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Submitted by
matt wittler
a
from rough and ready
Date Reviewed: July 16, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | downieville polly creek | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$46.00 | | Purchased At: | tour of nevada city | | Strengths: | strong, rebuildable (if you know what your doing), they last longer than most. | | Weaknesses: | they are heavier than road bb's, which last just as long, they don't come short enough for most 2x9 applications. they are expensive if you ride in muddy conditions, then again all bb's will wear fast. | | Similar Products Used: | dura ace, fsa (everyone they make) and i broke one in half. race face bb's, | | Bike Setup: | kelly delux, sid wc, 2x9 drive train with xo, and carbon crank. | | Bottom Line: | if you need a bottom bracket that flat out works, and will work for a while. this is a good buy. it's not as heavy as some of the other shimano's | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vince
a Cross Country Rider
from Orange County
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | San Juan | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Strengths: | Light, clean, initially smooth | | Weaknesses: | * seals are not reliable
* had to be replaced before 1 year mark
* Shimano considers it normal wear and won't warranty it. Bike was not used in wet rain riding or abnormal conditions. My old Specialized crank bb & 4 year old XT bottombrackets lasted longer then this!!! Bad design - either build it 100% sealed or make it more servicable.
| | Similar Products Used: | XT bb, specialized bb, etc. | | Bike Setup: | full XTR minus brakes | | Bottom Line: | Raceface, Truv would be my next choice - until Shimano either steps up on warranty or makes a better BB. Pretty lame of Shimano for a $400 MSRP crankset up. WEAK..
Too bad you can't give negative chili's.. This would be a negative 10 on the bb. Though the cranks are sweet. But sweet cranks with a lame bb - is not a good setup. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bellulla Bob
a Racer
from Rhode Island
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Vietnam | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$46.00 | | Purchased At: | lbs | | Strengths: | It spins (for a while) | | Weaknesses: | Seals suck big time; not so rebuildable; doesn't tolerate wet weather...brakes down beyond repair | | Bike Setup: | Tracer | | Bottom Line: | this BB sucks. Use for less than a season, before it started to have play. Brought to my lbs to have it cleaned and serviced and it was beyond repair. When they opened it up, a full cup of rusted water came pooring out - the seals let water in, but not out! Its a good thing they don't make it anymore.... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hon Lung
a Cross Country Rider
from Hong Kong, China
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | X country in dark tunnel | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$28.00 | | Purchased At: | CC | | Strengths: | Shimano XTR BB M950 :
- Needle rollers can support very heavy radial load.
- Ball rollers helps to eliminate the axial play.
(Radial load and the axial load was support by different rolling element so it can eliminate any rolling resistance due to axial preload)
- Better appearance.
- Can be disassembly for maintenance (where M952 cannot) | | Weaknesses: | - Difficult to adjust its lateral alignment.
| | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XTR BB M952 | | Bike Setup: | Full Dynamix Olympic Frame, RockShox SID RACE Carbon fork,
Crossmax UST Disc, Hope Mini Disc Brake. | | Bottom Line: | Suitable for a DIY rider. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John-Jacob-Jingleheimer Smith
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 24, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | The dirt one with lots 'o' rocks. | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Cycle Scene | | Strengths: | Stiff, Rebuildable, Light and Serviceable. I like Serviceable. | | Weaknesses: | You actually need to know how to properly adjust and maintain a bike or have a good mechanic. | | Similar Products Used: | Square taper stuff. Hey, when I bought it thats all there was. | | Bike Setup: | Seven Sola with parts and stuff. Hi Chuck! | | Bottom Line: | Wow! First of all there are 2 XTR BBs: The cartridge M952 and the Original M950. I have the original M950. I've had this thing for 4 years! It's been in four different frames!Every now and the I add grease and readjust it and not only does it still work, but it works great! If you cannot properly adjust bearings buy the 952. If you can and you want the stiffer (needle and ball bearings) lighter version, spead more for the M950. Wow, sums it up well. If you're gonna complain about difficult setups don't buy top of the line. 4 years, 1 BB = Good value to me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Duncan Blake
a Cross Country Rider
from Melbourne
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Lysterfield/Moab...multiple | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$130.00 | | Strengths: | Lightweight, Engineeringly sound, Nicely finished | | Weaknesses: | Price, Practically unsound, Hard to adjust | | Similar Products Used: | UN 52, UN 72, UN 92, Sweet Parts (Road) | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX LE, Hope Hydraulics, 2000 SID SL's, etc.... | | Bottom Line: | This BB is a good setup for those with good mechanical know-how, but has the unfortunate problems of working loose the cups and the crank fixing bolts. Loctite may fix these.
The sealing of the system is pitiful and requires an immaculately clean setup to avoid any graty noises. the cups remain in good condition, but the axle pits, suggesting that the cro-moly used is not as hard as good polished/shot-peened alum cups?!?!?
