PF BBs. Are they utter junk, or have I just been unlucky?
Discussion
Evening chaps,
Until relatively recently, I'd never had a bike with a press fit BB.
A few months ago, I had to replace the Campag (I assume, the rest of the groupset is) BB on my road bike at 2,660 miles.
Today, on the way home, the bearings on my CX BB decided to have a hissy fit and die too. This one isn't quite as bad, as that's at 3,905 miles, and it has had to put up with a lot more crappy weather than the road bike.
Also waiting in the garage to go to the LBS for a replacement BB before a trip to Bike Park Wales next month is my full susser, which has only done 434 miles from new!!
Granted, I'd expect the BB on the MTB to die much sooner, given the really horrendous conditions it encounters on a regular basis, but by comparison, I got well over 2,000 miles out of Shimano Deore Hollowtech II BB in equally foul conditions before transferring it onto my son's bike where it has done at least another 300, and it's still running as though it was brand new!
So, am I just unlucky, or are they a really crap design which presumably is cheaper for the bike and component manufacturers to produce?
Also, if I spend 3 times as much or whatever it is for ceramic bearings, would it be good value for money in terms of longevity, or would they just run more smoothly until still giving up the ghost fairly rapidly?
Until relatively recently, I'd never had a bike with a press fit BB.
A few months ago, I had to replace the Campag (I assume, the rest of the groupset is) BB on my road bike at 2,660 miles.
Today, on the way home, the bearings on my CX BB decided to have a hissy fit and die too. This one isn't quite as bad, as that's at 3,905 miles, and it has had to put up with a lot more crappy weather than the road bike.
Also waiting in the garage to go to the LBS for a replacement BB before a trip to Bike Park Wales next month is my full susser, which has only done 434 miles from new!!
Granted, I'd expect the BB on the MTB to die much sooner, given the really horrendous conditions it encounters on a regular basis, but by comparison, I got well over 2,000 miles out of Shimano Deore Hollowtech II BB in equally foul conditions before transferring it onto my son's bike where it has done at least another 300, and it's still running as though it was brand new!
So, am I just unlucky, or are they a really crap design which presumably is cheaper for the bike and component manufacturers to produce?
Also, if I spend 3 times as much or whatever it is for ceramic bearings, would it be good value for money in terms of longevity, or would they just run more smoothly until still giving up the ghost fairly rapidly?
They're a pretty crap design.
On my Epic I killed the PF BB within the first 4 or 5 weeks of ownership. I replaced it with a Wheel Manufacturing one and so far it's lasted about 2 years.
My hardtail also has a PF BB but because its a bit of an oddball one which is designed with a Shimano crank in mind and I run a 30mm crank, there's only one BB that I can find that fits. The BB has lasted about a year but running the bike as a singlespeed through the winter did the BB no good at all and it seized solid!
Basically, buy cheap plastic ones like the Sram ones and they are rubbish. Buy better quality ones like Gussett or Wheels Manufacturing and they seem to last fairly well.
On my Epic I killed the PF BB within the first 4 or 5 weeks of ownership. I replaced it with a Wheel Manufacturing one and so far it's lasted about 2 years.
My hardtail also has a PF BB but because its a bit of an oddball one which is designed with a Shimano crank in mind and I run a 30mm crank, there's only one BB that I can find that fits. The BB has lasted about a year but running the bike as a singlespeed through the winter did the BB no good at all and it seized solid!
Basically, buy cheap plastic ones like the Sram ones and they are rubbish. Buy better quality ones like Gussett or Wheels Manufacturing and they seem to last fairly well.
Kermit power said:
I've just checked, and one is PF30, the other BB30. Does anyone have any recommendations that won't be eyewateringly expensive? Chris King is taking it a bit far, even reduced down to £149!!
Hope, Wheels Manufacturing and Praxis might be worth a try, depending upon your BB shell type and cranks.Jimbo. said:
Kermit power said:
I've just checked, and one is PF30, the other BB30. Does anyone have any recommendations that won't be eyewateringly expensive? Chris King is taking it a bit far, even reduced down to £149!!
Hope, Wheels Manufacturing and Praxis might be worth a try, depending upon your BB shell type and cranks.
I have a push fit BB on all my current bikes, 2 are still original and 1 has been changed - the original lasting a good 2500+ miles on an MTB, since its been replaced the first lasted circa 500miles and the current one is sounding like it needs replacing - they were Shimano BB's which in the past I have found to be good... My threaded ones from previous bikes have been so much better and easier to replace (i found).
