Poll - Does your Bottom Bracket Creak? PressFit Vs Threaded

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Moderator: robbosmans

Does your BB Creak? (Add your Comments on Length of ownership in years or miles)

PF30 Creaks
15
8%
BB86 Creaks
13
7%
BB30 Creaks
22
11%
BB90/92/96 Creaks
3
2%
Pressfit (not listed above) Creaks
2
1%
PF30 Silent
41
21%
BB86 Silent
35
18%
BB30 Silent
32
16%
BB90/92/96 Silent
14
7%
Pressfit (not listed above) Silent
17
9%
 
Total votes: 194

highdraw

by highdraw

cobrakai wrote:Even manufacturers can't agree on what best practice is for installing pressed in bearings. For example, FSA instructions only mention using grease: http://www.fullspeedahead.com/wp-conten ... y-2010.pdf

Cannondale recommends Loctite only if the tolerances between frame and bearing are resulting in a 'partial press or slip' fit, which they say means the bearing can be pushed in without the use of a press.
http://media.cannondale.com/media/manua ... ns_web.pdf

Specialized instructs either grease or Loctite, depending on which installation guide you look at
Grease: http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/pdf ... ank_r3.pdf
Loctite: http://service.specialized.com/collater ... 253_R1.pdf

As someone who just purchased a BB30 frame but haven't decided on a crankset yet, all the conflicting information is definitely leading me towards a praxis adapter and 24mm spindle crankset.

You are right...there is a disconnect between mfr's. Average guy doesn't have much of a chance. So it takes judgment and uncommon common sense. Average owner can't sort it out.
Cervelo spec's Loctite for BBright and Trek if you can find a spec for their BB90 specs grease...if you can find a Trek spec...one on the web is 5 years old and bike companies are constantly updating their specs based upon lessons learned at customer expense btw.

But the deal is...what do knowledgable Trek shops do when they have a guy with a $8K project 1 Madone that creaks like a rusty bed after 1K miles and all the grease hydraulics out due to fractional bearing movement based upon a slip fit? They put Loctite on them and they are dead quiet...this has been going on for years.

Is Praxis a free lunch? No. Their bearings aren't serviceable unlike say a Wheel Mfg Alloy PF30 solution which is also rock solid provided its Loctited. If you want Praxis, you are gonna have to pony up $80-90 which is almost twice the cost of a DA BSA BB and 5x's more expensive than replacement BB30 bearings.
So each has to decide what they want. BB30 bearings + Loctite is dirt cheap for a decade of reliable service. People pay their money and make their choices. Me? I will run BB30 bearings in a BB30 frame and a $40 Wheel Mfg alloy PF30 bearing/cup solution and for latter when the bearings wear out, Loctite new BB30 bearings in for $13 which is 1/3 the cost of replacing a DA BSA BB. Choices.
For those with a glue phobia, Praxis for 5 x's the cost is the ticket for sure.

Rush
Posts: 362
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:10 am

by Rush

Sram PF30 ceramic BB since April 2013. About 6,500 km with intermittent 'clicking' when ascending grades > 5%.
Happens seated our out of saddle.
Changed rear skewers from KNC to Dura Ace 7800. No difference.
Rear hub service and new bearings made no difference.
Clicking sometimes would go away after a bearing service.
Once it was so loud that I abandoned a long ride and returned straight back home. I decided to hammer it on the way home..and the noise vanished.

Bike is custom Baum Titanium. They installed the BB, I installed the crankset (Sram Force BB30 with wave washer).

Non-drive side bearing seems to shot now, it's a bit crunchy when you rotate it. I'll get LBS to install both the BB and the crankset this time and see what happens.

Does anyone recommend a PF30 brand over another? I was going to get the SRAM PF30 standard bearing.

by Weenie


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Rush
Posts: 362
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:10 am

by Rush

Update. I got my PF30 bottom bracket replaced in November last year by Dan at Shifter Bikes in Melbourne. When Dan re-installed my crankset he suggested not to use the wave washer as he felt that it gave to much preload for new bearings. He said that I might need it when the bearings are worn and develop a bit of lateral play. He also suggested that newer BB30 cranksets with adjustable collars are much better than older cranks with wave washers.

