When installing left hand(non drive) cup on cartridge bb on my MTB, how hard do you torque it down? Do you snug it? Or do you really lean on it? I'm using a pretty heavy duty 12" adjustable wrench, so I'm kind of afraid of getting it too snug.
I find that when I really lean on it, the spindle had quite a bit more resistance when spinning it with my fingers. Is this too tight, should I lay off a bit?
The best way I have learned to put in a cartridge bottom bracket (suggested to me on bikeforums.net): (1) clean the bottom bracket threads and the frame threads with solvent and a rag, making sure to remove dirt or debris (2) put a layer of grease on all the threads (3) put the bottom bracket in by hand. It should go so smoothly that you don't need a tool even. When you get to the end of the threads, you'll feel it abruptly.
If you do this right, the bottom bracket should be very secure and noise free, and there's no risk of overtightening it.
It doesn't make sense to me that the spindle resistance is affected by how much you torque the left-side cup, because tightening the "cup" doesn't actually compress the bearings in a cartridge bracket (at least not the Shimano-style bottom brackets I've owned!)
