You need a GXP Adaptor. Hope do one for their BBs, generic versions are available too. Then you can take your pick of BBs.

Yes you can use Hope with gxp adaptor - if you’re looking for something cheaper I think uberbike have a couple of options too. My gxp B.B. hasn’t died yet but uberbike will probably be what I try next.

Good shout on Uberbike ... out of stock though.

Got a Gusset one on the hard tail and a hope one on the FS. Both been good.

I've just swapped my London Road gpx/rival combo for a 105 chainset and ultegra BB in under 3 years I'll be even Stevens.

Gxp is terrible, expensive and relatively hard to get hold of at the mo.

Recently had to strip my GXP BB, its been on the bike maybe 9/12 months and not done that many miles(certainly nothing like 1K) and upon inspection the drive side bearing was rusted solid.

Never been jetwashed at worst its had a hosepipe from about 4ft away.

Upon inspection it was noted the Sram bearing seals are a piss poor fit, I had a old BB from a early Praxis chainset which has the same size driveside bearing.

Compared the fit on the bearing seals and the Praxis one is a much tighter fit so no wonder the the Sram one was f00ked.

Pressed the Praxis bearing into the driveside cup and regreased the non drive side and will see how I get on, but seriously unimpressed with the Sram one so far.

Right. XT BB and adaptor arrived in the post over the weekend. 2 questions ...

1. When I removed the SRAM Rival Chainset, there was a thin plastic washer between the Non-DS arm and the bearing face of the BB. Do I use this again? Also, on the DS part of the crank, a plastic ring/washer slotted over the crank axle, pushed right up to the inside face of the spider. Keep that too?

2. The GXP BB that I removed didn't come with spacers between the BB cups and BB shell of the bike (and I've also noticed on my Hack that its Ultegra BB also doesn't have spacers.) But I've always fitted spacers to my XT BB'S on my (mountain) bikes. Are 'road' BB's different to MTB ones, and don't need the spacers fitting? But since I have a MTB BB (XT), I DO need to fit the spacers?

Sorry, probably daft questions ...

Cheers

So. Stupid of me not to Google "difference between road & MTB bottom brackets".

The XT doesn't fit, so have got the old GXP back on pending arrival of the Uberbike ones back in stock. But, keep ringing them and they keep saying 3ish weeks until they have some more in, but that seems a guess more than anything ...

Can anyone recommend an alternative to the SRAM one, but that's not silly money. Would be prepared to pay £35 max for something better than the stock product.

Cheers.

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/replacing-bearings-in-original-sram-gxp-bottom-bracket/

You can get a praxis M24 for that kind of money.

^^^ where?

https://www.freeborn.co.uk/praxis-works-m24-sram-gxp-isis2-road-mtb-68mm-73mm-bsa-bottom-bracket

Thanks for asking the correct question , I need one too.

Ultegra BB for £23? Will still need the gxp adapter.

I’ve probably been through more GXP bottom brackets than I’d like to know. Even in the driest of conditions I still go through one every 6 months at least. It’s the drive side bearing that’s the problem.

I opted for a Hope one last time and the difference in build quality / seals is massive. I’ve not had it long enough to rave about the longevity but I’d be surprised if it didn’t last waaaay longer.

I’ve had my Bird Aeris for just over a year now and it’s been through quite a lot of mud in that time. It’s still on its original gxp B.B. and I can’t say I’ve noticed any okay or grinding so far. The only thing struggling are the GX 11 speed hockey wheels where I had to pop the bearing seals off and regrease them already. Probably need some new (decent) bearings pressed into them soon.

Any real-world experience & reviews of the Praxis works one? (Or indeed the Uberbikes one?)

Fancy the UB version as it comes in lots of shiny colours, but don't want to wait forever and won't bother if they're not much better than the Sram ones.