In any case I've done almost 3,000 km on the bike since then in all weather conditions and the bike is completely silent. Kudos to Dan and Darren.

mdeth1313
Posts: 2069
Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 12:38 am
Location: Dutchess County, NY

by mdeth1313

I ride a Neilpryde Bura SL (PF30) and run Clavicula cranks w/ a Lightning PF30 BB. About once a year I'll get a click during my pedal stroke. I just pop the crank out, put the press on the BB and then reinstall the crank. No more click. Maybe I'm lucky?
Speedplay is the devil!

verbs4us
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 2:17 am
Location: 20 miles from NYC

by verbs4us

At the risk of being ejected from the WW forum...have used two square taper BBs and it is always a silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. Now running a White Industries with the WI BB and you can hear a pin drop. Or an angel get its wings, George Baily.

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pdlpsher1
Posts: 4016
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:09 pm
Location: CO

by pdlpsher1

Nothing wrong with that although the Shimano Octalink is much more efficient but shares the same design principle as the square taper where the bearings will always be in perfect alignment, hence lack of noise. I have the Octalink BBs (two of them) on my tandem and they run buttery smooth with no maintenance needed.


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cerb
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 4:59 am

by cerb

Had BB30 on a Canondale SuperSix and it creaked from about 1500km until I finally got rid of the bike at ~6500km. The BB was rebuilt, glued etc. by multiple shops and the solutions only ever fixed the problem for ~1000km... at most!

Now on Specialized OSBB (Venge), which I understand is basically just BB30, and have had no issues in 10,000km.

aerodynamiq
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:32 am

by aerodynamiq

Cervélo BBRight, FSA Cups, Rotor 3D+ Crankset - silent.
velonode.cc

Ozrider
Posts: 1018
Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2010 6:06 am
Location: Perth, Western Australia

by Ozrider

No
My Parlee has a Praxis adaptor BB30 to 24mm Shimano spindle and no problems
My steel bike has a Chris King English thread BB which works just as it should
My Madone has a BB90 press fit BB which runs smooth and silent.
I upgraded to Endura Bearings about 2 years ago after the original bearings felt gritty at about 8 months, but no creaking at all.


Parlee Z5, Trek Madone, Jonesman Custom
Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL (6055g/13.32lbs) Trek Madone 5.9 (7052-7500g)Jonesman Columbus Spirit (8680g)
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User avatar
kgt
Posts: 8749
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 10:29 am
Location: Athens, Greece

by kgt

BB386 with Campagnolo cups - silent.

jasjas
Posts: 439
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2009 10:15 am

by jasjas

bsa 68 ht 2 silent lasts for 1000's of miles, easy to replace.

the bb90 shimano PF in my Canyon mtb has been great too, one replacement in 2years of trail riding, fitted with silicon grease, replacement was originally fitted clean and dry but creaked like crazy.

Girl friends Canondale CAAD10 BB30 was a nightmare, only fix was a WM ht2 adaptor and new crank.

efeballi
Posts: 492
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:50 pm
Location: Istanbul, hopefully not for long

by efeballi

BSA, Shimano Hollowtech 2, 35000 km, silent.
PowerCore(whatever that is) BB86 pressfit, has bee creaking like crazy since March.


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SHUT UP LEGS
2015 Giant Propel Advanced
2015 Cannondale Supersix Evo
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2011 Pinarello Dogma 60.1(loaner)
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gavin
Posts: 57
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:33 pm

by gavin

Giant TCR bb and was silent for 18 months then terrible creaking noise and would not go away with a new bb installed so changed it for a HOPE aluminium BB and so far no noise problem cured . Had the bike 2 years now

Willem
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 10:03 pm

by Willem

Campy SR 2015 BB86 on Colnago C60 with threadfit 82.5 creaks and clunks.

First removed wave washer and shimmed to remove side play. Silent 95% of the time. At 10,000 km nd side bearing started fretting the crank shaft now a bad clunk as the bearing moves on the shaft. Loctite coming up.

Hard to believe this stuff comes from Campy.!!!
Last edited by Willem on Tue Aug 16, 2016 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

by Weenie


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Wingnut
Posts: 2196
Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:41 am

by Wingnut

I used Campagnolo square taper for years then went to external cups, no creaks or clunks at all...all my frames have threaded bottom brackets and any future frames will also...

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