Q1, Could my bottom bracket shell need facing and be causing my bottom bracket to creak? I’m clutching at straws here having lubed or replaced every conceivable part of the bike including all frame bearings and bushes. Iv also noticed that one side of the BB is impossible to remove (It will go when I find an extension bar to fit the BB tool) despite having only been fitted 3 months and copper greased. Its a good quality hope BB that is old but not given me problems on other bikes.

Q2, Why is facing ever necessary – surely this should be part of the manufacturing process……?

It shouldn’t be necessary. Before you spend money on it try-

– greasing crank axle
– greasing chainring bolts
– checking it’s not your saddle rails (remove the saddle, clean the seatpost clamp and saddle rails and squirt GT85 in where the rails join the base of the saddle)
– your headset
– your bars (grease stem bolts, clean any grit out)
– QR axle (lightly grease it)

My Orange Five is creaking at the moment and because of the monocoque it’s very difficult to pin down where it’s coming from.

done all of these bar the chainring bolts – worth a try I suppose

I’d try buying a new bb before shelling out for a frame face, lbs charge huge prices because the special tool has to be sharpened with another special tool or something, innit!

90% of the time creaks aren’t the bb even if it sounds like it is. In my experience.

Facing is largely unnecessary these days at least for external BBs in my opinion. Even if there’s a layer of uneven paint it depends on the bb and how it fits and is loaded. If you think about screw threaded cup types, how would a bit of paint on the shell face cause the cups to misalign if the threads are aligned okay? Makes no sense yet there are some who religiously insist every frame needs facing no matter what. And of course many lbs who are quite happy to take your money for the service.

Okay sure the cups might not screw in flush but at the torques specified they almost certainly will and just squash any excess paint if it’s that bad.

These days manufacturing processes rarely leave an uneven surface there and had to be a big screw up if the faces aren’t parallel.

Of course the threads might not be aligned but that’s an even bigger manufacturing failure.

Oh and if one side of the bb won’t remove, you are unscrewing the correct way, assuming they are threaded not push fit? Remember the thread direction is different each side.

I made that mistake and seized one on permanently by tightening rather than undoing.

That makes perfect sense mr Kennedy

deadkenny
Iv never seen the logic in it either – hence the question. Just at my wits end so trying to think of everything. Going to replace the BB anyway as its put in a fair innings now – and one side has jammed for some reason (this is what made me think miss-alignment) but the cranks spin smooth so who knows……

there should be arrows on, which point the way to tighten.
Also, have you had the pedals serviced recently? then can crick and crack which sounds in the same vicinity of the bb.

My Orange Five is creaking at the moment and because of the monocoque it’s very difficult to pin down where it’s coming from

I’ve had 3 or is it 4 Five’s now, they all creaked at BB. I thought it was a ‘feature’

I have a set of reamers if you want to eliminate it and are anywhere near Sussex

I had my bb shell òn my Felt Q650 alu frame faced it didnt help much with the current crankset set since the axle is already gone but I am pretty sure that it does with lower end aluminium frames.The bike shop guy told me that any decent bike shop will take off the cranksets of their bikes and reface them before selling them and the same goes for headtubes.Not really a big job if the bikeshop mechanic has the tools and the skills.

you are unscrewing the correct way,

yip – its jammed solid – and been in there less than 3 months
Longer lever required as even the burly builders building next doors extension couldn’t shift it – to their embarrassment and my satisfaction 🙂

On the look out for a suitable hollow bar

hzururbe12 – Member
I had my bb shell òn my Felt Q650 alu frame faced it didnt help much with the current crankset set since the axle is already gone but I am pretty sure that it does with lower end aluminium frames.The bike shop guy told me that any decent bike shop will take off the cranksets of their bikes and reface them before selling them and the same goes for headtubes.Not really a big job if the bikeshop mechanic has the tools and the skills.

I would be prepared to bet that nearly all bike shops do not face BBs and headsets before they send a bike out .

My bb creak was once a slightly loose qr on the rear wheel.

My bb creak was once a slightly loose qr on the rear wheel.

My last untraceable creak ended up being the mech hanger.

FWIW, I was sceptical in the past re having BB shells faced however, I had one done a good few years ago & now get three or four times the life out of a standard XT BB than my riding buddies who haven’t bothered.

Modern bearings work within very tight tolerances so even the slightest mislaignment will cause them to wear excessively. The better the bearings, the more important it is with a few high end BB manufacturers giving a range of spacers to allow for the facing process.

My last BB creak was the rear maxle. It anything back from the seattube sounds like the BB IME. Comes through the frame, and in normal riding position you can’t accuratley pin point from the back of the bike.