thinking of building a ss cx bike…are them eccentric bb any good? They look nice any tidy.

Can i use any front ring (as opposed to narrow/wide)?

Yes, brilliant.

Yes, you can, however, last time i was looking narrow wides were by far the cheapest option atleast if you want steel for max bulletproofness.

Great…they cost 110quid! Don’t mind aslong as they work and are well made

Oh hang on.

Do you mean an eccentric BB adapter thing into a threaded standard shell?

Sorry i though you were talking new frame. I can’t comment not tried them but if they aren’t, the second cleanest look is a bb mounted tensioner that pushes up, like a stinger but one that goes in place of a bb spacer.

My Sanderson has an EBB but it’s designed for it and has a bigger shell to allow for more movement. If you are thinking of the Wheels Manufacturing ones you need a frame designed for 30mm crank spindles and then you run 24 or 22mm cranks to give you the movement you need. If your frame has a threaded BB I don’t see how it could work.

If your frame has a threaded BB I don’t see how it could work.

They do exist, its not an adapter its an eccentic external BB.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/bottom-brackets/trickstuff-excentriker/

That kind of thing? I think you may need a half link aswell potentially. If you do then you CAN’T use a narrow wide.

I’d be quite interested in how well they do work too actually.

propper ebbs are fab things, the adaptors like the wheels manufacturing, team beer, problem solvers arent bad and the ones that screw into traditonal threaded bb, like the trikstuff excentriker are also pretty good. take your time with set up and they can be spot on. the only issue is that you dont get as great range of movement so its worth getting a couplenof cheap cogs (or take an old casette appart) to get the ratios that work, then buy a nicer ss cog once your size is sorted.

They do exist, its not an adapter its an eccentic external BB

Cunning. And spendy.

The manual https://trickstuff.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/140313_Exzentriker_without_scale_E_KL_TB_JB.pdf does suggest that you may need a half link.

Its a regular pf30 frame. I dont even know what a half link is…totally new to this singlespeed stuff

I’ve got an EBB that works with a PF30 frame if you’re interested?

I used it for a few weeks on my commuter then went back to running gears.

Halflink replaces a complete link by having kinked plates so over one half inch segment it goes from narrow to wide.

If tazzy says they are decent you’re on to a winner.

Regardless of what you choose you should definitely build a singlespeed.

Could be a hairbrainer as my commute had 1000ft of climbing each way

I think a proper EBB is the most sensible way to have adjustment for a SS or hubgear. You’re guaranteed perfect wheel alignment every time and quick adjustment.

The only flaw with EBBs is that they are susceptible to ham-fisted types who overtighten them resulting in an ovalled BB shell (in some bikes) and then whinge the EBBs are no good because they don’t stay in adjustment.

I’ve got 2 different types of EBB that work on standard BB shells with BSA thread. They’re trickier to get adjusted perfectly, but are still much better than sliding dropouts IMO.

The other advantage of an EBB is your rear wheel has a fixed position so proper mudguards can be fitted closely with no need to allow for fore and aft movement in the wheel.

Singulars had a very nice EBB set up.

I already have the frame. I dont really want to fit a tensioner. So that leaves me with either just a halflink chain or a eccentric bb. Happy to pay the money as long as they work well

inside a Singular swift EBB, seems a shame to hide it away

So that leaves me with either just a halflink chain or a eccentric bb

A half link on its own isn’t a great idea as when you chain wears you’ll end up with a slack chain and no adjustment.

Get the adapter even better take not my real name up on his offer. If it all comes undone you can reinstate and shift it on.

Oh, I missed that post.

Which one is it?

I’ve got a Trickstuff EBB for sale if anyone is interested. No longer needed as I have a GT Peace SS.

I’ve been running an outboard eccentric BB for ages – I can’t remember the brand, it was a German thing, I think, that’s no longer made. My take fwiw is that it was slightly fiddly to get exactly aligned, I didn’t need a half link, but that was mostly luck / juggling ratios and when you have to adjust chain tension, you have to adjust the BB, which is more of a faff than sliding drop-outs. Mostly though it works and looks very clean – much neater than a tensioner set-up and no issues with wheel or chain slippage. It’s currently on an old ti mountain bike frame, but I may build a ss steel cross bike for winter.

The White Industries one looks good bar the special tool needed for installation. They come up on eBay occasionally.

Phil Woods Philcentric.

Wish I’d kept mine.

@ctk – Go then. How much?

I have got a Phil Woods languishing in a box

Bought an Indy Fab with a Philcentric; had the grub screw bosses removed, holes filled and had a Bushnell fitted.
Much neater and, IMO, a better performing EBB.

@sefton

I’m with joshvegas on halflinks. They’re an excrescence.

Instead of a halflink, which is a very temporary solution, simply use a rear cog one tooth up or down.

