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Submitted by
Martin
a Weekend Warrior
from NottinghamDate Reviewed: June 2, 2006
Strengths: Smooth
Weaknesses: CreaksBottom Line: I've had this for 5 years now! Thats 5 years of 6 4" 14 stone clumsy bloke hashing it about. It is still turning nice and smoothly. It has creeked since it was installed despite grease, plumbers tape and various other attempts to stop the creak.
The creek hasn't stopped it spinning so top marks all round
Favorite Trail: Black route at Glentress
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Purchased At: alpine bikes
Similar Products Used: Shimano square taper, raceface evolve xc, dmr cheftain
Bike Setup: Cove stiffee with deore/xt and MX pro
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Pete Cresswell
a Cross Country Rider
from PaoliDate Reviewed: August 22, 2004
Strengths: Cheap. Available on short notice.Weaknesses: The non-drive-side cup is plastic. Instructions call for torquing both sides to 50-70nm. No way Jose'...that plastic cup will strip out for sure at 50....I could feel the threads deforming as I approached 48.
That's a beeeeg range of torque...and 70nm is a lot...
Not real hopeful for being able to thread it in there again after removal for whatever reason.Bottom Line: This was a short-notice purchase/install. Wouldn't have done it except for the immediate desire to be able to ride after toasting my existing crankset through my own stupidity.
Maybe it'll last for years and years with no problems....but looking at it and looking back at my own history (220# rider) with far more robust-looking setups I'm not hopeful.
I guess this sounds unfair - knocking something without having ridden it very much....but the torque specs....and the plastic cup....just plain nasty...
Favorite Trail: Valley Forge Bridle Trails
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$20.00
Similar Products Used: FSA ISIS, TruVativ ISIS
Bike Setup: Maverick-type FS, Rohloff hub, disk brakes, BMX flats.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Loganbrew
a Cross Country Rider
from HoustonDate Reviewed: June 4, 2004
Strengths: Never have to think about it; as it should be.Weaknesses: NoneBottom Line: With regular maintenance, this BB never gave me a single problem. After 3 years use on trails from Tahoe to Louisiana and 2 years of racing throughout Texas, I've transfered it over to a new frame (which I broke from just good ol' hard use). It will need replacing this year I suspect, but I have no quams with that. BTW, I'm 6' tall and weigh 200 lbs.
Favorite Trail: Tyler State Park, Rocky Hill
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$30.00
Purchased At: jensonusa
Similar Products Used: Whatever came in Trek years ago; Campy Chorus for the road.
Bike Setup: BB has 3 years on a Jeckyl, now in Scalpel.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Paul Marra
a Cross Country Rider
from Boston, MA USADate Reviewed: October 6, 2003
Strengths: Inexpensive, easy installation.Weaknesses: Octalink is a Shimano marketing ploy. Sure, it is supposed to be stronger, but I'm 6'3" and 250lbs and I've never had a square taper BB creak and moan like this thing.Bottom Line: The shame is that this BB goes with an extremely nice (for $90) XT crankset. I'm using it as a singlespeed setup. The chainring bolts continually loosen as do the crank bolts. Don't let anyone tell you these tiny ball bearings are better than the ones speced in square taper BB's. Maybe they work better in fishing reels.
Favorite Trail: Vietnam
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At: pricepoint
Similar Products Used: Shimano LX and XT square taper BB's.
Bike Setup: Surly Cross Check.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
mark
a
from indyDate Reviewed: May 31, 2003
Strengths: spins very smooth..light weightWeaknesses: noneBottom Line: its a noticable upgrade from the stock deore es30 bottombracket..spins real smooth and very light
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At: jensonusa.com
Similar Products Used: deore es-30 splined....upgrading to the es-70 was a great decision..its an upgrade you can notice....much better than the es-30 that came stock with my stumpjumper fsr
Bike Setup: 2003 specialized stumpjumper fsr,fox float rl shock w/fox remote lockout shifter,manitou axel fork w/lockout,hayes hfx comp hydraulic disc brakes,xt shifters,derailers,crankset,b.b,cn7701 xtr chain,lx hg50 cassette,mavic 221,deore disc hubs,selle italia tt saddle,wtb weirwolf 2.1's,specialized stock 6066 AL riserbar,seatpost,stem & headset
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Steff
a Weekend Warrior
from BrunsviekDate Reviewed: May 23, 2003
Strengths: lightwights (i don't know how light you think, one can go?
quite stiff in comparison to the old BB-ES71Weaknesses: this one is bent like a banana now!!!!!!!!Bottom Line: Well I only rode my newly biuld up bike for two weeks, some woodracing and some trial. Some jumps failed, landing only on one pedal (about one meter high -only-) and i had one chainsuck. Then the creaking started and i took a look at my cranks - they're bent! i thought, loosend them to fix the problem with some special lockltide stuff, but as said before the bottom bracket was "im Arsch". My weight is about 84 kilogramms, so that should'nt be the problem.
