Bottom bracket woes

lethargicsperm said:

Hi All

I am just new to this so any help would be seriously appreciated.

Does anybody know what size bottom bracket my Giant XTC Team frame (2003) takes. I think i may need a new one and not having the right tools I cannot get the old one out.

Also any opinions on which bottom bracket to replace my current one (XT splined) with would be very welcome. Incidently how long do these things usually last for?

Again all help is appreciated in advance.

Cheers

bottom brackets only last until they start making a quiet little nitty-gritty noise.. gritty noises and sealed bearings should never occupy the same mechanical space at the same time..

sometimes though, the BB can just break loose from it's "seat".. especially if you frequently ride in wet/muddy conditions.. makes a troubling sort of noise.. a crank puller and a spline adapter (and maybe a 10 or 14 mm allen wrench for the plug.. can't remember which size for sure).. pull the BB, clean it.. clean the BB housing on the frame.. grease the threads.. cram it back together.. good to go.. (get ZINN and The Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance.. Lennard Zinn.. Amazon.com)

btw.. a sticky pawl in your free hub can fool you into thinking your BB is toast.. a nasty "PRANG" under load.. overhaul your free hub.. keep track of all those pesky little parts as they fly..! clean it real good.. use light grease.. blah blah blah.. be nice to your free hub and your free hub will be nice to you..

check out the new shimano lx/xt/xtr crankset with the cool outside bearings.. no bottom bracket.. no special tools.. no hassle.. no kidding.. less weight.. but a little more money.. i don't know the tech-name of the new style.. but i have it on my road bike.. i will probably upgrade to it my santa cruz when it's time..

I love Campagnolo components including the bottom bracket but that new Shimano BB that Airwreck cited is a very good design ; the Campy can creak under load due to the interface of the bearing cup on the bearing - not so with the Shimano design.

Airwreck.. said:

bottom brackets only last until they start making a quiet little nitty-gritty noise.. gritty noises and sealed bearings should never occupy the same mechanical space at the same time..

sometimes though, the BB can just break loose from it's "seat".. especially if you frequently ride in wet/muddy conditions.. makes a troubling sort of noise.. a crank puller and a spline adapter (and maybe a 10 or 14 mm allen wrench for the plug.. can't remember which size for sure).. pull the BB, clean it.. clean the BB housing on the frame.. grease the threads.. cram it back together.. good to go.. (get ZINN and The Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance.. Lennard Zinn.. Amazon.com)

btw.. a sticky pawl in your free hub can fool you into thinking your BB is toast.. a nasty "PRANG" under load.. overhaul your free hub.. keep track of all those pesky little parts as they fly..! clean it real good.. use light grease.. blah blah blah.. be nice to your free hub and your free hub will be nice to you..

check out the new shimano lx/xt/xtr crankset with the cool outside bearings.. no bottom bracket.. no special tools.. no hassle.. no kidding.. less weight.. but a little more money.. i don't know the tech-name of the new style.. but i have it on my road bike.. i will probably upgrade to it my santa cruz when it's time..

This is just drivel....A 10 or 14mm allen wrench for the 'plug' ?? ...LOL 🙄

litespeedguy said:

I love Campagnolo components including the bottom bracket but that new Shimano BB that Airwreck cited is a very good design ; the Campy can creak under load due to the interface of the bearing cup on the bearing - not so with the Shimano design.

More drivel.

lethargicsperm said:

Hi All

I am just new to this so any help would be seriously appreciated.

Does anybody know what size bottom bracket my Giant XTC Team frame (2003) takes. I think i may need a new one and not having the right tools I cannot get the old one out.

Also any opinions on which bottom bracket to replace my current one (XT splined) with would be very welcome. Incidently how long do these things usually last for?

Again all help is appreciated in advance.

Cheers

Get another XT and follow:
http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQcartdg.shtml

lethargicsperm said:

Hi All

I am just new to this so any help would be seriously appreciated.

Does anybody know what size bottom bracket my Giant XTC Team frame (2003) takes. I think i may need a new one and not having the right tools I cannot get the old one out.

Also any opinions on which bottom bracket to replace my current one (XT splined) with would be very welcome. Incidently how long do these things usually last for?

Again all help is appreciated in advance.

