I’ve been running a CK BB on my 405 in the Peak, mostly, and it’s survived for over two years – which is unheard of for me – and a lot of riding in all conditions and still running smooth [hang on, checks, yep…]
It’s not quite all roses and halos though. I’ve got the grease injection tool and use it every six weeks or so, unfortunately the bearings have developed an irritating tendency to dismantle themselves, viz, the inner race just comes off and, on a couple of occasions, I’ve had to collect renegade ball bearings off the kitchen floor and put them back where they belong.
I don’t know if the axle on my cranks is slightly corroded and more ‘attached’ to the race than it ought to be or if something’s out of tolerance or if it’s a common fault and I suppose, if I could be arsed, I’d query it with the CK importer, but mostly they still work and being able to purge the grease with or without the tool – you can just pop off the seals and use a grease gun directly if you have to, but the grease injector tool is a neater solution.
A friend using a Hope in similar conditions has been through, I think, around three sets of bearings in the same time and with less riding, the stainless ones if that’s any help.