My rating: this one suck's a lot (altough the old XT lasted for 5! years)
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$25.00
Similar Products Used: XT 98
LX 96
XT 92
Bike Setup: Zaskar! Sram 9.0, XTR a.s.o
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
clay
a Weekend Warrior
from orono, meDate Reviewed: April 19, 2003
Strengths: stiff, easy to remove and set upWeaknesses: snapped(yes, literally) in two pieces within a few months of small jumping and trailsBottom Line: I was stupid to buy the shimano crank cuz i'm stuck with these junky BB's now. I do not recommend to anyone that puts abuse on their cranks.
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At: online
Bike Setup: 2002 kona stinky deelux
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Alex
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, OR, USADate Reviewed: March 24, 2003
Strengths: Relatively cheap and smooth bottom bracket.
Splined interface is much better than conventional square taper.
It's easy to install and remove it from the bike.
Weaknesses: This BB has developed noticeable side play just after 800 city streets commuting miles. I thought it would last longer than that.
BB rubber gaskets wear very fast and let water and dirt in.
It's not serviceable and can't be rebuilt.Bottom Line: For a such cheap price it's a medium quality bottom braket to ride a bike in preferably dry weather conditions. I've never tested it on the mountain trails, but my assumption is that it won't sustain high loads due to its design flaws.
However it's suitable for non demanding commuter usage.
It's always better to keep another one as a spare.
Favorite Trail: Mount Hood and city streets
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$24.00
Purchased At: E-bay
Similar Products Used: Shimano LX square taper, other serviceable BBs
Bike Setup: Custom built rigid commuter bike. Leader LD-515 MTB aluminium frameset, rigid Surly fork, Shimano LX center pull cantilever brakes, Dia Compe PC-7 levers, all Shimano XT drivetrain (crankset, both derailleurs, cassette), Bontrager rims, Shimano LX hubs, Topeak Expedition rear rack.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
eirc
a Cross Country Rider
from portland, ORDate Reviewed: March 24, 2003
Strengths: It works without much resistance. More difficult to ovalize crank interface with poor installation. The ads make you think it is stiffer, so you pedel a little harder.Weaknesses: Soft like your mama's saggy arms. Require frequent maintenance (think grease) to prevent creaking and popping.Bottom Line: Hard to tell if it was the crappy 2001 LX cranks or the bottom bracket, but the last set of cranks I had came loose after a year's use (1200 - 1500 miles). The soft LX splined interface had disintergrated. Retightend and reused until I could get XTs (Jenson rocks, by the way). With the new cranks I had a BB failure where the threads stripped and the non-drive crank came off. I have had this product for a year and a half at this point.
So:
> The XTs were not over toqued on installation but the OEM LXs were when I tried to compensate for the mangled interface.
> Interface noice (creaking or popping) and BB failure is more often due to improper installation and maintanence than a manufacturer defect. This is true and is what Shimano will tell you if you complain. However, they say that about everything. Their customer dis-service sucks.
> The ES-70 bottom braket that came with my bike sucks. I am my own mechanic, and I have a Shimano square taper BB on my hardtail (1500-2000 miles a year) that has seen more non-defective no-serviced dirt riding and curb jumping during its life span of 3.5 years than my splined es-70.
PS. The splines are a gimick. They may work to transfer more energy for bigger riders (180+ #) and powerful racers. But let's be honest with ourselves here. You and I are not that heavy (average rider wieght is ~ 155#) nor that powerful. Do not waste the money if you do not have to.
Favorite Trail: Lewis River
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Purchased At: Came with bike
Similar Products Used: Xt/LX Shimano square taper.
Some 15 year old Campi BB that has been so bomber compared to anything in the Shimano line.