The set up would be far better with a cartridge setup as the alum lockrings do not tolerate a lot of tightening and loosening before rounding off the corners....oh and buy a quality C-Spanner.
Cannot wait to see if ISIS beats it
Oh....when working well this setup is brilliant, pity it is not for the amateur mechanic | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John McKenzie
a Cross Country Rider
from Chino Hills, CA
Date Reviewed: September 21, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | All of them | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | None | | Weaknesses: | poor attention to detail, This should be a sealed unit from all the elements. | | Bottom Line: | This is some low end c r a p. Squeaks, Creaks, and clicks. Yea you can rebuild it but it always comes back.
Don't buy one!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
clarence
a Weekend Warrior
from timmins
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | in the hills | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | cambria | | Strengths: | light, maintainable, splined, needle + ball bearing | | Similar Products Used: | xtr m952, xt | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale, xtr groupset, c.k. heads., w.i. hubs, syn.ti seatpost, | | Bottom Line: | I had the sealed xtr b.b version and was annoyed when I could not open them up after they got contaminated and developped play after only a couple of months. With the m950 b.b. you get a lighter unit, needle bearings for additional stiffness, plus they are maintainable. I've opened them up about twice a year to clean and regrease them and changed one of the bearing races once because of a cavity (they are removable). If B.B.s were made waterproof they would not be able to rotate. Sealed B.B.s are not sealed, they are just relatively sealed. I prefer maintainable B.B.s because if water or other contaminants enter I can fix it. I also regularily check the B.B.s adjustment when the crankarms are installed by adjusting the tension ring. Works great in conjunction with the XTR crank. Stiff... great power transfer. Good performance for the cost. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kelly
a Weekend Warrior
from SF.CA
Date Reviewed: September 4, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | who cares | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Doesn't matter; got used | | Strengths: | It's an Ultegra, not an XTR | | Weaknesses: | It's an Ultegra, not an XTR | | Similar Products Used: | Lots | | Bike Setup: | Dope ass connondale with dual disks and a lefty | | Bottom Line: | Splined is cool but I had a creak I coudln't identify. Anyway, go for raceface, but use Shimano BBs if you know what's good for you. I love the turbine LPs for their machining more than anything. Give props to RaceFace, even if their bearings aren't up to par.
K
profeign@hotmail.com | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Colorado trail @ Buffalo Creek | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | This is for the M950 model.
* Light
* Can be serviced
* Stiff
* Splines | | Weaknesses: | * Has to be serviced
* Crank bolts won't stay put unless you use locktite
* Requires non-standard BB tool to remove | | Similar Products Used: | Other shimano BB's. | | Bike Setup: | 1999 Specialized FSR XC S-Works with XTR/XT/Specialized house brand parts. | | Bottom Line: | The M950 came stock on my FSR XC and I had some problems immediately. The crank bolts wouldn't stay tight on the drive side causing my cranks (Specialized S-Works) to come loose within 100 miles. This is a problem when you are 15 miles out and don't have a wrench to tighten the cranks. Using locktite (blue) on the bolts seemed to fix this problem. The serviceablity of the BB is a cool feature and a problem. The seals didn't seem to keep the water out very well and after about 500 miles BB was due for a serious overhaul. Pulled it out and found out the bearing races were pitted on the drive side. Once the races are pitted you are screwed. Ended up buying the new M952 XTR BB which has sealed bearings and can be installed using a standard shimano BB tool. Down side of the M952 is it is heavier by about 20-30 grams. The bottom line is the M950 BB is not the best thing Shimano has built due to it's service requirements. In my opinion a BB should be maintenance free. If you are deciding between the M950 or M952 buy the M952 and take the slight weight penalty in favor of no maintenance. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Gilroy
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Demonstration Forest, Aptos | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Light weight
One of two BB that will fit the XTR Crank | | Weaknesses: | Older Version has bad seals making everything within rust and worn out. It was on the verge of seizing before I replaced it. | | Similar Products Used: | XT BB, World Class BB, White BB | | Bike Setup: | Schwinn Carbon Sweetspot
XTR all around | | Bottom Line: | The old version has bad seals which will give you nothing but problems down the line. Mine was on the verge of seizing before I replaced it with the Newer version (M952) XTR BB.
The newer version is more like an XT BB with the fully sealed body. I forsee no problems with the new version.
