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Bottom Bracket upgrade

by Richthornton
Sat, Aug 03, 2013 22:54
2

I have been getting a clicking noise for the last hundred miles or so, once every pedal revolution. I initially thought it to be caused by a pedal. Today I had time to investigate it properly and I think it is the bottom bracket: With the cranks and spindle removed I can feel that there is a little bit of play in the bottom bracket on the drive side.
I have Shimano 105 5700 BB cups:
These

As they are available at an affordable price, I am ready to replace them, regardless of whether the play could be repaired or the clicking silenced.

So, that's the background, now three questions to answer if you please:

1) After 8000km and a reasonably thorough approach to cleaning/maintenence is this acceptable for a BB to need replacing.

2) is there any benefit to paying more to upgrade a BB, what can I expect from a pricier model? (I weigh 95 kgs so I'm reluctant to go for anything super-light that might not take the strain)

3)If there is a benefit to upgrading, bearing in mind that the link above states 'Required for installation of FC-5700 and FC-5703 chainset'. Does this mean that there are actually no other options out there anyway?

Cheers for your help if anyone is able to...

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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2 comments

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Richthornton | 10 years ago
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Almost Mike, I felt the play before removing anything, and after removing cranks it is plain that the BB is an issue. There is some play in the drive side cup, and it feels a little gritty when turned with fingers.
As I am planning to use the bike to get to work tonight I will be re-tightening the cranks anyway as a new BB won't be delivered until probably the middle of the week, so I'll see how much difference it makes.

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mike_ibcyclist | 10 years ago
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So hang on . . . you removed the cranks etc and then felt there was some play in the BB? It sounds more like you just needed to tighten the cranks in the first place. I've had this a few times with various bikes. Just tighten them, or if your unsure the LBS can do a BB service and re-grease at the same time.

If you want to replace the Shimano cups it's a relatively easy job. Without knowing what type of bike you have or riding you do it's hard to say what might be the benefit of a BB upgrade for you. I'm 94kgs myself and the biggest upgrade I made was losing 22kgs getting to this weight. My next upgrade will be to 88kgs : )

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