Shinkers

Hey,


I was seriously considering a new Cannondale Slate Apex as a new bike, and then realized that it has a BB30 bottom bracket.


I have experience with PF41 on my MTB and am not a massive fan, though I swapped it for a Wheels MFG adapter pretty soon after getting the bike.


I've always been a fan of threaded BB's but I do like this bike. That said, I don't want to get a bike and be pulling the BB right away to put Loctite on the bearings or swap to a different BB system.


Is BB30 a reason to pass on this bike? Has anyone had a significant amount of creak free miles?


Thanks.

GeneO 

I think most of the issues with BB30 are with Carbon frames. I haven't had any creaking in my alloy frame over several K miles.

Campag4life

Creaking isn't due to carbon versus AL + BB30.

My view OP is don't let BB30 be a discriminator for a bike you really want. You can even convert BB30 to external bearings with a sleeve. But I am not afraid to dig into BB's and fix as needed...what I do.
The large majority of road bikes are press fit now of some ilk with a variety of bearing diameters...many with wider BB shells.

PepeM

If you like the bike, get it. Especially the Slate, it's not like you have many similar options to choose from. Most people ride press-fit BBs, since that is the most common system. BF makes it seem like a way bigger issue than it is, as with most things.

rpenmanparker 

I don't get it. No problem for me.

TimothyH

Praxis Conversion and Enduro Torqtite do away with pressed bearings altogether. These are not adapters but full bottom brackets which negate the need to press bearings on frames with pressfit bottom bracket shells. They literally slip into the shell and screw together in five minutes. I have the Torqtite on my gravel bike. Assembly could not have been easier.

I would not hesitate to get any kind of press fit frame and when the time comes to replace the bottom bracket use the Praxis or Enduro.


-Tim-

scplus5

I personally have 8k miles between my caad9 and synapse. Both are 2009 bikes that I bought used. I replaced the bearings in the synapse 2500 miles ago and it's been silent. Replaced the ones on the caad a few thousand miles after I got it. Who knows how many miles the previous owners had on each bike...I wouldn't shy away from BB30.

rpenmanparker 

But the adapters are pressed in by the screwing together. There could still be creaking if not properly designed and executed. Fortunately the adapters you are referring to usually work very well. But then so do the simple pressed-in bearings.

CoMotionRider

I have over 10000 miles on my Cannondale CAAD 9. It has the BB30. I have never had any issues.

redlude97

Green loctite 609/641 fixes the majority of creaks

TimothyH

My point was that the Enduro or Praxis negate the need to press anything.

Nothing needs to be pressed, either with a bearing press or by screwing together.

They slide into the bottom bracket shell by hand.

redlude97

that is absolutely not true and if the cups slide in by hand without a press or tightening using the threading then the BB shell is out of spec. It should be a tight press fit fitting

dr_lha

IMHO, yes it is a reason to pass on the bike.

BB30 gave me no end of problems, and I can count on one had (5) guys I ride with who have had issues too, usually within the first year or two of riding C'dales. Most recently my friend has a Synapse that's been back in the shop a few times, but he can't get rid of the creak. Same thing happened to his OSBB Roubaix.

That said, there's always going to be people that have no problem with it. Of course, BB30 doesn't have a 100% creak rate. However, the people who say "I never had any issue with my bike so therefore it's not an issue" are putting too much value into their single experience.

That said, the Slate is a pretty unique bike, so you have to weigh whether that's worth it over the risk of creaking.

I fixed the creaking in my BB30 with some care and attention (and Loctite), but the experience has been enough for me ot go back to buying bikes that have thread in BBs, which I rode for 35 years before my first BB30 bike without ever having to worry about the Bottom Bracket.

dvdslw

^^This^^ My Caad10 had a creak right after I bought it in 2014, had the BB30 bearing replaced and it was gone for a short while then returned. Searched the web for solutions and found the Green Loctite fix and never had an issue since.

On a side note, I just converted to an Ultegra Crank using the wheels mfg conversion kit (whole kit, not adapters) and I'm not too impressed. Everything appears to have been installed correctly but something just doesn't feel right, really rough while pedaling hard. Haven't put any time into figuring it out just yet but I'm leaning towards putting the BB30 bearings back in along with the FSA crank.

GuitarBob

Agreed. In fact, I have one of the Praxis conversions sitting here ready to press in for a pal who wants to use a Shimano crank on their BB30 Specialized Tarmac.

redlude97

I'm like you that had creaks(multiple) that were swapped with grease that eventually came back until i started using the loctite. No problems since. I also get creaking on threaded bottom brackets though so its not unique to bb30. Where we differ is in terms of what we think of the amount of work that is required. Now it takes essentially the same amount of time, and BB30 bearings from an industrial supply company cost $5 each. Not an issue at all IMO anymore.

loxx0050

You could get a press fit threaded sleeve installed too like the FSA one.



I'm considering this once it is time to replace my bottom bracket on my Cannondale EVO. Even though I run BB30 cranks so I can work on it myself (don't have press fit tools and hard to justify buying it currently for me). Ok with using threaded BB30 bottom brackets (have had good experiences with this on another bike I have that is a threaded BB).

There are a few on other forums that use this on their bikes with great success.

TimothyH

I own and have installed an Enduro Torqtite bottom bracket for PF30 frame and Shimano 24 mm spindle cranks.

The bottom bracket slips into the bottom bracket shell exactly as shown in the video below. There is no pressing needed. At lease one BF user has the Praxis product and races gravel with it regularly. Installation is identical.

Only the first 30 seconds of the video need be watched.











-Tim-

dr_lha

I've never had a creaking bottom bracket that screwed in, square taper or "Hollowtech" type.

I fixed my BB30 on the third replacement. The factory install failed, the LBS install failed, my install with Loctite and a lot of TLC and it worked (for about 3000 before I sold the bike at least).

Regardless of what you say, I would argue that a threaded bottom bracket is considerably easier to install than a pressfit, and certainly it's a lot less likely to cause issues. That's not really an opinion, that's a simple fact of how the installation works. It's easy to install a pressfit bearing slightly out of tolerance.

Cost isn't really the issue here either. BB30 bearings are cheap, Shimano Hollowtech BSA BBs are cheap ($16 on Jenson USA for the Ultegra level one).

indyfabz

I don't know anything about my BB other than that it is black and reads "Parlee" on the little cups on the outside. What type might it be?

PepeM

Probably a Parlee.

Campag4life

Sorry but you are wrong. Enduro is slip fit and Praxis is press fit on one side. Installation is not identical for that reason.

Campag4life

Actually a thread BB is not that much easier to install than loctited BB30 bearings. BB30 is only voodoo for those that don't know how to work on them and honestly if somebody doesn't have the mechanical aptitude to install BB30 they are declared mechanically inept which comprises the majority of the world FWIW. Never try to set up the cams on a 4V Ducati. I know, what's a Ducati? BB30 threads always make me laugh.

dr_lha

It really is easier though. I've done both. Disagreeing with this simply makes you disagreeable.

Agreed.

rfmarotti

I'd say 45 seconds just to really drive the point home.