Cycling UK Forum

appears my BB bearings are going, getting a knocking started today. I have brand new wheels its not them, still happens out of saddle, and can make it worse by pedalling harder on left pedal and eases when I pedal harder on right pedal.

I like my BB as its a Titanium one I have had for years, but can bearings be serviced by a LBS on this or is it game over for me old trusty Ti BB?

Is your BB a sealed bearing type or a classic cup&cone affair? Manufacturer/model?

Sealed bearings can be replaced although most people (including those in a LBS) hesitate to even try. They are removed and installed properly by heating and cooling different parts of the BB. You reuse the shell and the axle so everything that could possibly be made of titanium (well, probably that's just the shaft) will stay.

With cup and cone bearings you can replace every part seperately if necessary. Remove the BB, clean it, check whether the bearing surfaces are still ok. If so, grease and remount. If not, replace worn out parts - most likely the shaft which is probably the only titanium part of the BB.

A LBS definitly can do the latter but probably wants to sell you a new BB instead. Even if they are willing to service the BB, it is not unlikely they'd replace the titanium shaft with a steel one, so be prepared.

I guess it is a Hope or Royce BB?

If so it will accept a pair of standard cartridge bearings and will be good to go again. A very cheap fix in terms of parts, but not if you are paying someone else to fit them.

BTW it is an excellent idea to check the spindle for cracks whilst it is out. They don't last forever.

cheers

I have no idea what make it is. I rode this bike with it many years ago and had a decade or more off cycling so although the BB has been on for a long time the mileage I am guessing is about 5k on it at least over that period. Its such a long time ago when I put it in but if I was to guess the make I would say maybe TA.

Anyway I think my preference is to replace and not get into having the bike off the road for too long, which brings me to a second and longer question as I just remembered a different option.

some time ago I picked up a Dura Ace fc-7700 Octalink Chainset very cheaply, about £12 and never used it but did use the 39T chainring off it. Its in perfectly good condition. Now I am in the position of considering a BB change I am wondering if I should move to the Octalink seeing as the chainset I have on is an Exage weighing in at about 900g, I just weighed the Dura Ace and it is 580g which surprised me. I see the BB's for this are about £55, a little pricey but I am willing to pay that if I understand better about this system. I'd be grateful if anyone can advise on the following:

1. Do you need a special specific Octalink tool to a) fit the BB (I have both types of BB tool for square taper fitting already) and b) for removing an Octalink chainset
2. Is Octalink any good as a system? Do the BB's have a good lifespan?
3. If the BB is wider or narrower than my current spindle does this simply mean after you fit that the High/Low screws on the rear mech will need a tweak, and maybe front mech too?
4. Anything else I need to be aware of?

My alternative is I stick with square taper, I am looking at changing my chainset anyway to try and drop a little bit more weight off the overall bike weight anyway, I find with the hills near me being so very steep that even a few hundred grams can make a difference on a 20% gradient.

If it is the TA version, then they weigh deliciously little at just 163g and cost about £140 now.

You can have this wonderful BB running fine again by unscrewing the caps pulling the two sealed bearings off the shaft, replacing them and putting it back in, easy peasy. You dont even need the special TA tool to undo it.

The bearings to buy are a pair of 6903 2RS, sometimes called 61903 instead. Sized 17-30-7, available all over the web from a few pounds to twenty pounds for SKF ones, as in the original.

just bumping this up the thread as I am hoping someone is able to answer the octalink questions I had above.

Hackfall wrote:just bumping this up the thread as I am hoping someone is able to answer the octalink questions I had above.

Octalink in the OP Subject line might help - or just a new thread

Got the chainset off, surprisingly easily given how long its been on. Not got the BB off yet but its made by KSS.

Not sure if that make means anything to anyone, it will be from probably around 1998-2000 vintage.