It might be worth noting, I have replaced them all with my homemade press, maybe this could be the issue... have all of yours been replaced by your LBS?
My new frame (when it turns up in the coming weeks) has a Threaded BB
It might be worth noting, I have replaced them all with my homemade press, maybe this could be the issue... have all of yours been replaced by your LBS?
My new frame (when it turns up in the coming weeks) has a Threaded BB
I had an older campag (xenon cheapest groupset) alu bike , with the older design Campag BB (cheap)
After 3 years of hard riding and climbing it still ran silky smooth
My other newer bikes have press fit BBS and one lasted 2 years, the other a year, they never ran as smooth as the campag even when new!
I asked the mechanic in the shop (really good) he said he just fits the cheapest shimano BBS and treats them as a consumable parts to change every year, he said the basic older design Campag ones cost £60, where as the new pressfit Shimanos cost £15. Hence the difference for me .
After 3 years of hard riding and climbing it still ran silky smooth
My other newer bikes have press fit BBS and one lasted 2 years, the other a year, they never ran as smooth as the campag even when new!
I asked the mechanic in the shop (really good) he said he just fits the cheapest shimano BBS and treats them as a consumable parts to change every year, he said the basic older design Campag ones cost £60, where as the new pressfit Shimanos cost £15. Hence the difference for me .
Both.
Shimano 24mm good as gold, just swapped my first one out on the 2012 Anthem. About £10 and weigh naff all, fine.
PF30 Utter s
te, just changing the (bare) bearings on my mate's 6m old Cannondale Trigger. And then there's some crappy spacer you have to fit in order to put a proper (ie Shimano) crankset on.
Give me std Shimano threaded cups every time please. Deore for mtb, Tiagra for road. Again, £10 light and easy.
Shimano 24mm good as gold, just swapped my first one out on the 2012 Anthem. About £10 and weigh naff all, fine.
PF30 Utter s
te, just changing the (bare) bearings on my mate's 6m old Cannondale Trigger. And then there's some crappy spacer you have to fit in order to put a proper (ie Shimano) crankset on. Give me std Shimano threaded cups every time please. Deore for mtb, Tiagra for road. Again, £10 light and easy.
tjdixon911 said:
It might be worth noting, I have replaced them all with my homemade press, maybe this could be the issue... have all of yours been replaced by your LBS?
All of them are the BBs that came from the factory. I bought the bikes in 2012, 2013 & 2015, and it just happens they've all failed within 3 months of each other!I was wondering about trying it myself, but it seems more of a hassle than it's worth? I've changed plenty of headsets with nothing more complicated than a wide-opening bench vice and a couple of bits of plywood, but I'm not sure this is an option for BBs? Do they actually recess within the frame, or just fit flush?
Kermit power said:
Do they actually recess within the frame, or just fit flush?
They are recessed back in the frame. BB30 push in to butt up against a circlip, and PF30 are flush if you replacing the whole assembly, or if you are removing the bearings from the cups they are recessed in the cups.Kermit power said:
Blimey! I assumed a BB30 was a BB30, end of story. I hadn't realised there was more to it than that!
Even BB30 isn't just BB30. There's BB30A now on the Carbon Cannondale Synapse...I did a fair bit of research when i was building mine and eventually went with a Kogel BB from the States. It took a couple of weeks to arrive (mainly due to HMRC being sloths) but it's been well worth the wait. An Ultegra Crankset went straight in without any silly spacers and the BB was a doddle to press in.
I can't comment on how durable it is yet but they get very good reviews.
Kermit power said:
All of them are the BBs that came from the factory. I bought the bikes in 2012, 2013 & 2015, and it just happens they've all failed within 3 months of each other!
I was wondering about trying it myself, but it seems more of a hassle than it's worth? I've changed plenty of headsets with nothing more complicated than a wide-opening bench vice and a couple of bits of plywood, but I'm not sure this is an option for BBs? Do they actually recess within the frame, or just fit flush?
My press is made up of some threaded bar, some big washers, a couple of nuts and spanners - it works ok, you have to keep an eye on the straigtness they are being inserted but they end up flush in the end. The worst part for me is the removal of the existing, i've not found an easy way to do this, mine generally involves a mallet and screwdriver (or similar), sometimes they pop out easily other times (mostly) they dont... The same press can be used for headsets too.I was wondering about trying it myself, but it seems more of a hassle than it's worth? I've changed plenty of headsets with nothing more complicated than a wide-opening bench vice and a couple of bits of plywood, but I'm not sure this is an option for BBs? Do they actually recess within the frame, or just fit flush?
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff