restoring old diamondback ascent ex

hi.im currently try to get my brothers old DB ascent on the road.it actually doesnt need to much,got rear mech replaced new back wheel to replace the buclkled one so were nearly good to go,but theres a wee bit of play in the cranks,i think the BB is done.not to clued up on them,anyone got any idea’s what one i would need and where i’ll find it.thanks

It’s most likley a square taper, you need to measure it to find the size, alternativly, if you know the year of the bike, check out bikepedia, or take it out, as the size may be printed on the BB. For instructions, check out the Park Tools site.

For where to get one, any LBS will stock it, probably cheaper to get them to fit if you don’t have the tools as well

cheers for the heads up jim.might just take it along and see what the lbs can do,dont want to spend to much if i can help it,even more so if the wee bro decided’s he wants it back 🙁

is it the pearl white/smoked blue one with the tapered forks? If so, PICS! 🙂

Also – Try retrobike.co.uk for all your retro-restoration fetishes.

My first mountain bike was one of those – probably still got some parts from it somewhere but the frame went down the dump. BB was a Shimano square taper, had it replaced several times, can’t remember exactly what type but it was bog-standard so as above any LBS should be able to change it. Last time I had it done it cost about £15 fitted but that was many years ago!

afraid not Captainflashheart,its black frame with pink splashes over the frame.

cheers rio,i’ll look into it.

Oooo, that takes me back! 73mm BB shell IIRC. First proper MTB after my Tim Gould Team Rep Peugeot wore out… The normal colour was bright green, and the Ltd Edition one was in that colour and slightly differnt sizes (17/19″).

I think it takes a fairly lengthy axle – might be a 122mm or something.

If there’s only a bit of play lay the bike on its r/h side and pour some thick oil (like engine oil) onto the l/h side bb bearing. Spin the pedals to allow it to seep through and leave it overnight. You might find this gets it rideable for another 6 months.

My 1993 Axis take a 113 x 73 BB but its entirely dependent on what cranks you are using.

If you can let us know what cranks are being used it should be a piece of cake to tell you what BB is needed.

My Axis:

thanks for that tip bigjohn,i’ll try that as its only a small wiggle…
letmetalktomark all i know is its the original shimano triple ring on the front,how would i find out what model??i do know that the crank arms are held on by a 13 or 14 mm nut each side….