Bottom bracket replacement

jon1981

Hi there,

Out of interest how often do people need to change their BB? I have put about 8000km on my current BB and there is a very very small bit of play in the BB when I rock the crank arm back and forward with my hand. How bad does it need to get before I replace?

thanks
J

Cee-Jay-Cee

If its not creaking or bothering you then leave it until it does...

Eamonnator

If there's play in the cranks at the BB, the effect will be exaggerated by the time it gets to your knees. I'd be inclined to change it, before it damages you.

jon1981

I can't say I'm feeling any soreness at the moment.

The other dilemma i have is that I currently have a tiagra 4600 crank and I noticed that range of BB and cranks are now end of life, there's one place selling the Tiagra BB on special for 9 euro but wiggle, CR...etc are no longer stocking them. I'm wondering if I should get it just to have in stock or can I fit other BB parts to a Tiagra Crank?

cython

The new BBs for 5800/6800 should work fine for older Hollowtech II chainsets. The cups are smaller, but this is just on the splined surface, the inner sizings of the bearings are the same as the older BBs, so while it might not look the same, it should work the same.

Alanstrainor

Sorry to hijack OP... but I'm trying to figure out what BB I have on my bike too. And dont want to end up with the wrong one. The bike is an On-One Pompino single speed. The BB says BC1.37 x 24 ROAD on it. From the On-One site, it says it is 113mm. So what BB should I use?

Link to the current Pompino, I can't be certain that this is the exact same as my bike which is older however....

cython

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Sorry to hijack OP... but I'm trying to figure out what BB I have on my bike too. And dont want to end up with the wrong one. The bike is an On-One Pompino single speed. The BB says BC1.37 x 24 ROAD on it. From the On-One site, it says it is 113mm. So what BB should I use?

Link to the current Pompino, I can't be certain that this is the exact same as my bike which is older however....

Searching the BB model from the page you linked returns this: http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BBSTJP400/stronglight-jp-400-jis-bottom-bracket

Which can probably be generalised to a 68mm (size of the shell and thus threads) English Thread square taper BB with a spindle length of 113mm? Not sure if this is the exact same as what you have quoted myself though.

Sarz91

Try steer clear of anything with BB86. Doing my head in at the moment. 40km of use and it started creaking like mad. Replaced it and it started creaking immediately. Took it out, applied some Loctite 641 on it, put it back in and left it for a day. Went for a ride and it's still creaking. It's not something that's quiet either. Everyone I ride with comments on it.

jon1981

Hi,


I ordered a new BB and wondering what grease ppl apply when fitting? I just have a tub of this stuff at home:

07Lapierre

Sarz91 wrote: »

Try steer clear of anything with BB86. Doing my head in at the moment. 40km of use and it started creaking like mad. Replaced it and it started creaking immediately. Took it out, applied some Loctite 641 on it, put it back in and left it for a day. Went for a ride and it's still creaking. It's not something that's quiet either. Everyone I ride with comments on it.

Creaking noises can be caused by a lot of things... E.g front wheel creaking in the fork dropouts, headset loose, handlebars, stem or seatpost lose? Could also be the saddle.

07Lapierre

jon1981 wrote: »

Hi,


I ordered a new BB and wondering what grease ppl apply when fitting? I just have a tub of this stuff at home:

Perfectly fine .. Use it.

jon1981

Bottom bracket successfully replaced, turns out there was much more play on both sides than I thought. It was absolutely filthy and the shaft that connects to the crankset was sticky & nasty looking so gave that a good clean. Will definitely service more often. Do cartridge bearings leak? Because the BB and crank shaft was full of brown mucky stuff.

It was a fairly straight forward job once you have the tools. I bought a long arm external bb spanner in halfords for 15 Euro, done the job, though I had to stand on the spanner arm to get the BB to move.

Piece of advice, the external bottom bracket tool that comes with the aldi kit isn't up for the job if the BB is anyway seized or tight. You'll only end up rounding the BB and making it harder to get off while hurting your hand and swearing alot.