[Closed] Would you avoid a bike with a PF BB?

The cheaper ones are but you can easily replace them with something more reliable/long lasting.

Some really good solutions from CK, Hope and Praxis.

Worst case is that if the PF BB is a PITR you end up replacing it with a Praxis or similar threaded one. The cranks are already be 24mm axle so there would be no need to change those.

No issues with the last two I have bought. Still there seems to be plenty of people moaning about them on here.

Giving it a bit of thought, there has been years of moaning about every BB type since square taper was made obsolete. The only one I can remember affecting me was Shimano external bearings lasting a short time.I seem to remember it was always the non drive side too.

If there was a choice of the same frame with push fit and threaded BB I would choose threaded every time. Sadly the PF would seem to be cheaper to produce and therefore that is what we get offered.

Pays your money and takes the chance basically.

I actively do, having experienced multiple failures and irritating clicks of the press fit system on friends bikes of various makes I feel justified in sticking with the 'retro' threaded bb in my transition.

I'm a lummox so a press fit in an area that receives a lot of torque and load seems a bad idea.

In the ideal world i'd say "YES" i'd avoid PFBBs, however they're so so common now that you're massively restricting your options. I fitted a Rotor PFBB30 onto the Spearfish and that worked and lasted well, once dead the bearings were £14 posted and an easy swap, i can live with that....

The new Kona Process i have has PF and i'll use it until it's dead and think of a plan then.

I try to, but relented for the Kona Hei Hei DL Trail and so far it is going okay, but very early days.

Certainly on the road bike side I would only ever by an English Threaded BB, but I am only likely to ever buy a steel or titanium road bike, which helps 🙂

I would have said yes 9 months ago.

I now have two frames with PF BB's and have had no problems with either.

Yeah they seem fine nowadays.

Still I was quite chuffed to find my new frame has a HT2 BB - when I was expecting PF.

🙂

I've always avoided PF BB. Did it for my FS frame and my HT. Possibly would have got a Privee HT if it had bottle cage bosses and threaded BB. Bought a Stanton instead - very happy!

I stupidly bought a new frame without noticing it was PF. After a few comedy moments of 'where's the thread?' nature I sorted it and two years down the line its fine. In fact I will tempt fate and say it is better than the HT2, on my previous bike at least.

Another no here. I've been very pleasantly surprised by how trouble free mine has been in the 18 months I've had it. It does seem to vary depending on which PF 'standard' it is though.

Hmmmmm, 50/50 then.

What are these magical Hope adaptors people speak of and do they still let you run say, an XT crank in a pf bb?

Haven't had the dreaded creaking but I have gone through 2 SRAM PF30 BBs in 8 months. Bike wasn't treated any differently from my other shimano BB'd bikes and I get years out of them. Praxis unit fitted last night which looks far better than a SRAM one. Bigger, external bearings that can also be replaced if necessary

No from me, my last bike had one and lasted 3 years with nothing going wrong not even the bearings nothing happened to it at all. My new bike has one as well and again after a year trouble free so far.

Have a Reign and a Trance, both have a Hope Press Fit BB. No creaks or groans at all, bearing life is good too (2000ish miles for the Trance and 1200ish miles for the Reign)

What are these magical Hope adaptors people speak of and do they still let you run say, an XT crank in a pf bb?

Hope PF41: http://www.hopetech.com/product/press-fit/

Doddle to fit with their tool.

Yes.

Got 5 bikes with pf30. Put good ones in ie. Rotor/Chris king etc. No real issues.

It limits bike choice too much to avoid.

I always try to look for an option with threaded.

My current Hope threaded BB has been on my last 3 bikes and has done a silly amount of miles through all conditions.

Easy to remove if needed as well.

I avoid them simply because I don't have the tools to replace them. I do have the tools for any type of threaded BB.

Yes.

[quote=bluearsedfly ]Hmmmmm, 50/50 then.
What are these magical Hope adaptors people speak of and do they still let you run say, an XT crank in a pf bb?

Hope alternative

https://www.praxiscycles.com/conversion-bb/

Press fit anything, is only there to benefit the manufacturers really.
They do work, but most at some point creak, and unless you pay top dollar for stuff, it does not last as long as regular threaded BB's. I reckon i have to remove and re-grease my Praxxis one every 4 months, to quieten down creaks. It's lasting a well tho', just creaks occasionally.

Ive tried them all, from Praxxis to Hope to cheapies.

Getting harder to avoid them now tho'.

My last two frames have had PF BB30, I didn't have a lot of luck with the praxxis bb so I've just put the SRAM threaded converter in both and fitted threaded BB's into that. No clicks, no problems.

Somehow, I eked out eighteen months of use from my Stumpjumper's SRAM BB, but it was basically filled with rusty sand when I finally replaced it. I replaced the SRAM cranks and BB on my new Norco Sight within six weeks of purchase, swapping to an XTR BB which hasn't missed a beat and only cost me seventeen quid.

My Stumpjumper's new Praxis BB seems to have developed a grumble on the drive side after only a couple of months of use, but I'm putting that down to a wonky bearing. Worst case scenario, I drift out the old bearing and press in a replacement.

