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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I'm wondering what bottom brackets have the most longevity and if the spindle size makes a difference?

I have a 2020 Marin Rift Zone that came with a Sram Powerspline BB. It got notchy and crunchy within 6 months and I decided to switch to a DUB BB/crank last year. Last weekend I noticed that BB is now notchy and crunchy. I don't think I'm super hard on BBs; I weigh about 200 pounds and I don't jump really. So I have a hard time believing that I'm really thrashing these things. And I don't spray water on the bike either (usually just a sponge for the rare times I actually wash it). I will say that I drove to Arkansas recently with the bike on a hitch rack and we went through quite a bit of rain.

I've been wanting to change the length of my cranks and that would be an OK time to switch standards if something else is more durable. Or is this just the way BBs are now?

And for my anecdotal old man rant, I had ISIS BBs on a couple of bikes years ago, and those seemed to be more durable.
 
#3 ·
The thing about bottom brackets is you can toast them in one ride if conditions are terrible.

The other thing about bottom brackets is they can last forever if you don't go out in the mud and muck or spray pressurized water into them.

I ruined one on the back of my car driving down the interstate in the rain.
 
#4 ·
I replaced a Race Face BB with a Shimano XT BB that I picked up from Amazon for $18.95. It had well over 10k miles on it when I sold the bike last year and it was still spinning smooth. I think the RF BB it replaced had less than 2k miles before it turned crunchy.
 
#5 ·
Rod said:
The thing about bottom brackets is you can toast them in one ride if conditions are terrible.

The other thing about bottom brackets is they can last forever if you don't go out in the mud and muck or spray pressurized water into them.

I ruined one on the back of my car driving down the interstate in the rain.
Click to expand...
I toasted a headset riding to a race (24 Hours of Canaan way back in the day) in a torrential downpour. I bashed out the cheap headset with a screwdriver, then smacked in a Chris King that I had in the spare parts box with some blocks of wood and a hammer. The CK lasted for something like 15 years on that bike before burning up in a shed fire.

Anyway, better bottom brackets and headsets tend to have better bearings and seals that prolong life. Which ones these days? I no longer know. I live in Colorado and rarely ride or transport my bikes in the rain and mud. Headsets and bottom brackets last ages here.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
Thanks guys. I can service the bearings without a problem (theoretically anyway, I'm kind of hamhanded so it doesn't always work out). I just wish I didn't have to as often as it seems like I do. I imagine this is probably from transporting in the rain.

I've also had similar experiences with both Shimano and CK, although not for a long time. I had both Shimano BB-UN72 and King Nothreadsets last at least 8 years without needing anything. But, you know... that was a long time ago.
 
#7 ·
UPSed said:
I replaced a Race Face BB with a Shimano XT BB that I picked up from Amazon for $18.95. It had well over 10k miles on it when I sold the bike last year and it was still spinning smooth. I think the RF BB it replaced had less than 2k miles before it turned crunchy.
Click to expand...
Just goes to show, I rarely get more than two seasons from a Shimano BB.

I have been swapping to Wheels Manufacturing angular contact BB’s and they have been rock solid, season after season for me.
 
#9 ·
24mm BB's should always last longer because the balls are bigger and there's more space for the grease to hold contaminants. That said, water and grit will kill any BB pretty fast. Keep your BB dry and even cheap 30mm BB's can last years.
 
#10 ·
UPSed said:
I replaced a Race Face BB with a Shimano XT BB that I picked up from Amazon for $18.95. It had well over 10k miles on it when I sold the bike last year and it was still spinning smooth. I think the RF BB it replaced had less than 2k miles before it turned crunchy.
Click to expand...
Race Face BB's are notorious for short life, you can replace with Endura or other high quality bearings and they will definitely last much longer, I've done this on two bikes after going through RF BB on both in less than a season. If the sizing is correct then the Shimano BB's are pretty bullet proof and cheap.
 
#11 ·
UPSed said:
I replaced a Race Face BB with a Shimano XT BB that I picked up from Amazon for $18.95. It had well over 10k miles on it when I sold the bike last year and it was still spinning smooth. I think the RF BB it replaced had less than 2k miles before it turned crunchy.
Click to expand...
I really miss those threaded 24mm shimano BB's. There was a time when under 20 was standard pricing and they would last years and years. When I see BB's going for 100$ it just pisses me off haha. We're talking about bearings in a cup, and it's proven we don't need super high end bearings to have a very long lasting, smooth running BB.
 
#12 ·
You lost me on isis being durable. I don't think I ever got more than 3 months out of them but I was also in a wet climate at the time. I would get play out of those real fast and once had a bearing completely freeze up making me walk out. When external hit the market it was a game changer for me. In my experience the best BB's were when 24mm BSA was mostly standard. It's hard to use that word when talking about BB's but we did have a number of years where just about everything was running those BB's and In my experience brand really didn't matter much. Even RF 24mm BSA BB's were very reliable for me. I'm currently running the dreaded RF 30mm PF. One rain ride and I needed to fresh grease it. We'll see how long it lasts? RF isn't the company they once were, and 30mm is simply inferior to 24mm so if the bearings aren't good quality, or the seals are inadequate, good luck.
 