Cheers

You don't have to take it out ,but you will to replace it, so you may as well get the tools. The BB shell width on the frame is either 68 or 73mm, then you need to measure the spindle length. Unless you replace the crank,the best you can get is a shimano xt....As to how long they last....How long is a rope??

boudreaux said:

This is just drivel....A 10 or 14mm allen wrench for the 'plug' ?? ...LOL 🙄

yup.. the shimano hollowtech II has a dust plug that must be removed to access the crank threads.. (cant remember if mine's an LX or XT.. that label wore off hundreds of hours ago..).. btw.. drivel is my middle name..

Airwreck.. said:

yup.. the shimano hollowtech II has a dust plug that must be removed to access the crank threads.. (cant remember if mine's an LX or XT.. that label wore off hundreds of hours ago..).. btw.. drivel is my middle name..

FYI, it's called a hex head bolt,and takes an 8 mm wrench. Depending on crank model(probably xt),there may be a self extractor cap screwed into the threads in the arm, which does not need to be removed to access threads or remove the cranks.Just use an 8 mm wrench and turn counterclockwise. Obviously you have done this alot and are a certified expert..... 'dust plug' and 10 or 14mm hex wrench...lol 🙄 🙄 Besides all this was just a mindless brain dump and irrevalent to the question as asked.Brain dumps are usually where the BS'ers and drivel mongers get in over their eyeballs.

boudreaux said:

FYI, it's called a hex head bolt,and takes an 8 mm wrench. Depending on crank model(probably xt),there may be a self extractor cap screwed into the threads in the arm, which does not need to be removed to access threads or remove the cranks.Just use an 8 mm wrench and turn counterclockwise. Obviously you have done this alot and are a certified expert..... 'dust plug' and 10 or 14mm hex wrench...lol 🙄 🙄 Besides all this was just a mindless brain dump and irrevalent to the question as asked.Brain dumps are usually where the BS'ers and drivel mongers get in over their eyeballs.

wow.. BS'ers and drivel mongers.. huh..?

i guess i should have just crammed my crank removal tool into the hex cap self extractor head bolt thingy (that mysteriously was omitted on my XT crankset.. also, they must have left out the 8mm hex head bolt.. i'll go back and get a refund..).. but it probably would have been quite a feat to thread the tool into an unthreaded 10mm hex head opening.. maybe my 8mm hex wrench made by the allen manufacturing company would have magically worked in the 10mm opening to remove the protective cap.. if i was certified maybe i could have figured out how to make that work.. try actually looking at an XT hollowtech crankset before making some erroneous critique remarks..

self extractor cap screwed into the threads..? sounds very impressive.. especially the part about the counterclockwise.. i really do need to get certified.. maybe i could come up with a better reason to call it a dust plug.. how about 10mm hex cap dust, dirt, mud, grit, grime prevention accessory.. whatever.. it keeps stuff from gritting-up the crank arm threads..

but, i guess i'll just ride.. besides, i think that i've got almost 5,000 BS and drivel posts to go before i could possibly be elevated to the status of monger.. i'll keep trying though.. until then, the only thing i'll get over my eyeballs in will be mud.. it has been raining here for a couple of days..

et..

Airwreck.. said:

wow.. BS'ers and drivel mongers.. huh..?

i guess i should have just crammed my crank removal tool into the hex cap self extractor head bolt thingy (that mysteriously was omitted on my XT crankset.. also, they must have left out the 8mm hex head bolt.. i'll go back and get a refund..).. but it probably would have been quite a feat to thread the tool into an unthreaded 10mm hex head opening.. maybe my 8mm hex wrench made by the allen manufacturing company would have magically worked in the 10mm opening to remove the protective cap.. if i was certified maybe i could have figured out how to make that work.. try actually looking at an XT hollowtech crankset before making some erroneous critique remarks..

self extractor cap screwed into the threads..? sounds very impressive.. especially the part about the counterclockwise.. i really do need to get certified.. maybe i could come up with a better reason to call it a dust plug.. how about 10mm hex cap dust, dirt, mud, grit, grime prevention accessory.. whatever.. it keeps stuff from gritting-up the crank arm threads..

but, i guess i'll just ride.. besides, i think that i've got almost 5,000 BS and drivel posts to go before i could possibly be elevated to the status of monger.. i'll keep trying though.. until then, the only thing i'll get over my eyeballs in will be mud.. it has been raining here for a couple of days..

et..

The 02 and 03 xt hollowtechs I'm lookin at have self extractors and an 8mm hex bolt. QBP catalogue list only 8 mm hex bolts for shimano octalink crank/bb. I've done enough octalink and octalinkV2 stuff to know how it works.