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Best BB standard

troy

troy

Turbo Monkey
Dec 3, 2008
1,026
785
Working on a new enderpo bike. Was wondering what do You guys think is the best size and standard of the bottom bracket. Threaded? Press fit? If yes, which one BB92 or Press fit 30? Threaded BB cups for 30mm or 28.99 ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) crank spindles are kinda hard to get... not sure how many of You still run 24mm spindle cranks.

 
Bikael Molton

Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,088
1,235
El Lay
Threaded is the best, but I wouldn’t choose a new bike based on BB type.

I put 1500mi on my PF30 bike with no creaks or blown bearings, so it’s a nonissue in the real world for me on this bike.
 
Wuffles

Wuffles

Monkey
Feb 24, 2016
157
98
Threaded BB. Don't really care about spindle size, but all the cranks I run are 30mm. Also drooling over the completely stupid and unnecessary Cane Creek EWings babies, and they're 30mm as well.

I have had exactly 1 "PF" BB that didn't creek, and thats the wheels mfg one that threads into itself, and it's on a steel gravel bike.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,636
26,882
media blackout
rpet said:
Threaded is the best, but I wouldn’t choose a new bike based on BB type.
Click to expand...
this.

also, i've run cranks with both 24mm and 30mm spindles (shimano & e13) and i can definitely notice the increased stiffness on the e13's with the 30mm spindle. disclaimer: i'm a bigger dude, probably 220lbs geared up.
 
Jeremy R

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,701
1,056
behind you with a snap pop
If there are 50 different ones, can one even be considered a standard?
I want to live in a world where there is one BB standard, one headset standard, and one rear hub standard.
I had to do calculus this week and solve for X just to order a damn headset.
Vote for me for your lizard king. I will make all your hopes and dreams come true...
 
Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,065
10,628
AK
My external threaded RF BB on my fatbike1 is creaking like crazy. The threaded E13 on my threaded fatbike2 is silent as can be. Still have to investigate (maybe tonight) and make sure it’s not a cracky next SL arm, but it seems to be from the BB.

Have PF30 aluminum BBs on the other two bikes and they run nice. Shitty plastic sram BBs really handicapped the 30mm rollout.
 
Happymtb.fr

Happymtb.fr

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2016
2,066
1,437
SWE
Internet is a good place for opinions. My anecdotal experience based on 24mm axles only says that sometimes bb92 and threaded can fail presumably based on how well the frame is build, tolerance-wise mostly.

TLDR: bb doesn't matter as long as there is space for a bottle cage
 
Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,065
10,628
AK
Jm_ said:
My external threaded RF BB on my fatbike1 is creaking like crazy. The threaded E13 on my threaded fatbike2 is silent as can be. Still have to investigate (maybe tonight) and make sure it’s not a cracky next SL arm, but it seems to be from the BB.

Have PF30 aluminum BBs on the other two bikes and they run nice. Shitty plastic sram BBs really handicapped the 30mm rollout.
Click to expand...
Well I may have destroyed the frame in the process. Crank bolt was jammed on there, so I got a big breaker bar socket wrench, but as I went to try and turn it, the allen in the socket somehow fell out and into the BB. WTF? So I have to go and get a backup long allen wrench of the same type, but even with a breaker bar extender (pipe) I can't get it to budge. Try hitting it with a soft mallet, that does nothing. Can't find my metal mallet, but I find my hatchet, so hit the backside of the hatchet against the allen, trying to break it loose. Just as I finally get it to break loose, for two blows, somehow, even though I'm trying to be careful not to do this, it rebounds against the frame, like the santa-cruz test videos, but it doesn't look nice like those, two hits, one may have some delamination. F*ck. So I sand away the clear coat, put some epoxy on there, wrap it with some stretchy tape to help press the epoxy in there. The only not-so-bad part is this is a cheap chinese frame that cost around 400-500 in the first place, so not that big of a loss, but F, this went bad quickly. BB bearings appeared smooth too. Threaded BB interface seemed a bit crunchy.
 
canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
21,898
21,423
Canaderp
Jm_ said:
Well I may have destroyed the frame in the process. Crank bolt was jammed on there, so I got a big breaker bar socket wrench, but as I went to try and turn it, the allen in the socket somehow fell out and into the BB. WTF? So I have to go and get a backup long allen wrench of the same type, but even with a breaker bar extender (pipe) I can't get it to budge. Try hitting it with a soft mallet, that does nothing. Can't find my metal mallet, but I find my hatchet, so hit the backside of the hatchet against the allen, trying to break it loose. Just as I finally get it to break loose, for two blows, somehow, even though I'm trying to be careful not to do this, it rebounds against the frame, like the santa-cruz test videos, but it doesn't look nice like those, two hits, one may have some delamination. F*ck. So I sand away the clear coat, put some epoxy on there, wrap it with some stretchy tape to help press the epoxy in there. The only not-so-bad part is this is a cheap chinese frame that cost around 400-500 in the first place, so not that big of a loss, but F, this went bad quickly. BB bearings appeared smooth too. Threaded BB interface seemed a bit crunchy.
Click to expand...
Send it off a few jumps and try it now?
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,779
7,044
borcester rhymes
Not sure if trolling or real life...

