I’ve managed to shred another one. Within 2 and a half years this will be my third BB I’ve gone through. I’m kinda looking for a little advice on what I can do so I don’t have to put in a new BB every damn year. I, myself, am a big guy. This is what I attributed it to at first, but I’ve been told that has got nothing to do with it. What I was told was that leg power and mashing up hill in top gears is what will do them in. I have got some strong legs, thanks to the hills of B-more, and I kind of enjoy mashing up hills.
So, I guess what I’m asking is if one: Does my weight have something to do with it?
Two: If weight has nothing to do with it, then is there a BB out there that will allow me not to have to change my riding style?
Any advice is welcome. Thanks all. 
7 comments
Comments feed for this article
05.17.10 at 6:58 pm
bikesncoffee
How are the bb’s wearing out? Do you ride in the rain a lot? Leave the bike outside in the elements? I’m a big guy (started out around 270 in 2007 and still over 220 most weeks) and the biggest prob I’ve had was at the crank interface b/c I didn’t tighten the crank bolts down enough. A torque wrench and some internet research fixed that. I Use Shimano UN-xx square taper stuff Never wore out the bearing shell, but I usually go for an easier gear/fast cadence on the hills.
05.18.10 at 7:21 pm
Johnny
I don’t know, Mr. Dan. Riding up a lot of hills with you, I’m going to blame your big freakin leg muscles. You always rock fenders and keep your gear clean. :^P
I spin after my knees kept yelling at me last year instead of mashing these days.
(Bad genes.)
Incidentally, if you wanna take a stroll down to BBW one day, I need to pick up something also. It’s a good walk. We can take kids.
05.18.10 at 9:52 pm
Dan-o
Thanks BnC. I checked my crankes with great hope but unfortunatly it does seem to be the BB. It’s a sealed cartridge BB so I can only guess that it’s the bearings that are wearing down. When I grab either crank I can wiggle it from side to side a little and the spindle and opposite crank move with it. The first time I ground one up it was a three peice. Upon inspection I saw that the cups had worn causing the bearings to fail. So I gues the same can happen with a sealed bracket. Looks like lower gears and a faster cadences are in my future.
05.18.10 at 9:54 pm
Dan-o
Hey Mr. Johnny. You name the date and time friend. We’ll go and put an order in for a BB and a new set of those sexy petals!
05.22.10 at 9:46 am
bikesncoffee
Sorry to hear it is the bearings. There are more durable options out there, but for what you’d spend on new cranks and everything else, replacing the bb every so often probably makes more sense. Incidentally, if your bb happens to be around 73×110/111 in size I have a used one in my parts bin for Velocipede that I’d trade for a cup of coffee. Has about 300-500 miles on it.
05.25.10 at 7:54 pm
rb2rider
I guess I’ll just put this here: I am looking for the thread we had here on bike tires, sometime in the second half of 2009. I tried going through the archives and using the search, but no dice.
Vittoria isn’t shipping Randonneurs (or Rando Cross) tires; I’ve ben waiting for weeks, but BBW keeps giving me a later ETA.
I remember that was a good thread with several recommendations, so can somebody help me out with finding it?
Thanks!
06.02.10 at 8:16 am
rb2rider
Nevermind, I sold out and got some Vittorias at REI.