I had a faulty with a std gxp bb from uberbike after only 3 rides

they said send it back

months of chasing and nothing

eventually I contacted them on fb (would you belive that worked)

they said my parcel had dropped down the back of a shelf etc

as way of an apology they sent me a ceramic gxp

this thing is like a different product

its lasted a full 12 mths which id be happy with from A Hope one given where I live

but sadly the std gxp was poor and after one wet ride made a hell of a racket

I would of not purchased a ceramic unicorn teared bb normally but as it was free I was ok about it and would not hesitate to buy another or recommend it

Just a bit of an update. Settled on the Praxis Works BB eventually, delivered last week and finally installed it yesterday. Initial impressions are that it seems a quality item, well made, well greased etc. Also impressed with the detailed installation instructions showing which size dust seals, spacers etc to use for respective road/MTB cranks and BB shells. Hopefully I'll get a decent lifespan out of this.

+10 for Praxis M24.   In stock last I saw at  Upgrade bikes.

The GXP BB on my commuter is on its way out, having done maybe 1500km and very little over winter 🙁 This isn't a mountain bike FFS! The only reason it's on the bike in the first place is because of SRAM's "lets come up with a stupid standard because we can" for their crank spindle.

Good to hear that the Praxis BB’s are good. I’ve killed my second GXP B.B. since last August and don’t really want to buy another but equally don’t fancy paying for a Hope one.

My latest bike, due for delivery this week, has a GXP BB in the build kit. After reading all the horror stories I told the LBS not to even both fitting it, and instead fit a Hope with GXP adapters straight away, rather than wait 6 months for the inevitable.

*Stealth Ad* If anyone want a brand new unused GXP BB thats going cheap, let me know!

Akers: is it a pressfit GXP bb?

Given also that they are relatively pricey (£25ish upwards)

I usually get them for £20ish, and no that's not pricey. Couple of ACB bearings @ £10 each, but you get nice shiny new cups and seals with it also.

The bearings are stock off the shelf stuff. Nothing bad about them vs any other sealed bearings of same spec, even Hope. They'd need doing at some point, either replace or service, but sealed bearings are far less faff to just replace. No point though given the cheap price of the whole BB. Just replace the lot.

Hope BB may have better seals on the BB cups, but at two, three or more times the price, yes they may last longer, but the overall cost replacing with multiple standard SRAM GXP BBs is likely the same.

The issue with seemingly premature wear, maybe, is in the GXP design and loading. That said, I don't really see an issue with it at all. I replace them every couple of years. Wear & tear item and dead simple job to do.

Other thing is the usual, don't jetwash your BB, but also a tip is to add an o-ring or two on the drive side in the gap between dust cap and crank. Just to help avoid the dust cap working its way out. Though more recent designs I've never had this issue, plus the SRAM direct mount chainrings overlap the gap providing a bit of protection.

If you're having issues with pressfit however, that's another matter. Blame there is entirely with the industry and the frame manufacturer for choosing such a shitty fitting to save a few pence.

@deadkenny. No jet washing with mine (I don't have one) and the bike has basically been on road with possibly 20% of the time on canal towpath that's well packed hardcore. With that usage 1500km in 9 months or so is, not to put too fine a word on it, shite.

The previous BB (with a different crankset) was a cheap Deore and lasted two years and about 6000km

Akers: is it a pressfit GXP bb?

Indeed, it is a PF92...

I have just got a SRAM->Shimano adaptor top hat - no more SRAM BB's for oab household ever again.

I ate through them for years on the Sanderson before replacing whole crankset. I averaged 3-6mths.

mrs_oab is a stonking 7st and doesn't ride that much, and yet has managed to chew hers up in a year.

eldest_oab has eaten through bearings every three months, last one is a month old (I am sending back).

It is almost as if they pre-stuff them with grit....

So, all Shimano Deore BB's in our house, I get a year+ out of each one, often two years.

Given also that they are relatively pricey (£25ish upwards)

I usually get them for £20ish, and no that’s not pricey.

That was the price on CRC and Wiggle when I first looked (and started this thread) a few weeks ago, although I have seen them at £23 since. The Praxis Works one was £30, so a bit more, but initial impressions are the quality is a step over the standard SRAM products, without paying silly (IMO) Hope-type money.

