What does the -K suffix mean on Shimano BBs?

[MickTheCyclist]

For example......
ES25 is for normal front mech
ES25-E is for E-type front mech but can be used with a spacer on normal front mechs
But what does ES25-K mean and can I use it to replace an ES25 of the same spindle length and shell size etc?

[Brucey]

-K is for use with a chaincase I think.

The chainline is specified for these BB units as '47.5mm + T' (where T is the chaincase thickness) for chainsets that nomally use a 50mm chainline.

I don't see why you cannot use one in a standard application with a suitable spacer.

Not sure what -(K) and -AK suffixes are though....

More here;

http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/techdocs/content/cycle/SI/FC/SI-0086A-001/SI-0086A-001-ENG_v1_m56577569830657937.pdf

cheers

[MickTheCyclist]

Thanks Brucey.
I've been trying without success to find an ES25 to replace my current one. I can get -E or -K versions at very reasonable prices but maybe I should just go for ES30 or ES51.