Discussion
Hi all. recently I posted about being close to buying a CAAD10. Is the creaking/noise issue with BB30 sorted out now or is it still a real problem? I'm the sort of person that won't be able to put up with nasty creaks and groans from a brand new bike at that price tag. As with cars, for better or worse small things like that drive me crazy.
If there's a genuine fix for it then I can live with that. Although the whole 'use loctite' or 're-grease it' etc solutions don't seem to have a unanimous response to suggest that they work for everyone no questions asked. (surely loctiting them in causes its own issues down the line? or maybe not)
I've noticed some people saying they've used adaptors to put different cranks in, again , not what you should have to do on a bike costing upward of a grand but if it properly solves it then its worth doing.(IMHO)
I'm sure the truth is out there, but what is it?!
(does this affliction affect all press fit BB's?)
Thanks all!
If there's a genuine fix for it then I can live with that. Although the whole 'use loctite' or 're-grease it' etc solutions don't seem to have a unanimous response to suggest that they work for everyone no questions asked. (surely loctiting them in causes its own issues down the line? or maybe not)
I've noticed some people saying they've used adaptors to put different cranks in, again , not what you should have to do on a bike costing upward of a grand but if it properly solves it then its worth doing.(IMHO)
I'm sure the truth is out there, but what is it?!
(does this affliction affect all press fit BB's?)
Thanks all!
I've got a BB30 setup on my Venge. Since the beginning its always creaked, the only way to sort this was to periodically remove the bearings, clean up and press it all back together.
Recently I changed my cranks to shorter ones which meant going from FSA cranks to Shimano. To do this I had to get a BB30 adapter. Since doing this I've not had any creaks from the BB area, this has also included riding in some pretty nasty conditions and they've been silent. Mine was especially noisy out the saddle and up hills.
My thinking is that the new adapters mean there is a better seal.
Recently I changed my cranks to shorter ones which meant going from FSA cranks to Shimano. To do this I had to get a BB30 adapter. Since doing this I've not had any creaks from the BB area, this has also included riding in some pretty nasty conditions and they've been silent. Mine was especially noisy out the saddle and up hills.
My thinking is that the new adapters mean there is a better seal.
BB30 is a standard that Cannondale developed, then released licence free for anyone to use.
The goal was to use a 30mm diameter hollow axle whilst keeping a traditional (BSA) 68mm shell width, and at the same time using decent sized bearings (Shimano had shown what happened with large axles in conventional BB shells with small bearings - a very short service life).
BB30 was (and is) a success, if judged on the intended goals - hugely stiff, very light and with a very low Q-factor.
However, it relies on very precise machining of the BB shell, including a tricky groove for the circlip.
Problems with BB30 fall into three camps, mainly:
1. Poorly made frame
2. Poorly installed parts
3. British Weather (sealing is, frankly, crap)
SRAM and Rotor make a range of cranks with 30mm axles, but they aren't BB30 - the axle is way too long. They are "BB30 compatible".
"True" BB30 cranks are rare, a great example would be the Cannonade SiSl.
The industry (including my small part of it) has moved to PF30 as the tolerances are an order of magnitude looser, there is no circlip groove required, and you can still run BB30 specific cranks.
The weather issue remains however - I killed a brand new (and not cheap) BB in ~80 miles earlier this year, when riding from the Olympic Park to the Mall.
To sum up - it works, it's not witchcraft, it'd be great if it was better sealed.
The goal was to use a 30mm diameter hollow axle whilst keeping a traditional (BSA) 68mm shell width, and at the same time using decent sized bearings (Shimano had shown what happened with large axles in conventional BB shells with small bearings - a very short service life).
BB30 was (and is) a success, if judged on the intended goals - hugely stiff, very light and with a very low Q-factor.
However, it relies on very precise machining of the BB shell, including a tricky groove for the circlip.
Problems with BB30 fall into three camps, mainly:
1. Poorly made frame
2. Poorly installed parts
3. British Weather (sealing is, frankly, crap)
SRAM and Rotor make a range of cranks with 30mm axles, but they aren't BB30 - the axle is way too long. They are "BB30 compatible".
"True" BB30 cranks are rare, a great example would be the Cannonade SiSl.
The industry (including my small part of it) has moved to PF30 as the tolerances are an order of magnitude looser, there is no circlip groove required, and you can still run BB30 specific cranks.
The weather issue remains however - I killed a brand new (and not cheap) BB in ~80 miles earlier this year, when riding from the Olympic Park to the Mall.
To sum up - it works, it's not witchcraft, it'd be great if it was better sealed.
I was expecting all sorts of problems after reading some of the horror stories but my Synapse is doing quite nicely in spite of the best efforts of the big old lump who rides it 
A CAADX will probably be joining the stable soon. BB30 won't put me off that purchase either....if they start to creak they're easy enough to swap.
A CAADX will probably be joining the stable soon. BB30 won't put me off that purchase either....if they start to creak they're easy enough to swap.
I tend to smear a thin layer of grease on the bits and then nip it all up to 40Nm and all the BB30 bikes run FSA cranks. The grease just acts as a barrier to crud. I've not had any problems with seizing or breakage. I could do with a headset press though as using makeshift odds and ends to press the bearings is messy...
My CAAD9 is a BB30 frame but came with an adapter and Shimano bearings & crankset. The Shimano bearings were always causing trouble and even an upgrade to Ultegra ones didn't solve the problem for more than a couple of months. I picked up an FSA crank, swapped the adapter for a proper set of BB30 bearings and it's been faultless ever since.
Rolls said:
On this subject - any tips for bearing replacement? - just a case of whack the old ones out, and press the new ones in I presume?
Buy a Park headset press tool along with the FSA BB30 press cups. While you are at it get a tub of Teflon grease and a torque wrench. Over the past couple of years I found the best way to avoid creaks is to make sure the bearings are serviced regularly (twice this year after 4K miles). This means removing them, removing the dust covers front and back clean with a de-greaser and allow to dry and then pack with grease and replace. When replacing the crank make sure you tighten it to the correct torque. You wont get anywhere near using an allen key. Personally I'd avoid the praxis type adapters. I had one for 4 weeks and it was a PITA.
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