There’s no such thing as ideal gearing on a singlespeed, so your ratio is going to be wrong 90% of the time anyway. Your legs adapt to whatever ratio you choose anyway.

If you’re willing to play around with cog sizes*, and/or chainrings, you can set up a SS with no adjustment. If you use steel chainrings and a good quality chain you’re not going to have adjustment problems for a while, and they can be taken care of by simply changing a cog or chainring size.

*eg buying 3 cogs is way cheaper than an Exzentriker, and use wax rather than oil (aka grinding paste) to lube your chain.

I have the Cannondale EBB and it is hideous to adjust.
On my BMC I have a mystery EBB that is stunning.

will any chainset/crank work?

If you’ve got a PF30 frame, then the Wheels Manufacturing EBB is a great solution. I’ve got two, one on a hardtail, the other on a CX bike.

They’re just a pair of cups that take a 24mm bearing, same a Shimano hollowtech BB, so any 24mm chainset fits. When the bearings go, you just pop new ones in.

A pair of long bolts connect the cups and hold them in place. To adjust the chain tension, you need a lockring remover tool; just loosen the bolts off, use the lockring tool to rotate the cups then tighten the bolts. No need to remove anything.

Grease the cups properly, keep it all clean, keep an eye on the chain tension and they’re grand.

buzzin!

There’s no such thing as ideal gearing on a singlespeed, so your ratio is going to be wrong 90% of the time anyway. Your legs adapt to whatever ratio you choose anyway.

Don’t agree. I am very specific on my gearing and a few inches too high or too low doesn’t work for me and my legs won’t adapt to grinding a gear up all the hills on a gear that is 5 or more GI too high.

However, just need to get you calculator out and based on the gear inches that you want find the suitable cog and chainring combination that also gives the required chain length for wheel position or EBB position. Each tooth changes distance between axle and BB by 3mm so if for example you needed to shorten by 3mm and had gearing of 42/18 you could just change to 43/18 where the higher ratio is negligible. (Yes I have been riding fixed gear for too long)

kerley
I am very specific on my gearing and a few inches too high or too low doesn’t work for me and my legs won’t adapt to grinding a gear up all the hills on a gear that is 5 or more GI too high.

Hills? I thought you were a flatlander living down there. 🙂

will llspd chain work ok?

You don’t need to think here; it’s all done for you…

http://eehouse.org/fixin/tutorial2.php

Provided you use 3/32nds cogs and chainrings then literally any chain you will find will work.

8speed is my chain of choice for much cheapness but 11 will work.

its just because I have an 11spd shimano grx chainset

ah old used stuff is even better cheapness.

I save all my ofcuts of singlespeed chains.. nearly got a whole one.

Hills? I thought you were a flatlander living down there.

I did say hills not mountains and it is “rolling” where I live and not really flat in many places at all so getting a gear that is good for flat, up hills and not need to spin above 200rpm on downhills requires a range of around 5 GI for me between low and high. I suppose SS is not so essential though as you can coast down the hills.

its just because I have an 11spd shimano grx chainset

That will take any chain btw

Hi, for some reason it wont let me reply to your message or send you a new message? please could you try messaging me again?

@kerley I did say hills not mountains and it is “rolling” where I live…

I was tongue in cheek. Not so obvious now I’ve looked at it again.

One of my vivid memories is is hitting the Hampshire Downs on a trip down from the far north of Scotland loaded with far too much gear (olden days, heavy tents, brass stoves etc). I rated them as worse than the grind up the Shap because there was no time for a rest on the down bits before you hit another up.

Don’t know why they’re not called the Hampshire Ups. 🙂

Hi Sefton, you’ve probably worked out from all the replies that there are various standards and sizes for eccentric BB’s.

PF30 BB shell will take a Problem Solvers or Wheels Manufacturing BB. The advantage of this type is that it clamps between the faces of the shell so if you overtighten it, it will not ovalise the BB shell. I’d recommend a torque wrench for the bolts as they need to be a bit tighter than you’d normally be comfortable with. Also, make sure the inside of your BB is the same size all the way through, if there are lips behind the existing cups the two EBBs are unlikely to fit.

I found if I have the BB orientated towards the front of the bike for maximum chain take-up, it can slip a little, but I was able to remove a whole link and have the BB at a different angle. It will occasionally move a tiny bit, the only reason I notice is the chain can then ting on a bolt under the rear chainstay. As with all PF30 style BB’s, the sealing is not up to much cop, but its easy to change the bearings. Finally, if you have a carbon frame or large holes in the BB shell where the main tubes join up, they recommend to have the bolts towards the bottom of the shell so they are not compressing the shell where the holes are. (not like in my photo) The only time mine has creaked was when I experimented with using carbon assembly paste on the faces.

The size in the photo takes standard Shimano et al Hollowtech II cranks.