BSA is generally considered to be the best by people who ride bikes. It facilitates easy installation and removal and doesn't force the owner to buy new tools. It also allows compatibility with virtually anything on the market and is basically foolproof.

PF30 is probably the frame designer's favorite. It allows a massive spindle with good sized bearings. It incorporates a cup to accommodate frame tolerances and defects and the design allows for maximum theoretical stiffness and ease of manufacturing. This should be the best design.

I think poor install contributes to creaking and the "design rush" that accommodates new standards makes for shitty bearings and shitty manufacturing.

As for 24mm vs 30mm, I don't think it matters in real life. The stiffest cranks I've owned were saints with 24mm spindle and 165mm arms. I have SLX now and I can't tell the difference vs my RF atlas 30mm.
 
Electric_City

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
2,047
783
Jm_ said:
Well I may have destroyed the frame in the process. Crank bolt was jammed on there, so I got a big breaker bar socket wrench, but as I went to try and turn it, the allen in the socket somehow fell out and into the BB. WTF? So I have to go and get a backup long allen wrench of the same type, but even with a breaker bar extender (pipe) I can't get it to budge. Try hitting it with a soft mallet, that does nothing. Can't find my metal mallet, but I find my hatchet, so hit the backside of the hatchet against the allen, trying to break it loose. Just as I finally get it to break loose, for two blows, somehow, even though I'm trying to be careful not to do this, it rebounds against the frame, like the santa-cruz test videos, but it doesn't look nice like those, two hits, one may have some delamination. F*ck. So I sand away the clear coat, put some epoxy on there, wrap it with some stretchy tape to help press the epoxy in there. The only not-so-bad part is this is a cheap chinese frame that cost around 400-500 in the first place, so not that big of a loss, but F, this went bad quickly. BB bearings appeared smooth too. Threaded BB interface seemed a bit crunchy.
Click to expand...
Back to step #1- throw out the frame and get a new one. That's what I do when it comes to replacing a BB
 
S

shirk007

Monkey
Apr 14, 2009
532
412
Best option is the one that nobody is using yet. BB392

You get the wide bracing angle advantage of BB92 and you run the bigger PF30 bearings to better accommodate 30mm spindles.
 
OGRipper

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,732
1,243
NORCAL is the hizzle
Threaded for me all the way. I wouldn't let a bad BB choice, by itself, dictate a purchase decision, but a stupid BB choice could indicate that the maker makes other stupid decisions.
 
HardtailHack

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
7,666
7,022
I have only had one PF frame and bearing retainer couldn't keep that thing quiet, shit manufacture meant the DS shell was 0.7mm out of round.

If it is done well it should cause the same number of issues that a well manufactured headtube has. I have no idea about newer standards but I would go for the biggest threaded one.
 
slimshady

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
Dec 20, 2007
5,717
3,565
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
OGRipper said:
Threaded for me all the way. I wouldn't let a bad BB choice, by itself, dictate a purchase decision, but a stupid BB choice could indicate that the maker makes other stupid decisions.
Click to expand...
I hacked a threaded 30mm Chinese BSA BB to a set of SRAM S1200 cranks (long spindle) and they are by far the stiffest cranks I've used. Just a couple .2 mm shimz (he he) to adjust the play and boom! Best of both worlds.
 
Last edited:
Bikael Molton

Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,088
1,235
El Lay
Have any of you guys had bad PF experience in metal frames?

I'm wondering what % of the bad experiences and horror stories were from the early days when every brand was switching to carbon.
 
Rockland

Rockland

Turbo Monkey
Apr 24, 2003
1,880
286
Left hand path
I haven't had bad luck across the board with press fit bb styles. What generates more noise in set-ups I've run, are inner races that bear directly on the crank spindle.

I've had:
Bmx press fits (american, mid, spanish)
Carbon bb92 frame with plastic cups
Carbon bb92 frame with metal cups
Metal bb92 frame with plastic cups
Metal bb92 frame with metal cups
BB30 metal frame (my least favorite of all of 'em)
PF30 metal frame with plastic cups
 
William42

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
4,012
771
Jeremy R said:
If there are 50 different ones, can one even be considered a standard?
I want to live in a world where there is one BB standard, one headset standard, and one rear hub standard.
I had to do calculus this week and solve for X just to order a damn headset.
Vote for me for your lizard king. I will make all your hopes and dreams come true...
Click to expand...
OOooh, you should make a new standard to unify all of them!
 
HardtailHack

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
7,666
7,022
rpet said:
Have any of you guys had bad PF experience in metal frames?
Click to expand...
Yeah mine was steel, they even post weld reamed it, but if you start with a shell that is the correct size then distort it and later ream it you still only get partial contact. I assumed ze Germans were smart enough to understand that, seemed they weren't but the frame sucked anyway so it wasn't really a big deal.
 
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