#13 ·
I've had all of my BBs for multiple years. I change the bearings out every season or two. I live in AK where a lot of riding is like Scottland with a lot of rain and much at times...although the winter season is the polar (pun) opposite, bearings, lube and everything else seem to last infinitely in the cold dry snow conditions.

I order 6806 bearings from NSK or SKF. I avoid the crappier Enduro bearings. I also keep either 30mm spindles or 24mm with sleeve, both of which use this bearing. One exception is my Pivot, which I'm using a 30mm spindle and the hope double-row bearings. This is a imperfect setup, due to the restricted size of BB92.

You can try re-packing bearings, this can be a good idea to reduce water-ingress, however, over time bearings and races oxidize, the contaminants get picked up by the grease, tolerances get bigger, eventually they self destruct as the damage continues and the tolerances get big enough. Sometimes re-packing again can extend just long enough to get some replacement bearings in the mail. Ideally if you are repacking, you need to remove the bearing completely, the dust seals, "pack" by putting grease around the ring and pushing it in with your palm, to purge the old grease. Unless you purge the old grease, you are just letting it ride on the gritty contaminated stuff that will accelerate wear.

A BB is just a tube with two bearings.
 
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#14 ·
How are Wheels Manufacturing bottom brackets? I think my DUB is going out too after about 1000 miles, and I could get another one for $40 or so but I don't want to make this a yearly habit if I can help it. I'm going to have this bike for a while and I'm looking for cost effective upgrades.
 
#15 ·
Jayem said:
I've had all of my BBs for multiple years. I change the bearings out every season or two. I live in AK where a lot of riding is like Scottland with a lot of rain and much at times...although the winter season is the polar (pun) opposite, bearings, lube and everything else seem to last infinitely in the cold dry snow conditions.

I order 6806 bearings from NSK or SKF. I avoid the crappier Enduro bearings. I also keep either 30mm spindles or 24mm with sleeve, both of which use this bearing. One exception is my Pivot, which I'm using a 30mm spindle and the hope double-row bearings. This is a imperfect setup, due to the restricted size of BB92.

You can try re-packing bearings, this can be a good idea to reduce water-ingress, however, over time bearings and races oxidize, the contaminants get picked up by the grease, tolerances get bigger, eventually they self destruct as the damage continues and the tolerances get big enough. Sometimes re-packing again can extend just long enough to get some replacement bearings in the mail. Ideally if you are repacking, you need to remove the bearing completely, the dust seals, "pack" by putting grease around the ring and pushing it in with your palm, to purge the old grease. Unless you purge the old grease, you are just letting it ride on the gritty contaminated stuff that will accelerate wear.

A BB is just a tube with two bearings.
Click to expand...
Is there any point in repacking or replacing the bearings in a plastic press-fit BB tho? I don't know but I imagine that it's the plastic shells that go out of spec before the bearings start to wear?
 
#16 ·
Yootah said:
Is there any point in repacking or replacing the bearings in a plastic press-fit BB tho? I don't know but I imagine that it's the plastic shells that go out of spec before the bearings start to wear?
Click to expand...
Sure, but it's likely the plastic shell BB flexes more and accelerates wear and creaking. The plastic shell BBs tend to come with pretty terrible bearings too, so it's kind of a trifecta. It still will benefit to repack or replace the bearings, but most people don't have a good bearing press/puller (headset cup remover can work well, but blind bearing puller is better to not damage the bearing). You don't want to press on the bearings, only the outside race. This gets to be fairly tedious for most, puling the cranks, then the bearings, so most people don't do this, they just run the bearings to failure, but additionally, most people then buy an entirely new BB when all they need is the bearings. DUB threw some wrenches in this though, with a size that isn't common to high quality industrial bearings.
 
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Discussion starter · #17 ·
I need to get to a setup like that, where high quality bearings aren't hard to find. I don't think DUB is that setup. I will need to ponder how I want to move forward.

As far as the ISIS goes, I was shocked as well. I never had any issues with those for whatever reason, even when a number of people I knew that rode in the same places did.
 
#18 ·
Yootah said:
How are Wheels Manufacturing bottom brackets? I think my DUB is going out too after about 1000 miles, and I could get another one for $40 or so but I don't want to make this a yearly habit if I can help it. I'm going to have this bike for a while and I'm looking for cost effective upgrades.
Click to expand...
I’ve had nothing but great experiences with Wheels Manufacturing.
 
#20 ·
If one regularly transport bikes in the rain, it helps to drill a small hole in the bottom of the BB shell. That will allow the rain that found it's way into the BB shell a way to drain. It gets in from the driving rain splashing the seatpost.
 
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