Submitted by
randonneur
a Cross Country Rider
from seattle, wa
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2008
Strengths: good paint, stout arms
Weaknesses: horrible adjustability, high friction, non-replaceable bearings
Bottom Line:
couldn't stand trying to adjust these things -- either they were falling off or friction was high. played with it for 6 months and then gave them away.
Similar Products Used: Stronglight, Truvativ Firex, Kooka, multiple Shimano bits, and some Sugino junk
Bike Setup: Ellsworth Id, custom build
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Submitted by
Stuart
a Downhiller
from Abbotsford, B.C.
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2005
Strengths: It worked nice for a few months......i guess.....
Weaknesses: I was riding along one day after a good ride, and i was climbing a particularly large hill, when i heard a crack and my cranks stopped turning. A crack is NEVER a good thing on a mountain bike. Turns out, the bearing housing cracked open and the ball bearings were falling out. WHAT THE HELL?!?!
Bottom Line:
The bottom bracket should be the most dependable thing on a bike. THERE ARE WAL-MART BIKES that have had bottom brackets that lasted longer than this!!!!!! Never mind a raceface product...I mean, COME ON! I dont think I'll be buying a new raceface bottom bracket again. As soon as my prodigy wears out, i'm going x-type or something similar
I've had this BB since 2003, started feeling rough in 2004, roughness went away, have done many jumps and drops, lots of flat landings still going strong, Best BB I've ever used.
I don't ride in alot of wet conditions which is probably why its lasted so long.
I would recommend this for all types of riding, unless your a weight weenie
Bike Setup: 2003 Norco Team NS, 2005 888VF, Doublewides, Kona Buldge Cranks,Kenda Kinetics
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Submitted by
isis go bye bye
a Cross Country Rider
from Parts Unknown
Date Reviewed: September 23, 2005
Strengths: Was better than a lot of other ISIS BB's I've purchased, but product life was still short.
Weaknesses: I've been through about 10 of these things and have finally given up on them- they lasted about a month of XC riding in the midwest. The creaking is unbelieveable- I blow $3,000+ on a mountian bike and the only, and I mean ONLY problem I've been having is with the ISIS system on the thing- I have finally learned (the hard way) about the ISIS hype (I think the manufacturers of the isis BB's are more interested in repeat business than desingning a quality BB-that's my personal opinion). Race Face can be happy though, they got a lot of business out of me, but they will get no more, I've switched to a square taper set up and am running a Shimano now with no problems, and the good thing is the Shimano rides like a Cadillac (nice and smooth) in comparison to the Race Face. Another weakness of this product is, that when I use it and the creaking is doing it's thing, the little kids on the Wall Mart bikes look at me like... "what's wrong with your bike"?. What's wrong with it? I was smart enough to spend the $$ for quality components and get the desired results, but not informed enough to know that any ISIS system is not a quality component.
Bottom Line:
THANK GOD isis is out of my life! Man what a freaking head ache! I'm sorry, but the concept of spending thousands on a mountian bike and then having the pleasure derived from it decreased substantilly because of a (in my opinion) part that is designed to have a short life, sucks! Jesus, the thing is a $50 part and it makes my bike creak like a freaking ROCKING CHAIR- GIVE ME A BREAK!! I think the isis "syndicate" should redefine their marketing strategy and not put so much focus on "measured failure & repeat sales" and give the consumer a little more respect... this is mountian biking... I thought we were a group of people that were above taking advantage of "situations". ISIS guys, you know how to design a quality BB, so please do it.
Bike Setup: Blur, fox shocks, easton bar, thompson post & stem, Mavic- all good stuff (except for the BB when it was isis)
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Submitted by
Gary White
a Cross Country Rider
from LONDON, UK
Date Reviewed: March 25, 2005
Strengths: Fit-and forget, strong, not too heavy, ISIS system
Weaknesses: Some people say premature wear but I haven't experienced that after 3 years on 3000 miles.
Bottom Line:
Much better than their twice as expensive and now discontinued Signature series (see my review for XS BB). Fit and forget, very strong. NB Spacing washers are used for a 68mm BB shell width. The drive side needs to be tight and bottomed out on the washer when fitting, otherwise it will work loose after 100miles, leading to crank wobble and shifting problems. I tighten the drive side first and then tighten the non-drive side until it bottoms out. I don't jet wash around the BB area and I have two Prodigy BBs on two bikes and I have had no premature wear problems.
Similar Products Used: RF Signature XS & FR, Prodigy
Bike Setup: Cove Stiffee FR 17” frame (2002 model); Mavic F618FR rims with Hope Bulb hubs; Panaracer tyres (various, change with seasons); Hope C2 brake system; Race Face Turbine LP crankset 44-32-22 and RF Prodigy ISIS BB; Shimano 12-32 XT cassette; Sachs PC69/99 chain; Shimano M636 DX pedals; Fox Float RLC forks (set@ 100mm travel); Race Face Prodigy seat post, Easton EA50 Monkey riser bars, Easton EA50 stem (90mm, 10 degree rise), Koobi SI saddle; XT shifters (non-rapid rise) and front mech, XTR rear mech (non-rapid rise), XTR cable set; Chris King headset.
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Submitted by
Chris
a Downhiller
from Sussex, England
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2005
Strengths: Strong axles
Weaknesses: Bearings
Bottom Line:
Have used these cranks for about 9 months and the bearings are completely shot. Having to send back for a replacement under warranty. In comparison i have used a $himano UN72 for over 5 years before buying this and i swapped it to my hardtail as it still spins smoothly.
