Any other angular contact BB options?

RWC, aka Enduro Fork Seals, make an angular contact BB.

*OneSpeed* said:

RWC, aka Enduro Fork Seals, make an angular contact BB.

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Good to know. Will have to see if they offer it in sram dub setup at a price that works for me.

related question would a nukeproof bb be more durable/longer life the wheels mfg non angular contact bb? The Wheels is using abec 3 while the nukeproof is abec 5, which on Wheels' own site says is better than the 3. I am less about speed/watts & more about durabilty & longevity in the desert adjacent environment I am in.

The wheels manufacturing bottom brackets just use Enduro bearings. Enduro bearings kinda suck, I've gone through two sets of their bottom brackets in less than as many years.

Bottom brackets are one of those cases where I usually just get Shimano for $30 and throw them out once a year or buy Chris King and keep them for life. There's no good in between for the money or otherwise.

Unfortunately if you want to run a 30mm axle on a 73mm threaded bottom bracket then your only good choice is Chris King. I've got two of them going strong, just relube them when your chain hits max stretch.

ungod said:

Unfortunately if you want to run a 30mm axle on a 73mm threaded bottom bracket then your only good choice is Chris King. I've got two of them going strong, just relube them when your chain hits max stretch.

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If you are using a 30mm axle with a threaded BB, can't you just buy the high end bearings directly from the bearing suppliers like SKF, NSK, etc.? Pop them into your RF BB or whatever BB shell you prefer. That's what I do.

ungod said:

Unfortunately if you want to run a 30mm axle on a 73mm threaded bottom bracket then your only good choice is Chris King. I've got two of them going strong, just relube them when your chain hits max stretch.

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I will be going Sram dub(29mm) as my friend is giving me a good deal on lightly used Eagle crankset. I heard sram BB don't have good longevity, part of the reason Wheel mfg BB caught my eye, it was getting positive reivews. How are the White Industry BBs? It's still on the expensive side(a bit closer to price to Wheels), but BB is the only part I will really splurge on this build. Will be going lightly used mid-level parts for this build.

Jayem said:

If you are using a 30mm axle with a threaded BB, can't you just buy the high end bearings directly from the bearing suppliers like SKF, NSK, etc.? Pop them into your RF BB or whatever BB shell you prefer. That's what I do.

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I emailed this same question to Wheels MFG earlier today. I probably won't get a reply until Tuesday. I'm just hoping I can get their angular contact bearings to pair with a Raceface or Sram BB. Or should I just go with the Nukeproof, that's using slightl better bearings?

Funoutside said:

I will be going Sram dub(29mm) as my friend is giving me a good deal on lightly used Eagle crankset. I heard sram BB don't have good longevity, part of the reason Wheel mfg BB caught my eye, it was getting positive reivews. How are the White Industry BBs? It's still on the expensive side(a bit closer to price to Wheels), but BB is the only part I will really splurge on this build. Will be going lightly used mid-level parts for this build.


I emailed this same question to Wheels MFG earlier today. I probably won't get a reply until Tuesday. I'm just hoping I can get their angular contact bearings to pair with a Raceface or Sram BB. Or should I just go with the Nukeproof, that's using slightl better bearings?

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Yeah, if you are going 28.99 axle, that basically screws the common 30mm bearing size. I know why Sram did 28.99, basically because the frame manufacturers were being jackasses trying to accommodate shimano 24mm spindles with BB92, but it still sucks.

Just to be clear your saying I should go for a better quality bb for sram dub? Or that I can swap bearing from standard to angular?

Jayem said:

If you are using a 30mm axle with a threaded BB, can't you just buy the high end bearings directly from the bearing suppliers like SKF, NSK, etc.? Pop them into your RF BB or whatever BB shell you prefer. That's what I do.

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Nice, that would be a good option.

I personally love the sram dub BB, just replace it once a season. Its cheap, works good when not blown, chainline setup is easy with the spacer chart.

senorbanana said:

I personally love the sram dub BB, just replace it once a season. Its cheap, works good when not blown, chainline setup is easy with the spacer chart.

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That's a pretty typical experience, nothing wrong with that but you're also setting the bar a little low. All of the options here will be better products, last longer, and be serviceable instead of disposable. Theres pros and cons to each.

What do people suggest as a good serviceable BB under $100, besides the Wheels MFG in the BSA DUB version(only uses abec 3 bearings)?

Funoutside said:

What do people suggest as a good serviceable BB under $100, besides the Wheels MFG in the BSA DUB version(only uses abec 3 bearings)?

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That's all you need unless you specifically want angular contact bearings (which are typically ABEC 5). When the stock bearings wear out you can replace them with something nicer if you choose, but you may not feel the need to.

The only one I wouldn't consider that you've mentioned is the Nukeproof which is probably on par with the basic Sram BB. All of the others will be higher quality by comparison.

For me the WM BB or RWC BB are good value for the money. Though if I wanted a little bling I would do King, in which case you will service the bearings instead of replacing them. (I also like WI stuff but looks like they don't do DUB.)

I'm a bigger guy and blow out BB's with surprising efficiency, even sheered off a WM BB cup in the frame. (they were good about it and replaced it no questions). So I mostly use angular contact BB's on my bikes, though I do have a couple of Shimano bb's in service, which are fine.

Cool. I WI does have bsa dub bb. It's CK that I think doesn't offer it. About $130 for the steel bearing version. Not sure if that's angular or not

I think WM one can swap the bearing on most models? It's not that clear. I know their own site gives a rating on what each bearing standard means & they rate angular bearings as high, abec 3 as oem/standard(their bsa dub) & abec 5(nukeproof uses) as upgrade from oem. It be cool to go with them & just swap to their angular contact bearing & still be under the cost of CK & others.

The angular contact bearings are not much better. As has been said, the Sram bottom brackets are disposable and you can put better bearings in the Wheels when you wear out the OEM ones. I have bikes with both. I put a better set of bearings in my Wheels BB30 and it has two years with no issues. I got about a year on the OEM Enduro crap bearings in dry conditions. This conversation constantly comes up. You get what you pay for. I'm on the quality bearing side, but it is easy as heck to replace a Sram bottom bracket with the right tool.

Good to know. I purchased the Wheels bb locally. Is there way to get abec-5 bearing, which wheels says is better on their own site but not offered for this bsa dub version.

When you get the bottom bracket, just look at the bearing number printed on the seal and search around for what you want.

i did that but wasn't able to find a different one for dub standard on wheels' website.

ungod said:

When you get the bottom bracket, just look at the bearing number printed on the seal and search around for what you want.

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Dub has kind of shot that method down...