BB's longevity

Leon said:

How long is road bike Bottom Brackets (BB) life in distance?

Until it fails.

Quoted message said:

Do I have to replace my Campagnolo AC-H BB every year (7000 km)?

Heavens no.

Bill "really" S.

Leon said:

How long is road bike Bottom Brackets (BB) life in distance?
Do I have to replace my Campagnolo AC-H BB every year (7000 km)?

Cartridge bottom brackets last a really long time... Usually the way
they fail is that water/dirt gets into them and you can feel the
grittiness. I rode a low end rigid steel Raleigh mountain bike for 4
years in college and abused the heck out of the thing, riding
everywhere standing up, leaving it out in the rain. After 4 years the
bottom bracket SPINDLE finally snapped in half :-)

Leon said:

How long is road bike Bottom Brackets (BB) life in distance?
Do I have to replace my Campagnolo AC-H BB every year (7000 km)?

One should last at least a few years at that rate. But it will wear out
prematurely if fitted tightly to a frame with some problem that causes the
bearings to bind.

~PB

Leon said:

How long is road bike Bottom Brackets (BB) life in distance?
Do I have to replace my Campagnolo AC-H BB every year (7000 km)?

hardly. If smooth and no play, just ride it. I have seen these
inexpensive but very smooth BBs last for years and many kms. Make sure
the frame is prepped as the cups live against the BB shell edges.

Thanks for the advices, everybody.
"Leon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How long is road bike Bottom Brackets (BB) life in distance?
Do I have to replace my Campagnolo AC-H BB every year (7000 km)?

Bottom bracket in my newest bike is fine after 18000 miles (3 years), I
won't consider replacing it unless there is an obvious problem (if it
runs smooth with no play then it is fine for a few more miles yet).

Leon said:

How long is road bike Bottom Brackets (BB) life in distance?
Do I have to replace my Campagnolo AC-H BB every year (7000 km)?

From an article I posted here earlier this year:

"An anecdote: Many years ago I replaced the cup and cone BB on my late
'80s Trek 1400 with a UN-53 cartridge unit. I liked the idea of a
cartridge BB so much I decided to replace the Dura Ace cup and cone
unit in my Vitus 992 with an appropriate cartridge, but only when the
cup and cone wore out. I decided to ride it until I heard a "crunch,
crunch, crunch". Five years later I though it was time for a complete
refurb on that bike. I pulled the BB out and it still looked great, so
when I put the bike back together I put the old BB back in, only I
used new balls, eliminated the cages, and added a ball to each side.

"About three weeks ago I pulled that bike apart again and the races
still look like new. I'm planning on reassembling it with the old BB
still in place, but again with new balls.

"So the bike is now entering its fourteenth season with the original
BB still going strong. I've long since lost track of the mileage on
that bike but it has to be in excess of 50,000."

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

I don't care how much you abused it if a bottom bracket lasts only 4
years with daily use then you got ripped off. In my opinion, a decent
bottom bracket should last at least a decade or 10,000 mi, whichever
comes first.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

How long is road bike Bottom Brackets (BB) life in distance?
Do I have to replace my Campagnolo AC-H BB every year (7000 km)?

There are so many variables that you can't really go by mileage. Your best
bet is to inspect your BB on a regular basis.
----------------
Alex

My shortest BB life was one year and longest was 4.5
years.

Quoted message said:

My shortest BB life was one year and longest was 4.5+
years.

Hey Craze, good seeing you down here in Tech! 🙂

Yeah, I've toasted a damned TruVativ BB in mere months, but that was on the
mountain bike. OP asked about a Campy BB, so I assume he's talking road
bike.

Cya back up in AM-B!

BS

Donald Gillies said:

I don't care how much you abused it if a bottom bracket lasts only 4
years with daily use then you got ripped off. In my opinion, a decent
bottom bracket should last at least a decade or 10,000 mi, whichever
comes first.

Probably true... this was not a great bike though. Additionally it was
stolen for a few months, and was somewhat damaged when I got it back
(by chasing down a bus carrying the thief+the bike on foot :-) Who
knows what they could have done to it...

Quoted message said:

My shortest BB life was one year and longest was 4.5
years.

I'm still using a Campy Record BB I installed in 1981.

--

John ([email hidden])