took off one side of my hope hollowtech2 bb and a good volume of water poured out the side….wtf?
how does water get in there, its sealed on both sides!
do you reckon it gets in through the seat post? that always seems a bit soggy

do you reckon it gets in through the seat post?

Bingo 😀

I have a Easton carbon post and it has a slighly flat section in the design: great for letting water in!

imho all bikes should have a hole in the bottom of the BB shell.

and I used to get water in my down tube – past the water bottle cage bolts !

man thats lame, tis going to speed up bb wear i would imagine?

Aye, it'll put the in the same boat as people who fit a BB with a rock if your BB should die in one ride.

JonT- i dont quite follow sorry?

Yep, if you have an extended seat tube and bolt up clamp, bit of old inner tube over the seat tube, clamp and seatpost can help this time of year (needs to be tight, of course), and waterproof grease on those bottle cage bolts.

could you drill a hole in the BB shell when you clean or replace it?

kojak- good plan but im forever putting the seat up/down so qr
bigbloke- yep could do that, not sure i have the bottle though! my bike is my only valuable possession!

Most bike frames now have a small hole in the BB shell for this reason.

I'm guessing it wouldn't be too hard, only needs to be a couple of millimetres.

I am considering doing it on my 456 Summer season frame i have yet to build.

Most bike frames now have a small hole in the BB shell for this reason.

Really? Can't say I've noticed it on any frames.

TBH is it that big an issue to consider drilling? Take the seatpost out and tip the bike upside down every now and then…job done.

Ah the joys of having a sealed BB shell, and I saved at least 10g by not having to run the BB inner seal sleeve. 😛

the seatpost on my Coiler is a poor enough fit that I have to tip the bike upsidedown with seat off after every wet ride or wash, its amazing how much water gets in.

Regards holes in the BB shell. I have one on my Marin Wolf Ridge, so does my mate on his Whyte 46….maybe its a Marin thing…to be fair i've not greatly looked into it, may have been a bit premature with the statement. 😳

Anyway, yup agree with the upside down , seatpost out thing, and plenty of grease in the right places. However as my new build is steel, would i be prudent in putting a little hole in the bottom to try and keep internal rusting to a minimum?

Oh and if my memory serves me (i'm at work you see), i think i have a little hole in the bottom of the swingarm as well…..going to look when i get home.

IIRC all frames used to have a hole in the bottom of the BB but seems manufacturers are not doing it now, so there must be a reason. Possibly, too much sh*t gets in as its in a very exposed place and knackers the BB.

When I get back from a wet ride and/or wash it I just tip the bike upside down for a minute with the seatpost out while I run the chain through a rag to dry it. Not exactly a big chore

I put a 2.5 mm hole in the bottom bracket shell of my pace 305 for just this reason.

i know mine lets it in the bottle cage bolts, mostly because i'm scared to do them up too tight as the rivnuts aren't the best fitting thing on my frame 🙁

good plan but im forever putting the seat up/down so qr

Try putting a large tight O ring on the seatpost and push it down onto the the frame/QR – this can help stop water seeping down the seat tube too, and you can move it up and down easily.

ill be drilling my Summer season when i can be bothered.

water can get in with careless cleaning as well.i know a few folk that go a bit crazy with the garden hose when it comes cleaning time and although their bikes come in nice and sparkly on the outside.. they have blasted water in and managed to fill the bb up.could do with a pair of wellies on in some cases.stinks too.