Bike Setup: Schwinn Rocket 88 disc, Hayes, XT drive train minus LX shifters and front dr.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a
from Mountain View CADate Reviewed: March 17, 2003
Strengths: Strong
QuietWeaknesses: Short LifespanBottom Line: These pipe billet style doesn't loosen up like the old style Shimano BB's, but it doesn't last nearly as long - 1900 miles for the first one - 2400 for the second. Overall though, it's a bit improvement over the old style BB's, and they are cheap and easy to replace.
Favorite Trail: Henry Coe
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$23.00
Purchased At: performance
Similar Products Used: Shimano Square Taper
Bike Setup: LX Crankset
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
DTC
a Cross Country Rider
from New YorkDate Reviewed: August 28, 2002
Strengths: Stiff, smooth, cheap, trouble freeWeaknesses: Limited crank choices (LX and XT Hollowtech), not the lightest BB out thereBottom Line: Outstanding BB overall and fantastic value. The Hollowtech cranks are light and stiff and the BB is smooth.
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$25.00
Similar Products Used: XTR, variety of square tapers
Bike Setup: Hammerhead 100X Ti
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
K-man
a Racer
from San DiegoDate Reviewed: August 28, 2002
Strengths: Stiff, reliable, and pretty much trouble free.Weaknesses: It finally blew out.Bottom Line: Well, 6,000 miles later it finally gave out. I think Cowle's Mt. here in San Diego did 'er in. It is a 1.5 mile death ride with a constant 15- 20 grade. Figure no other way, it was the mountain. Bottom line is this piece of hardware did its job very well. It lasted two solo races, three 24 hour races, and constant climbing with other race buddies. So I'm gonna give 'er 4 flames of cactus fuel!
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$24.00
Purchased At: Supergo
Similar Products Used: Square tapered bb's
Bike Setup: Gunnar Rock Hound, Xt everything, Zoky Atom-80's, WTB Laserbeam rims, Thomson stem, Kore Elite Scanadium post, Litespeed bar,Serfas Arc DD Kevlar Pro seat, what a great bike!
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
BW
a Racer
from ArkansasDate Reviewed: August 18, 2002
Strengths: stiff and stayed tight,no odd creaks or sqeeks.Weaknesses: noneBottom Line: Lasted about a year,it withstood a years race/training schedule with few days off.Looking at the competitions products its a winner all around, hell it's a bargin at 25 bucks.The crankset also has been without complaint, I really doubt there is a better set-up out there for the cash....period.Who could ask for more?
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Bike Setup: 2001 XT group,Ibis Ripley.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from NanticokeDate Reviewed: August 11, 2002
Strengths: costWeaknesses: does not last long at all.Bottom Line: I may have been unlucky, but this BB performed terribly for me. I have ridden maybe 5 times w/the new BB and it is shot. I rode it yesterday and it was making so much noise I stopped riding after 2.8 miles. The insides sounded as if everything came loose and was being thrown around like clothes in a dryer. I dropped off the bike at mi delaer. Hopefully he can fix it, if not i will call JensonUSA and Shimano. I bought XT crankset, so i kinda have to go w/this BB. Not happy to say the least.
Favorite Trail: Montage Mount.
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$23.00
Purchased At: JensonUSA
Similar Products Used: stock BB on my 02 Rainier.
Bike Setup: full XT on 02 Giant Rainier.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
adrenaline junkie
a Downhiller
from mesa az usaDate Reviewed: August 3, 2002
Strengths: SUPER STIFF, it beats anything else i've tried hands down, did i mention it was stiff? zero rub on the derailleurWeaknesses: Heavy? only if you are a gram counting retard....
Bottom Line: Look it is a bit on the heavy side but the hollowtech cranks even it out, it's super stiff, and NO square taper can compare, I jump and huck on this thing all the time and after a year of HEAVY ABUSE it's still going strong. PLZ NOTE:the hollowtech cranks are a pressed on fitting, you do not need to overtighten this setup past manufacturers specs, you will only damage it, in fact I took the crank nuts out and rode 20+ miles to prove a point to a friend... props to shimano
PS the only people that will complain about this thing are gram counting retards or cross coutry racers, if you want a reliable and CHEAP product that will not fail you go buy one, if you want something with a big price tag,go ahead and waste your money....
Favorite Trail: hawes loop
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$24.00
Purchased At: jensonusa.com
Similar Products Used: raceface, truvativ, blah blah
Bike Setup: changes as i break parts, i've even cracked a fsa headset, but the hollowtech crank and bb keep on ticking
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