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external BBs – how long do yours last?

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  • May 1, 2016 at 6:17 pm #25676
    road

    Im getting frustrated with my external BBs, I dont seem to be able to get more than 6 months riding out of them. Ive checked all the usual stuff, bb shell is parallel, clean, well greased, correct torque etc, even after getting a new bike Im still not getting much life out of them.

    So far Ive used all shimano ones – Tiagra, 105 and ultegra, not much difference in them either really.

    So whats going wrong? should I just accept theyre weak and get a Hope SS one?

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Viewing 6 replies - 16 through 21 (of 21 total)
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  • May 2, 2016 at 7:24 pm #871011
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    fukawitribe

    bechdan wrote:

    bechdan wrote:
    fukawitribe wrote:
    <p>Well I suppose Bank Holiday Monday is as good a day as any for over-generalised nonsense about external BBs….</p>
    What useful input. What’s your problem

    My problem was SP59 unequivocally condemning external BBs without any real nod to reality.

    May 2, 2016 at 7:04 pm #871009
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    Anonymous

    fukawitribe wrote:

    fukawitribe wrote:
    <p>Well I suppose Bank Holiday Monday is as good a day as any for over-generalised nonsense about external BBs….</p>

    What useful input. What’s your problem

    May 2, 2016 at 2:33 pm #871007
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    fukawitribe

    Well I suppose Bank Holiday

    Well I suppose Bank Holiday Monday is as good a day as any for over-generalised nonsense about external BBs….

    May 2, 2016 at 12:58 pm #871005
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    medic_ollie

    I got around 18 months out of

    I got around 18 months out of Tiagra BB (approx. 5000 miles), probably left it a bit longer than I should have but just didn’t have the time to swap it out. 

    The new, slightly smaller, black Ultegra one looks great though 

    May 1, 2016 at 8:01 pm #871003
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    Simon E

    External means that the

    External means that the bearings are outside the bottom bracket shell, as opposed to the sealed unit type such as square taper. Nearly all chainsets are external now – see this article:

    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/complete-guide-to-bottom-brackets-36660/

    My second Tiagra Hollowtech BB died after just over 12 months, though the previous one had done 4 years with the same kind of treatment. Neither can hope to get near the reliability of the cheap S/T BB in my old Kona. Personally I’d avoid the press-fit type if at all possible, they seem a real PITA.

    Here is a still from a Youtube video explaining the differences:

     

    May 1, 2016 at 7:28 pm #871001
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    sergius

    Am I missing something here?

    Am I missing something here?  Is an external BB different to the normal Shimano BB’s I’ve got on both my bikes?

     

    It sounds a little strange, my winter bike has around 4500km on it over 3 winters now and the Tiagra BB is absolutely fine – I’ve never done a thing to it since buying the bike.

    My new best bike has about 3500km on it so far, again never touched the Ultegra BB and it’s just fine.

     

    Are you riding hundreds of miles a week?  Do you take everything apart all the time to clean/oil it?

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