Come on RaceFace sort your act out with your bottom brackets.
Submitted by
gonzostrike
a Downhiller
from missoula MT
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2004
Strengths: price, smooth bearings
Weaknesses: early failure
Bottom Line:
great smooth BB that fails too early. I had this BB on two bikes and on each one it lasted less than one year. I ride lots of miles, but I spread my riding among 4 bikes. true, the 2 bikes I ride most are the 2 with these BBs, but... come on, Race Face. you can do way better than this.
Bike Setup: Ventana X-5 w/ Turbine LP crankarms; Curtlo custom SS w/ Turbine LP crankarms
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Submitted by
Greg
a
from Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 24, 2004
Strengths: Strong axel, 2yr warranty
Weaknesses: Has developed a small amount of play in bearings.
Bottom Line:
This is the best ISIS bottom bracket I have used, I don't ride in a lot of wet conditions, which may explain why I have had better results with bearing life, it was feeling rough in the springtime, but has smoothed out since and only has enough play in the bearings to be noticed. I recommend it to trail riders/freeriders, crosscountry riders will probly want something lighter.
I bought this as a package deal from Jenson including prodigy cranks and rings. Overall I cant complain too much because the price I paid was way less than what I would have had to in New Zealand.
I've been using this for about 9 months, and the non-drive bearing is about stuffed. I stripped my BB and found it full of grit / dirt, and with the BB's design, no way to replace or even adequately regrease the bearings. I could have tried for a warranty repair, but instead have drilled a small hole in the casing between the bearings and have forced grease in with a syringe to regrease the bearings. The play is still there, but it runs a lot more smoothly. I will be needing a new BB sometime soon.
When I bought hubs I specifically looked for user-servicable ones with replacable bearings. It would be noce to be able to do this with this bottom bracket.
I wouldn't recommend this BB as a stand-alone product.
Submitted by
russ ranney
a Cross Country Rider
from Boone, Nc, USA
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2004
Strengths: nothing
Weaknesses: creeks, weak, too expensive for what it is
Bottom Line:
piece of crap. This trinket creeked like hell for the first month. After the 2nd month it had tons of play in it. I mostly ride xc, some light DH, so there is no excuse for this piece to to fall apart so soon. I've outfitted my bike with all heavy dh parts to avoid breaking whimpy xc stuff. This thing is weaker than shimano xc brackets.
Just an update to previous review. I returned broken BB to LBS and they shipped it back to raceface. Kudos to raceface and LBS. They sent me a new one within one week and all I had to pay was $8 for shipping. They told me they would warranty BB for 2 years. My recommendation if you purchase this BB is to hold onto receipt and return it for a new one when it breaks. It's only a matter of time before I kill the new one and off it will go again. Still 1 chili for poor value on a $75 BB, but overall is now a 3 since they stand behind product and warranty no questions asked.
I've heard this time and again, and now I have personal experience. I went with this BB over the SRX because I tend to ride more aggressive XC and will take my XC hardtail over drops and jumps. I thought this BB would be able to stand up to it since the hits we're talking about are not really all that big. Creaking and bearing play is issue #1 these days. Not recommended for harder riding conditions. Should be fine for LIGHT trail riding (i.e. beginners) but NOT for any type of freeriding at all.
Similar Products Used: Various Shimano square-tapered & Truvativ ISIS
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Submitted by
Tommy
a Cross Country Rider
from Northern, NJ
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2004
Strengths: Very stiff when first installed, but that will change
Weaknesses: creaking, bearings, overall product life
Bottom Line:
Do not buy this product is you are truly a freerider. I purchased the FR version because I ride aggressive XC and I usually destroy other weak XC products. I've only ridden this product for maybe 6 months and a maximum of 500 miles. The bearings began to get very tight and make strange noises. It still spins, but it feels like you're riding with the brakes on. Not sure what the warranty is on this product? Currently running spare bontrager BB with no problems at all. Could somebody please make a BB that will last more than a year.
Bike Setup: SantaCruz SL, marzocchi, truvativ, hayes discs....etc.
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Submitted by
henry green
a Weekend Warrior
from boulder, co
Date Reviewed: February 2, 2004
Strengths: works well for some time, very little flex, light
Weaknesses: falls into a little pile of crap after a while, starts to squeak loudly, bearings stiffen up, and the threads holding the cranks on strip out and bolt won't tighten
Bottom Line:
don't get this if you aren't going to buy another bb in, like, a month. it works like a dream for a short time, but requires lots of maintenance, and basically just gets really crapped out. now i have to get another bb because the bearings squeak/rattle and the threads inside that the bolts screw into are totally jacked. not good.
Bike Setup: 02 kona stinky primo, 02 jr. t, race face prodigy dh cranks, xt rear derailleur
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Submitted by
joe petruso
a Cross Country Rider
from las vegas, nevada
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2003
Strengths: nothing...
Weaknesses: Creaks like crazy.
Bottom Line:
I do not recommend the purchase of this product. I rode it only twice, and it started to creak. Also it seems to have lost its stiffness too. I took it to the local bike shop and they regreased and tightened. I took it out for a joy ride with my girlfriend and it started to creak again. The left crank arm makes the majority of noise. I am going to try a FSA BB and see if it helps. For 50 bucks you would expect a BB to last longer that 3 rides...
