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I seem to be going through Bottom Brackets pretty quickly nowerdays
I'm running Truvativ cranks (GXP type)
I was running the standard SRAM ones, which more recently have been lasting about 6-9 months
Since the design changed they don't seem to last as long as they used to
So I thought I'd give a Hope one a go (stainless steel type)
So 8 months down the line, the bearings have given up, so no better than the standard GXP
I did drop Hope a line, but as this is a wear & tear item they're not able to help (which is fair enough)
Have I just been unlucky? How long should I realistically expect the bearings to last?
As a guide I ride 1-2 times a week on the bike in question vitually every week.
The Hope BB was fitted in September 2012
At the moment I'm thinking of replacing the bearings in the Hope BB, then getting rid of it
Does anyone have a good alternative BB which the bearings do last well in?
You're doing it wrong.
I've two Hope BB's, a ceramic one 4 y/o and a ss one 5 y/o.
The ceramic one has new bearings, but that was because I got new cups (under warranty) and got new bearings at cost. Ridden 2-3 per week in all weathers.
The SS still spins fine, although its not used that much as its on my sons bike.
Not sure what you are doing...
Much as above one bike with hope ceramic is at least 3 years old but only used a few times each month now .
Main mountian bike hope stainless with gxp crank over a year and perfect still
Does about 50-70 miles a week
3-4 years on Hope and Shimano BBs with no issues, sounds like your BB shell needs facing to make sure everything is straight and runs true
I run GXP too on my SS, I'm on my second BB as the first munched its way through the baring cup, this ones let water in and I've had to keep on top with the re grease routine (once every couple of weeks) as the top hat has disintegrated. I've a new Hope BB but that's not going on until Summer properly arrives.
We have had a rather long and shitty winter which has been both wet and cold constantly, so I'd say you've probably not got them sealed well enough or the baring covers are shagged and waters getting in, along with fine grit.
It's not difficult to re grease, bit messy but nothing too hard to do. I've not changed the bearings so can't comment on that, I tend to buy another BB rather than mess around trying to get bearings out.
Do you wash your bike?, Do you ride in wet weather?, Is water getting down past the seatpost?, Do you have a hole drilled in the BB shell to let the water out, If not do you remove your seatpost after washing/riding in wet conditions and tip the bike upside down to drain the seattube?, Is your BB reamed/faced correctly?
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If you answered : Yes, Yes, Don't know, Don't know, No, Don't know? then i can guess that it is water ingress getting in from the back of the seatpost and filling up your seatpost tube - as well as reminding folk in the shop about regular servicing of suspension forks which they choose to ignore we also mention to folk that removing the seatpost every few rides and tipping the bike upside down will help their BB bearings last much-much longer, this they also choose to ignore which is why we feel able to berate them for being idiots and then charge them accordingly for wasting our time doing needless trivial repairs when we could be sitting on our arse drinking coffee and viewing rad mtb vids on the internet.
I have a Hope BB in an old bike, think it is 4 yrs old or thereabouts and despite being ridden in some foul weather and generally neglected i do have a small drain hole in the BB shell to clear away any water or condensation build up, every so often i take the seatpost out as well - the 4 yr old Hope BB bearings are still silky smooth.
# somafunk - I am fairly new to MTB - my bike is only 1 year old and ridden 2-3 times a month. I wash it regularly, I ride in all conditions.
I have only taken out my cranks recently as it started creaking and there was some play and thought might check my BB. BB seems fine, but there was lots of mud in there. I assume this is because of loose cranks.
But then the crankshaft went rusty - I claned with WD-40 and steel wool, but the metal is corroded (it's 2 piece GXP2 2.1 crankset).
I regreased and put back but seems the noise is not going away.
Do I need to change my crankset?
I have never been told about drying seat post - and never done it after wet rides.
The mud n' crud that builds up in your BB shell will be coming from your seatpost clamp area, you see that wee notch on your seatpost tube? - that will let in water to drip down the inside of the seat tube and eventually it will build up in the BB shell and leach the grease out of the bearings. The GXP left hand crank arm needs to be tightened up to a torque setting of approx 48nm which is ****in tight otherwise it will work loose on the crank arm splines and wear them out, it will be hard to achieve this torque setting using an allen key unless you place a 1ft length of pipe on the end of it, i'd use a suitable hex bit and extension bar or preferably a torque wrench with hex bit but if you don't have either then just do it up tight enough to leave a heavy imprint on your palm.
- all i mean is to remove your seatpost and tip the bike upside down to drain any water from inside the seat tube, if there is water that dribbles out then leave the seatpost removed for a few days to ventilate and evaporate any moisture left inside.drying seat post
Thanks for the replies everyone
Seems most people are getting much better life out of their Hope BB's than me, so I'll give it a second chance & get some new bearings fitted.
To answer somafunks questions...
Do you wash your bike? - Yes every ride if it's been muddy, otherwise every 3-4 rides
Do you ride in wet weather? - Well I don't go out when its actually raining, but I do still ride almost every weekend
Is water getting down past the seatpost? - Don't know - there hasn't been any water in the BB shell whenever I've removed the BB
Do you have a hole drilled in the BB shell to let the water out - No I don't - as the frame is still within warranty I'd be a bit worried about taking a drill to it
If not do you remove your seatpost after washing/riding in wet conditions and tip the bike upside down to drain the seattube? - No, but I will be from now on - the bike lives indoors so it's in a heated room in the winter
Is your BB reamed/faced correctly? - Don't know - I suspect it might not be - I bought the frame brand new & built the bike myself - will get my LBS to check this for me
Hopefully your advice will mean you get to spend a bit more time watching rad mtb vids on the internet 🙂
thanks a lot for that! seems like i'm pouring out good glass of water after muddy rides and jet washes.
- all i mean is to remove your seatpost and tip the bike upside down to drain any water from inside the seat tube, if there is water that dribbles out then leave the seatpost removed for a few days to ventilate and evaporate any moisture left inside.
4 years for my ceramic hope bb.
Bike only used in the winter though not all year
But most of all not jet washed.
Pressure washers kill bike parts faster than anything
I'm selling a hope b&b which has been used with sram cranks, approx 2 years use, no issues here. I'd get you alignment checked. You can bugger bearings by tightening cranks too much I believe