How long does bottom bracket last

Steve Austin said:. Lasted forever!! I don't think you can get anything other than Shimano Octalink now, so you are stuck with them.

Location Falkirk. I don't know how this compares to the life of bearings in bicycle bottom brackets? Looking at my cycling logs, the bearings have been in use about hours.

Actually got me wondering now about my head set - Chris King - got about km on it - been apart a couple of times and regreased - not noticed any play - but! Actually got me wondering now about my head set Didn't Mark Beaumont's headset bearings go quite quickly as well??? You must log in or register to reply here. Similar threads. How long in miles should they last? Similar threads E. How long should a bike frame last General Cycling Discussions. Impossible to call Posted 9 years ago. JollyGreenGiant Free Member.

What druidh said. I killed one in 3 rides from over tightening. Northwind Full Member. Do I have low expectations? LH side not long, RH side, for ever… Posted 9 years ago. OCB Free Member. You can tap out the old bearings and put in some cheap new ones to save a few quid. But the bearings are only a few quid off EBay so I,m not that bothered about looking after them Posted 9 years ago. Then i found it it was partly buyinf the cheapo Shimano ones..

If you are one of those folks who actually wants your mechanical equipment running smoothly then keep reading. The rest of you can go back to riding your bike into the ground and when the BB seizes up, you can fix it at that time. We pros had 2 quick tools to do BB work and the work was quick and easy.

Sometimes you needed to replace some of the parts and sometimes the whole thing. Along came a spider and behold the sealed BB was born.

First models simply replaced the loose balls with sealed bearings but still square taper. They are still in use and come stock on many bicycles, especially lower end ones. These bottom bracket units can actually be pretty sturdy and can last for years or decades and the user pretty tosses in a new one when it seizes up in a rainstorm. Fast forward to current bikes and a ton of different types of bottom brackets but they all share similar features of sealed bearings and cups to hold them in the frame.

Once you replace these low end units with a high quality Wheels Mfg Bottom Bracket , you can easily maintain them. The two biggest wear factors are miles and contamination. PF86 and PF OSBB mountain. I use a small amount, because it makes it easier to slide the spindle through the bearings. The spindle should be greased where the splines mate with the crank arm.

Loose spokes are prone to break, and also often result from rim damage. Spin the crank while holding the bike with one hand. If you feel an obvious rumbling or grinding feeling, the bearing are wore out and the unit should be replaced.

Very worn bottom brackets will actually make a grinding noise. Bottom bracket maintenance - is it a thing? Yes, on open bearing BB. On sealed bearing BB, depending on how the unit is constructed you may get away by swapping bearings. This kind of BB's usually have two indidual cups threaded with bearings and a spacer to pinch the bearings.

The most common cause of creaking is the crank being loose on the spindle. Remove the crank bolts, lubricate the threads and under the bolt head, and reinstall.

Tighten the bolts to the manufacturer recommended torque. Use a torque wrench if possible. The bottom bracket on a bicycle connects the crankset chainset to the bicycle and allows the crankset to rotate freely.

It contains a spindle to which the crankset attaches, and the bearings that allow the spindle and cranks to rotate.