb shell will tell you is often not the case. Fine in principle except most bike shops won’t have tools to face a 60mm bb shell. My other main worry is that the only thing keeping the two halves together is the bolt which tightens them against the shell. If one turns a bit independently of the other over time there is not a lot to stop it. Then you have unevenly loaded bearings and rapid bb failure. Also if you compare the weight to a Phil they are not so light as they make out.

The Phil’s (and similar designs like the Thorn) just work, simple and effective. Similar arrangements have been used in tandems for over 60 years without issue, I’m not sure why some people have concerns over them.

Nicknoxx – Member
Niner bikes have a new EBB that has been getting good reviews.

Mine slips a bit, admittedly it hasn’t been done up with a torque wrench, but it’s pretty bloomin tight when is moves!

I’m also not entirely sure, on those Whyte dropouts, what other than friction is stopping the dropouts moving under chain tension or disc brake force? I guess that can be enough – do they move at all, or is there a positive stop thing that I can’t see?

the one on my GF Ferrous has been trouble free, doesnt creak, doesnt slip and takes only a single allen key to adjust on the trail (or in your garage, shed, living room etc….)

it is heavy though, but worth it….

I don’t think there’s any hard stop on the whytes, just the clamping force of two M5 (maybe M6?) bolts. Seems possibly inadequate…

I have a 4 year old Thorn Raven Enduro and a new Singular Swift SS. Both have set-screw type EBB and work perfectly. No creaking and easy to adjust when required. This must be the best engineering solution to singlespeed/hubgear chain tensioning. Not convinced about slot/slidign dropouts, especially bolt on plates and the like – can’t be as stong as vertical dropouts and an EBB.

I have to say having ridden tandems with both the set screw and the taper wedge type EBBs I far prefer the taper wedge. The set screw types chew up the EBB unit ( although the taper wedge can get stuck.)

you still have four bolts to loosen/tighten to adjust the chain tension

It’s actually six bolts, loosen them all half a turn, hold the back brake on, push the bike forward, check the wheel is central, nip the bolts back up all over in 30 seconds.
I’ve done over 4000 miles on my oldest 19 without any slipping problems.

PITA when they need adjusting on trail.

Good maintenance should mean this isn’t necessary… and actually a Phil Wood EBB is dead easy to adjust on the trail, much easier/quicker than sliding dropouts.

Good maintenance can’t stop a chain stretching in one long ride. Only happened to me once but then I don’t do long rides enough ;0)

Otherwise they do the job but in a heavier and more expensive way than track ends.

Possibly so, but there is no better solution to the issue of chain tensioning and compatibility with disc brakes, IMO.

Track ends and correctly designed slotted disk mounts for me thanks.
Only time the brakes need moving are when I fit a new chain.