Stay away from the older version which has the cheap clear plastic sleave covering the body. The rating is based on the newer version, otherwise I'd give the older version 1 flippin pepper.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
cjm
a Cross Country Rider
from Clear Lake, TX
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | The only BB that is compatible with an XTR crank. | | Weaknesses: | Damaged after 1 year of moderate use. | | Similar Products Used: | Several Shimano BBs. | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale F700 | | Bottom Line: | The BB locked-up to the point where it could hardly be turned by hand without the crank. During rebuild, some of the ball bearings came loose and their track was actually scarred. I was dissapointed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Spunky Trumpet
a Cross Country Rider
from Great Britain
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Soqeul Demo Forest, Santa Cruz | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Bottom Line: | The old XTR BB (pre '99) was the biggest pile of arse I've yet seen from Shimano. I could go on about the need to strip, clean and regrease or the fact that doing so repeatedly actually wore down the splines of the LH crank enough to make it loose, but that would be pointless.
There is a new selaed BB out now, it's great, fit it and forget it.
Rating reflects average of old and new style
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross-Country Rider
from The Netherlands
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
- high quality 'feel'
- Smooth (when new)
- light | | Weaknesses: |
- fiddly to set-up
- bad seals | | Similar Products Used: |
Shimano Sealed BB's (BB91) | | Bike Setup: |
Hard tail | | Bottom Line: | After 2000 miles the axle is pitted and has rust on it. The rubber seals just don't seem to work. I'm now looking for a sealed cartridge wich matches the XTR-crank.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross-Country Rider
from Santa Cruz, CA
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: |
Soquel Demo Forest | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
Smooth, stiffness with splined spindles.....
light weight | | Weaknesses: |
ummm...nothin yet | | Similar Products Used: |
stupid BB's | | Bike Setup: |
Stumpjumper M2 Comp, XTR/XT, Avid 2.0 | | Bottom Line: | So far these things are smooth and light. Threw on some CODA Tarantulas w/ the BB and am very impressed! Recommmended as a more affordable upgrade than all XTR. CODA/XTR = same weight than all XTR drivetran. :-) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Derick
a Cross-Country Rider
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 22, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Anywhere | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
light | | Weaknesses: |
click-click-click-click-click
seals? what seals?
maintenance | | Similar Products Used: |
DX, LX, XT, Klein proprietary BB. | | Bike Setup: |
True North (ckeck out the review) | | Bottom Line: | 2 BBs in 6 months and I take care of my BB! I religiously clean and repack my BB after every muddy ride, and about once every two weeks if not riding in muddy conditions. I currently have the M950 BB. Still, each of my two XTR BBs creaked and the first one seized! I will be switching to the XTR M952 BB next time round. Apparently, it's sealed. We'll have to wait and see! 3 stars for the weight. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike-m
a Racer
from mnila
Date Reviewed: September 10, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Weight | | Weaknesses: |
Mud/water seals | | Similar Products Used: |
Dura ace(stupid design too), XT,LX,105 Ive road and mtb | | Bike Setup: |
Super V | | Bottom Line: | DON'T BUY THIS IF: YOU RIDE ON MUDDY TRACKS, RAINING AND USING OTHER CRANKS (OF COURSE)
BUY THIS IF: WHY? YOU'LL BE REPACKING THIS EVERYTIME YOU GET CAUGHT BY RAIN. YOU HAVE TIME TO DO THIS OR ITLL BE A JUNK. CHECK-OUT THE 99 /2000 MODELS, THEIR ALL SEALED. GOOD LUCK ON YOUR CHOICE. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ike
a Racer
from New Mexico
Date Reviewed: August 20, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
wouldn't you like to know | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
easy to install, looks spiffy | | Weaknesses: |
Sealed, preventing maint. | | Similar Products Used: |
XT, XTR, duraAce, | | Bike Setup: |
ti frame, xtr gruppo | | Bottom Line: | '99 XTR BB held up well for 7 mos. Unbelieveable squeak and click from within sealed cartridge. Removed BB, cleaned threads, re-lubed, reinstalled with 600 inlbs. Still creaks, super annoying, though probably doesn't affect performance. XTR quality? Nope. 100% Shimano engineering. P.S., never exposed to mud, live in the desert. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Greg Miller
a Racer
from Richmond, VA
Date Reviewed: July 9, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Wintergreen trails, Virginia | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
Super light but most importantly, the tines make it ultra rigid. Must better then the regular BB setup that always tended to creak. (plus it's just a better means to connect crank arms to the bike.) | | Weaknesses: |
Could be better sealed to keep grit out. The resulting situation promotes rapid wear on the spindle. In just one season, the spindle had two small grooves worn into it. | | Similar Products Used: |
White Industries Ti BB.
