That's 40 BBs in ten years. Um, no not normal unless your commute is along the beach.

 

RWC would be my first choice.

Some people like Chris King BB's, but I found them to need lots of maintenance.

 

Hmm I've never seen RWC before, perhaps a US brand? (I'm in EU)

 

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Thanks a lot!!

 

I also saw the sram gxp bb have one side of the bearings sieze in 3 months. I tried the cheapest wheels engineering (I think was $25) and it lasted a whole year before one side was pretty gritty. Then I got a ck and I am on 4 years with yearly clean and regrease. Thing really is lasting well. When I regrease its so smooth I can't tell if its turning or if my fingers are sliding on the metal.

But the ck is so expensive. There are more expensive wheels engineering units with stainless annular bearings... unless I could find a used ck... probably I'd go with the more expensive wheels today and see if it lasted.

Edit: Dang... I just checked prices. The good wheels bb is $130... The chris king is $192 +$30 for the fit kit. $222 for a bb... That used to pay for 10 gpx bb... This sport isn't fun any more. I don't know what to say, the ck will last forever, probably worth it if you're keeping the commuter bike for more than 3 years.

 

I had the same problem with gxp. Move on to a better bb system like what Shimano uses.

 

the problem isn’t gxp. Gxp is 22/24mm spindle. Shimano is straight 24mm. Gxp in theory could allow larger ball bearings on one side. In practice it’s the same as shimano.

the issue here is SRAMs particularly bad bb, I suspect the sealing is really poor, perhaps a trade off to reduce seal drag? Shimano xtr lasted me a year before gritty, same as the cheap wheels.

 

GXP kills non-drive side bearings. My OEM Canfield BB lasted only 4 months. I put a Wheels Manufacturing on there and it's been running great for 2+ years of abuse. Still smooth, just added grease once by popping the seals. If it does die replacement bearing is like $25.

 

I was never a fan of the gxp design. The 22/24mm design seems to wear out faster than straight 24mm ID bearings. I'd just ditch the SRAM for just about anything else.

 

The 22mm spindle means the bearing can be bigger. The ck gxp fit kit has a metal sleeve that converts spindle to straight 24.

i don’t see why gxp is bad, it’s the implementation of gxp bb that is poor. The stock sram unit in particular.

oh… although… when I replaced a gxp bb with the ck it did take me a while to dial in the correct bearing preload using very thin shims…

 

The only issue I've had with GXP BBs are those that use angular contact bearings.

Find one with quality radial bearings; the wavy washer is just there to hold the dust shield against the drive side bearing...it's not for bearing "preload".

 

THank you all for the replies! Good to hear it's not only me then..
For the ones suggestings to ditch GXP, that would also mean to change cranks, right? I'm using XX1 and CX1's, so that would be a very, very expensive replacement... buying a few BB's a year is probably cheaper.

 

Theres nothing wrong with your crank or the gxp spec. Just buy a better bb. At least in my experience most cheap bb fail quickly independent of crank spindle.

Bb Seems to be an achilles heel of bicycles that are ridden in the wet. Whatever you buy, ensure bearing preload is perfect, and keep a smear of grease around the bearing seal. Seems to help a bit.

 

I do apply grease, but I never did something for the bearing preloading..or is that done by appling the correct force when tightening the spindle? Cause I do that (can't find the correct English word for the tool, the one that displays Nm or lbs)

 

‘Preload’ exactly depends on your crank and bb choice. The ck needs it. Side supported bearings need it. Radial bearings only need enough to stop crank spindle from moving side to side. Ask your bb maker what is correct.

when i installed ck bb with xx1 gxp crank i had to fool around with thin spacers. My perfect fit didnt match what ck specified but they said there is sram variation and thats why they include all those shims in their fit kit. For shimano crank it has always been torque and go.

torque on crank bolt is super important and totally independent of bearing ‘preload.’ If its not tight enough it will loosen and move and ruin your crank.

 

allright thanks for the explanation!

 

Hambini does a good job explaining sram's flawed gpx design SRAM GXP: An Engineering Guide to abysmal manufacturing - Hambini Engineering

 

Hambini does a good job explaining sram's flawed gpx design SRAM GXP: An Engineering Guide to abysmal manufacturing - Hambini Engineering

This. Also check out his YT videos of frames. They clearly show the sh!!ty bicycle manufacturing tolerances that kill BB. If OP kills many BB, it also could be too large or small, oval or misaligned holes in addition to the bad BB.

 

I have a Truvative Stylo OCT GPX crank and BB that's 12 years old and has been an install and forget component with over 10K miles on it but I live and ride in dry environments and rarely wash my bikes. I should get a backup though. There's a lot of good info in this thread. Thanks.

 

chris king aand wheels mfg both make excellent bb. But for the money, the sram dub bb+new cranks lasts already longer on my new bike then the wheels mfg lasted on my previous bike. So sram sorted their **** out and reworked everything in the process.
about 70-100 euro gets you new sram sx or gx cranks and 28 euro for the dub bb.
have to say i miss my Chris King somewhat because if you pay a small fortune for something truly ok it just makes you feel superior.

 

But for the money, the sram dub bb+new cranks lasts already longer on my new bike then the wheels mfg lasted on my previous bike. So sram sorted their **** out and reworked everything in the process.

I don't know about that. The DUB on my bike has about 1200 miles and is going out.

 

Edited... (trying to go cure my own confusion about the GXP design)

 

Remove the seal and add grease to both bearings. The creaking is probably the cup needing some retaining compound

 

In SRAM’s defence,…. GXP is a Truvativ design from before SRAM bought Truvativ.