I need a new HT2 BB for my road bike (trainer and commuter) and was tempted by a CK due to the re-greasing thing.
I was wondering if anyone has one (road or mtb) and could throw some insight on this idea.
£100 is a lot to drop but I do like the idea of a long-running BB instead of throwing the cheap cups away all the time. I've run Shimano, Hope ceramic, Hope stainless, RaceFace steel and they've all died eventually.
I've had one in my full suss bike since October last year and it's still very smooth. I've also bought the grease tool for it, which I think is pretty much essential to justify the price; after all, there's little point dropping £100 on a BB that has the ability to be properly regreased if you don't have the tool to do it.
Thing is, it hardly seems to need any attention. I've done it once in the time I've had it installed and in all honesty it probably didn't need doing then. They are very well sealed and so the grease that came out was more or less clean.
That was now about four months ago and the bearings are still smooth and clean and there's no need to do anything to it.
That sort of contradcits the point about the special too being mandatory; I guess you just need to adjust your expectations for servicing intervals (much longer than for other units) and life expectancy. At this rate I can see it lasting a good three or four years.
The King instructions detail how to regrease the BB without the tool. I suppose it's easier with it, though.
I've had mine a couple of years now. I clean it and grease it every once in a while and it comes up like new.
In that timescale I've usually gone through several 'normal' BB's, so it's worth the money IMO
cheers gt
given that I can pick up replacement Shimano/Raceface cups for £25ish which would last, say, 1 year, then the CK unit would need to last 5+ years to justify the outlay, financially. I don't think they've been out that long...
Plus there is also the option of just replacing the bearings in the existing cups which would be even cheaper. Raceface do a replacement kit for £12 which includes the bearings/top caps etc.
The thing is, I have two CK headsets and they have been brilliant so I am tempted to follow suit with their BB....
There you go then. Cuffs and collar must match
I like your thinking......
cheapest UK seller?
or will a stateside order be better...?
They say they offer a 5 year warranty...
[url= http://chrisking.com/bottombracket ]http://chrisking.com/bottombracket[/url]
Might ge tone myself as mine needs replacing too!
Winstanleys were pretty cheap the last time I checked.
geetee - where did you get the tool from?
How about boshing some decent quality bearings into your existing BB once the current bearings die? You can get FAG bearings for about £10ea, they can go straight into your current cups. So you're effectively getting a new BB for £20. Cheaper than a Shimano one new, plus better bearings to boot.
www.aspirevelotech.com for king stuff (was free shipping last time I used em).
never heard of the RF replacemen kit,but if they use the same quality bearings as in their BBs (the worst out there in my experience) its not worth the effort.
aspire works out at £84 delivered
wiggle is £90 (with a £5 voucher)
winstanleys is £87 (I'm no fan of them though)
tweeks have them for £85
I think I'm going to take the plunge on the CK 8)
geetee - where did you get the tool from?
I picked it up as a spontaneous random purchase from Skyline Cycles.
Love the collars and cuffs remark. That's exactly what I ended up with on my Ragley Ti - green HS, BB and a Salsa green seat clamp.
It's little touches like that that give a bike a touch of class 8)
sign up wih quidco or topcashback and you get 4% cashback at wiggle
bought one
Rutland £85