Shiman XT BB. | | Bike Setup: |
97 GT Team LTS.
Judy SL/Full XTR. | | Bottom Line: | Light, easy to install, beautifully engineered. I love EXR Stuff. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
FAT BOY
a Cross-Country Rider
from Highland Lakes
Date Reviewed: June 28, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
smooth when clean | | Weaknesses: |
not smooth when dirty or wet | | Similar Products Used: |
LX/XT | | Bike Setup: |
Cannondal CAAD3 w/ Manitou SX TI & XTR | | Bottom Line: | Not very impressed, I bought this BB because I had to with XTR cranks. Sometimes I wish I bought RF. I got it fairly cheap, $39 on price match with Performance and it worked fairly well for about a yr. Then the creaking started, I took it apart and relubed it but that lasted only a couple of months. I am about to buy Dura-Ace or possibly new XTR. I think it is now sealed. I just don't think this product is on par with XTR level. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
eddieM
a Cross-Country Rider
from Santa Cruz, CA
Date Reviewed: June 26, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Soquel Demo. | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Light, servicable | | Weaknesses: |
needed to run XTR cranks
poorly sealed | | Similar Products Used: |
UN72, Race Face | | Bike Setup: |
S.C. SL, Z1, XTR | | Bottom Line: | I ran this BB(98xtr)for about 6 months before a total bike teardown/cleaning was needed, wherein I found that my scrawny little 130lbs bent the hollow axle. No big crashes, but I pushed it hard up and down the mountain. Still I'm little compared to most riders. Big guys beware. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Some K H
a Cross-Country Rider
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: June 10, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
All trails | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Great, 1st time design
Spline rules ! Vs Taper
4 needle bearings arrangement
Light | | Weaknesses: |
Not as water-proof as expected
Expensive
Can only be used with 98 & onwards XTR | | Similar Products Used: |
Non ; the closest is CODA but that's not widely available ! | | Bike Setup: |
TREK 8500 SL with XT
MERLIN XLM with XTR | | Bottom Line: | An amazing product to say the least!May not be as water-proof. The grease within turned black upon inspection. Yet there's no creaking at all !!! Unlike many other top-end bb. Upon regreasing, it works like NEW !!! Amazing... Get one! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sean
a Cross-Country Rider
from CA
Date Reviewed: June 9, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
East Goverment Trail | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
ultra-smooth
strong
flex-free
sealed
the letters XTR
light
splined | | Weaknesses: |
It's beauty is hidden within the B.B. tube | | Similar Products Used: |
XT, LX | | Bike Setup: |
'98 K2 4000, CF swingarm, XTR drivetrain + brakes, XT shift/brake levers. | | Bottom Line: | This BB is light as they come (not including Ti crap). It's perfect for FS riders because the ball and needle bearings make it extremely smooth, I've noticed my pedal stroke is much smoother resulting in better climbing with less pogoing. I'm really hard on mine and never feel a bit of flex or play. It's sealed much better then my old XT which makes me feel good about riding in the dusty, sometimes rainy area I live in. Finally, the design is splined so you can maintain it hundreds of times without wearing down the standard square axle found on 99% of BB's out there. As for the XTR crankset it's designed for, I've never felt a better setup in my life. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Piwoslaw
a Weekend Warrior
from Piastow, Poland
Date Reviewed: April 21, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Weight | | Weaknesses: |
Price | | Similar Products Used: |
Alivio BB | | Bike Setup: |
'96 Trek 850 | | Bottom Line: | Replaced alivio BB when axle started started to rattle. Bought XTR BB with normal (not splined) axle at half price. Almost half the weight if alivio and much better pedaling. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
T.R.
a Cross-Country Rider
from Germany
Date Reviewed: April 20, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
The XTR is a very lightweight and durable bottom bracket, which offers good seals and works without problems when you install it correctly. It offers much technical stuff, like the hollow very stiff cromoly spindle and the bearing technique. The bearing technique is excellent it uses two bearings on each side. | | Weaknesses: |
It's a bit difficult to install it without having play in the bearings. You have to install it carefully and with much grease. Take care about the play, to check this out, move the cranks sidewards. If you only detect minimal play you have to reinstall the bottom bracket. Moreover it can be necessary to re-adjust the bearing play after the first 200km. After 200km my XTR-bottom bracket makes creaking noises, I checked it out and detected bearing play in the bottom bracket. I re- adjusted the bottom bracket and it works without problems or creaking noises till today. | | Similar Products Used: |
I tried some Ti-bottom brackets like Tune and FAG, but they did not convince me. The Ti spindles were very weak. | | Bike Setup: |
Full XTR-equiped bike. | | Bottom Line: | In my opinoin the XTR bottom bracket is a very durable bottom bracket, which is lightweight too. The installation is difficult and you have to do it very carefully, if you want a well working bottom bracket. Therefore I give it only four of five stars. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ed
a Weekend Warrior
from Boone, NC
Date Reviewed: April 20, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
weight
stiff | | Weaknesses: |
bolts
cost
spacers | | Similar Products Used: |
UN-52 | | Bike Setup: |
CAAD4 with Coda Trantula crankset | | Bottom Line: | update to my earlier review:
actually a good BB once you work out all of the bugs...you have to use some red locktite on the bolts so they don't loosen themselves | | Overall Rating: |
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$ 47.00
