Post by busaste on Jan 11, 2017 20:25:54 GMT
Happy new year every one!!! 
I thought I had seen it all with these innovative/pesky (delete as you necessary...) cartridge bearing bottom brackets but no, 2 of my frames have really pushed me to breaking point.
For this set up to work (thanks John for the picture!!)...
...the recesses in the frame for the bearings must be parallel to each other so that the spindle can sit nice and square in them. If they aren't the bearings will wear out in no time. I spent 4 hours endlessly tapping the spindle and gently relocating the bearings in the shell on my winter Viscount but all to no avail. I could not get a nice smooth feel when turning the spindle. I hoped the bearings would 'bed in' but sadly they were wrecked after the first ride. I tried another frame and found exactly the same problem. To make matters worse, on the second frame, one of the cartridge bearings actually moved deep into the BB shell as I pulled the spindle through it!!
Close inspection of the BB shells on these frames showed that the holes machined out for the bearings were clearly off centre. Also, on one of them, there was very little 'meat' in the shell to stop movement of the bearing into the frame; I could barely feel any lip at all with my fingers. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh
Lesson learned for me? Have a real close look at the bearing shell whenever you do your first BB overhaul.
In the end I had to resort to one of these which solved the problem at a stroke (after grinding down the protruding frame tubes in the BB shell):
Well made, cheap, easy to fit (but do it up tighter than the manufacturer's recommended max. torque setting - I didn't and it came loose very quickly) and with a spindle length of 122.5mm, perfect for a good chain line on a Viscount.
Never a dull moment, eh?
Cheers
Steve
I thought I had seen it all with these innovative/pesky (delete as you necessary...) cartridge bearing bottom brackets but no, 2 of my frames have really pushed me to breaking point.
For this set up to work (thanks John for the picture!!)...
...the recesses in the frame for the bearings must be parallel to each other so that the spindle can sit nice and square in them. If they aren't the bearings will wear out in no time. I spent 4 hours endlessly tapping the spindle and gently relocating the bearings in the shell on my winter Viscount but all to no avail. I could not get a nice smooth feel when turning the spindle. I hoped the bearings would 'bed in' but sadly they were wrecked after the first ride. I tried another frame and found exactly the same problem. To make matters worse, on the second frame, one of the cartridge bearings actually moved deep into the BB shell as I pulled the spindle through it!!
Close inspection of the BB shells on these frames showed that the holes machined out for the bearings were clearly off centre. Also, on one of them, there was very little 'meat' in the shell to stop movement of the bearing into the frame; I could barely feel any lip at all with my fingers. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh
Lesson learned for me? Have a real close look at the bearing shell whenever you do your first BB overhaul.
In the end I had to resort to one of these which solved the problem at a stroke (after grinding down the protruding frame tubes in the BB shell):
Well made, cheap, easy to fit (but do it up tighter than the manufacturer's recommended max. torque setting - I didn't and it came loose very quickly) and with a spindle length of 122.5mm, perfect for a good chain line on a Viscount.
Never a dull moment, eh?
Cheers
Steve