Like others, have found Shimano HT BB's much much longer lasting. Ultegra on the current commuter (and formerly CX/gravel toy) for over a year and ~6k Kms. XT's on the MTBs generally last 1-2 years with plenty of muddy, gritty, wet riding, so think complaints about the (lack of) longevity of the GXP ones are justified.

I do wonder if people tighten the cranks sufficiently. 48-54Nm is a hell of a lot. If I do them by hand I'm usually fair bit under what my torque wrench says it should be.

Though mileage over time is a factor to my not being bothered. 1000-1200ish miles (1600-1900km roughly) per BB, but for me that's at least a year, maybe two. But then I have several bikes, and it's off-road miles so I'm not clocking up huge amounts in just a few months. To me, year or two at £20 a pop is fine (though to be fair, that's per bike, so it's several times that per year/two). I replace far more expensive bits as frequently or more so.

Any links to the 'best' GXP to HTII adapters please? There are many on evilBay and not sure which to go for. Ta. The

So it's clearly a lot of us that have issues with the gxp bottom bracket. I'm just about to put a new crank in amd gonna do bb as well. The gxp ones are terrible, they may be cheap but that's the problem, they're cheap. You can say changing a £20 bottom bracket once a year is OK but I'd rather change a £40 bracket once every three.

I go through 1 a year on about 800 miles off road as well. The latest is about 500 and its gritty as hell. Every time the trail gets wet it seems to get stuff in it. The lbs installed the last one and put the crank back in so I'm sure it's tight enough, there's no play at all. That washer/seal is just terrible.

I'm gonna try the raceface one next with hope adapters. Should cost £40 all together. Never heard anyone complain about their stuff. Says they have oversized bearings and a triple seal and half the price of a hope one.

Shimano XT for £16 from crc and a £2 ebay adapter.

Had a Sram BB in the bike for over 1000 miles of Lake District riding and it's been ok, no worse or better than the Shimano ones I usually run, it's definitely worse for wear now so will be replacing but happy enough with how it has preformed. Maybe I just got lucky.

Aren’t Raceface BB’s quoted usually as the only ones worse than Sram GXP for the same standard?

I’ve generally been not too bad with gxp - so replaced like for like. I did wang a load of waterproof grease on the face of the bearing on both sides to try and stop getting dirt in there. Think it’ll be around Nov time it’ll be a year old and good so far - but the bike isn’t used hugely in terms of mileage as it’s my play hardtail for local riding / pump tracks. Although it does get dragged through mud in the winter to save the fs a bit.

wzzzz

Member

Shimano XT for £16 from crc and a £2 ebay adap

This has got me wondering if I shouldn't have bothered ordering an Uberbike one over the weekend

My GXP has been slightly rough from new, but regular greasing hasn't caused it to get worse (over 3 years use).

Praxis GXP's are £31.50 from Merlin at present, so I've bought one. SRAM's are only slightly cheaper, and I wanted black, not grey (SRAM cups only seem to be grey).

I'll let you know how it is once it arrives.

To me, year or two at £20 a pop is fine (though to be fair, that’s per bike, so it’s several times that per year/two).

Is the amount of riding you do proportional to the number of bikes you own, then? 🤔

As the OP, worth an update from me on this thread resurrection! I went with the Praxis BB in the end. Had about 15 months' use and 8000km use out of it so far. Had started to get creaky (but no play) in the last week, but stripped it all down & re-greased last night and it's all good again. £30ish well spent in my experience.

Just fitted a Praxis M24 tonight. Far better made BB !

It makes me wonder, my Marin Gestalt 3 came with a SRAM GXP Black Box ceramic BB (ex Marin demo bike so defo not stock fitment) and according to Strava I've now covered just shy of 7500 miles through two winters and its still perfect. I weigh 110kg so its not had an easy life, so how do some installations last less than 1000 miles and some 7500 miles plus? Its certainly nothing we are doing as riders as they're generally factory fitted.
Admittedly a replacement Black Box GXP will cost me over £100, but judging by how long this one has lasted I'd consider it a good investment..

Edit: I should point out that I wouldn't actually buy another, given the choice I will always buy Hope.