If your bike comes with a SRAM BB, then budget on replacement within six months regardless of whether it's press fit or otherwise.

Not a fan personally - my Demo has a pressfit BB (which is dead and needs replacing). It's not had that much use and is dead - I think they're a pain and prefer threaded ones.

I've always had good life out of HTII style BB's as long as its not a Deor one.

Yes. I have 2 frames with PF86 BB's, one creaks, one I suspect will in the future.

My next frame will have a threaded BB even if this severely limits the choice.

yes, wouldn't buy a bike with a PF BB or SRAM gears either.

Slight hijack as I'm interested in this too....

If you fit say a praxxis convertor bb to a pf30 frame and as such the bearings are now external do you need special width cranks or will a normal slx chain set fit ??

Slightly confused by it all to be honest. All I know is that I don't want to for the original SRAM chainset to the bike because its a knob to remove all the time.

If you fit say a praxxis convertor bb to a pf30 frame and as such the bearings are now external do you need special width cranks or will a normal slx chain set fit ??

You'll be absolutely fine - the PF30 BB used by Specialized amongst others requires a spacer (20mm I think) to be fitted to the SRAM BB30 cranks to fit. Obviously you'll need to find the right Praxis converter for your cranks as Shimano and SRAM have a slightly different axle standard.

I'm currently using XT cranks with mine.

[quote=renton ]
If you fit say a praxxis convertor bb to a pf30 frame and as such the bearings are now external do you need special width cranks or will a normal slx chain set fit ??

Normal shimano cranks

No

What's the benefit of these over threaded?

Cool so I need a praxxis or wheels mfg convertor and a shimano chainset and I'm good to go !

[quote=retro83 ]What's the benefit of these over threaded?

Cheaper for manufacturers to make a frame. No need to tap a thread on the shell

I wouldn't avoid press fit necessarily but I would avoid something I couldn't easily fit a Shimano crank to without adaptors or expensive BB solutions. I'm not keen on stuff with metal to metal bearing fit as that will wear every time you replace the bearings. Something with either a plastic shell as an interface (Shimano) or a permenantly fitted shell that'll take the wear.
I also find about half of 'creaky press fit BBs' are actually something else.
I've also had 2 and not had the slightest problem with either of them.

[quote=BoardinBob ]retro83  » What's the benefit of these over threaded?

Cheaper for manufacturers to make a frame. No need to tap a thread on the shell

So no performance advantage as such to the rider? Seems ludicrous to be saving a few quid on a £x00+ frame.

I've just found this .....

http://clee-cycles.co.uk/esite/P955/product

As an alternative to the wheels or praxxis.

Has anyone used it before ?

So no performance advantage as such to the rider?

I was surprised Kona went press fit on the Process, which is a really well thought out rider-friendly bike.

They said it allowed them to get the frame stiffer and the chainstays as short as they wanted.

[quote=retro83 ]BoardinBob  » retro83  » What's the benefit of these over threaded?
Cheaper for manufacturers to make a frame. No need to tap a thread on the shell

So no performance advantage as such to the rider? Seems ludicrous to be saving a few quid on a £x00+ frame.

Not one I can think of. Only possible thing is easier to remove if seized or sticking (albeit with new tools) as you're dunting it with a big hammer rather than potentially chewing up threads etc with a tool

the sram one on my Process lasted < a year, but the xtr one i replaced it with has been absolutely fine for another 2 years and its done 1000s of km in some horrendous weather, im a chunky fellah and its been ridden alps, scotland, wales and through the swinley grinding paste too

Pressfit BBs are a not very good solution looking for a non-existent problem. I also firmly believe that in their quest for inbuilt obsolescence, the manufacturers actually made a conscious backward step with this one.

If ever anything shouted 'this needs to use a thread', then it is bottom brackets.

Press-fit and 'interference-fit' are just alternative terms for 'ramming in'.

So are the Hope/Praxis options simply an upgrade or do they allow an easier bearing change?

They look like they will still require a kinetic energy transfer device of some kind?

I'd still rather avoid it tbh but if the bike's right that's more important I think. They are shit though (and annoyingly scattergun on standards- I broke a crank at Flyup on day one of a holiday and basically just had to buy whatever I could find at whatever price I was charged because nobody else had anything that'd fit. Bloomin annoying that, I got home and replaced it with my ancient XTRs that have been in about 8 different bikes

My Trek full Sus has a Shimano Press fit. It's been pretty good all in, replaced twice in 4 years of regular use. It seems to outlast the external one on my hardtail. The full sus tends do more miles and in worse conditions. I'm not wedded to either but it wouldn't be my deciding factor on any bike.

There are different pressfit standards so saying all are cr@p is a bit meaningless. Shimano only make a PF41/BB92 design whereas others like BB30/PF30 are commonly used by others. The one to avoid is BB30 or anything that relies on a metal-to-metal of bearing to shell. I have 2 bikes with PF41 and both have been creak-free.

No, I was surprised to find I had one on a bike I had once, it was a pita the one time I needed to change it, but otherwise it was a bit of a non-issue, but if it was the only deciding factor on two bikes, I'd take the threaded one every time.