Bottom Bracket Bananza
April 12th, 2008 by ArleighIn the past week Bike Biz has featured two very unique bottom bracket (BB) setups. A maintenance free BB from KHE or Eastern’s new plastic BB.
As the industry pushes forward with more and more outboard bearing, 2 piece, cranks I am left to wonder why. The bearings or whole bottom bracket cups need to be replaced in a 1/4 of the time normally. If you cough up the cash to upgrade the bearings to something nicer like Phil Wood or ceramic they will last longer with less drag but the fact is you HAD to upgrade.
Choices are your friend, I often say. With traditional cup, bearing and axle setups you can adjust your chainline, q-factor and if you want your bb super light or super bomb proof you can do it. Soon I will be reviewing a pair of tried and true BMX cranks from Profile. These cranks, though heavy, are bombproof and as stiff as you could wish. No out board bearing needed!
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I have an idea: make the shell bigger and put proper bearings into a cartridge unit… I mean that Idea’s been bounced about for years yet only Cannondale seem to have ever done it. or 1pc cranks and push fit bearings in a larger shell like BMX have had for years.
I’d give my left nut for a BB or External BB that would last more than 1000 miles, Octolink gets close, but the conditions on my trails is too much for them to handle, External doesn’t even get to 600 miles before it’s wobbly… I’ve yet to try Phil Bearings though, as they’re a massive investment and I don’t know anyone that’s put enough time on them in harsh conditions to give proper feedback.
I’ve never noticed any stiffness difference between 3pc and 2pc cranks, if there is one it’s almost undetectable.
matt: I tend to agree with you. It’s high time the Euro BB went the way of the dodo. A biggere shell is not only stiffer, but could house these bigger bearings you mention as well. Plus, an eccentric BB could easily be swapped for single speedage!
Brilliant I say.
outboard bearings kick butt! I have them on all three of my bikes, not 1 bit of trouble, although I can’t say that I haven’t looked at internal bearing set ups.