Chainset/Bottom Bracket Trouble?

[rowskein]

There was a annoying creaking when pedaling with even a small force, coming from the bottom bracket area. It developed without warning and seemed to apear the first ride after a weekend of tough climbing. I took the chain set off to clean up a bit and found some curls of metal in the bottom bracket. Picture is attached.

Anyone seen this before? Is this trouble? Time to replace? Couldn't get a decent shot of the bottom bracket but it seems to look ok.

There's a scoring where the edge of the bearing sits. The curls of metal came from the inside edge of the bearing but i guess they could have ended up there when i removed the chain set. Anyone got adive or opions?

Thanks,

Keith

 

[Peter@vecchios]

There was a annoying creaking when pedaling with even a small force, coming from the bottom bracket area. It developed without warning and seemed to apear the first ride after a weekend of tough climbing. I took the chain set off to clean up a bit and found some curls of metal in the bottom bracket. Picture is attached.

Anyone seen this before? Is this trouble? Time to replace? Couldn't get a decent shot of the bottom bracket but it seems to look ok.

There's a scoring where the edge of the bearing sits. The curls of metal came from the inside edge of the bearing but i guess they could have ended up there when i removed the chain set. Anyone got adive or opions?

Thanks,

Keith

It appears that the BB spindle on the left hand side rather than turning the bearings were turning inside the left cup bearing without turning the bearing resulting in that scoring. Check the bearings making sure they turn smoothly.

 

[rowskein]

It appears that the BB spindle on the left hand side rather than turning the bearings were turning inside the left cup bearing without turning the bearing resulting in that scoring. Check the bearings making sure they turn smoothly.

Thanks, I take it if the bearing isn't running smooth it's a new bottom bracket required? It's Hollowtech2 and all sealed up.

 

[jhuskey]

You might try cleaning the spindle up with some 1500 grit sandapaper.I think it is wirth a try.

 

[Dietmar]

You might try cleaning the spindle up with some 1500 grit sandapaper.I think it is wirth a try.

That will do nothing for the shot bearing. Yes, a new bottom bracket is called for. In my opinion, anyway; once a bearing has seized up the way this one did, you really should replace it. You may be able to get it going again, but it will be damaged, and not last too much longer anyway. Might as well bite the bullet now rather than being forced to swap you BB in the middle of what could have been a fun ride...

 

[jhuskey]

That will do nothing for the shot bearing. Yes, a new bottom bracket is called for.

Isn't that yet to be determined or have we already made that call.

 

[Dietmar]

Isn't that yet to be determined or have we already made that call.

It's clear that the axle has been turning, against a considerable amount of friction, inside the inner bearing shell. That doesn't happen unless the bearing is damaged.

 

[jhuskey]

It's clear that the axle has been turning, against a considerable amount of friction, inside the inner bearing shell. That doesn't happen unless the bearing is damaged.

Could have been over torqued when it was assembled.

 

[rowskein]

Thanks for the help guys, I smoothed off the groove as suggested. Greased it all up and put it back together to try it out. I did a quick run about 5 miles and everything seems good, no crank creaking . Doing a century run on Sunday and I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Thanks, I take it if the bearing isn't running smooth it's a new bottom bracket required? It's Hollowtech2 and all sealed up.

Generally yes altho some bike shops(like ours) can replace the shimano bearings with others, like Phil Wood but you need a tool kit to do this.

 

[rowskein]

There were a few small creaks towards the end of a 100 going up the hills. I guess it will need some more riding before the final verdict is out but it was nice riding with the absence of a consistant and annoying creak

 

[jhuskey]

There were a few small creaks towards the end of a 100 going up the hills. I guess it will need some more riding before the final verdict is out but it was nice riding with the absence of a consistant and annoying creak

If you are like me it could just be your knees.

 

[Phill P]

This problem will keep coming back as long as you are running those bearings.

And you are going to continue to damage the crankset axel.

Either replace the bearings or replace the BB.

How many kms has that BB done total anyway? Do you ride in the rain or dirt much?

 

[Dietmar]

This problem will keep coming back as long as you are running those bearings.

And you are going to continue to damage the crankset axel.

That's been my take on this. It's clear that the bearing is damaged, and it will only get worse. In the meantime, if you keep turning that axle inside the bearing shell, that will become unusable as well, and you're going to need a replacement for that, too.

 

[rowskein]

It has about 16000 km's on it, as does the chain set. That doesn’t sound much to me is that a normal life? I was expecting to be replacing the chain set long before the bottom bracket! I rotate a few chains and rear cassettes but have always used the same chain set.



It has done a few wet rides, most notably a miserable 24 hrs in the rain on a monster cycle. The frame was full of water after it which i drained off (a couple of days after). Normally though the bike is kept nice and clean and well maintained.


Cheers.

 

[Dietmar]

10,000 miles is on the short side for a bottom bracket, however, with some possible corrosion (after having water standing in the frame for a couple of days...), that doesn't sound too far off. Typically, after some serious wet rides such as you describe, you may want to clean and relubricate the bottom bracket.

 

[dhk2]

10,000 miles is on the short side for a bottom bracket, however, with some possible corrosion (after having water standing in the frame for a couple of days...), that doesn't sound too far off. Typically, after some serious wet rides such as you describe, you may want to clean and relubricate the bottom bracket.

10K miles sounds like fine bb life to me. Agree rust could kill the bearings regardless of mileage, and that draining water out of the frame is a great idea. But when you suggest to clean and relube the bb, are you talking about pulling the seals off the "sealed" cartridge bearings to look for moisture and rust? IMO if moisture and signs of rust are found inside the bb shell, and the bearings are "crunchy", best bet is to just replace the bb rather than spend time trying to recover the bearings.

 

[alienator]

10K miles sounds like fine bb life to me. Agree rust could kill the bearings regardless of mileage, and that draining water out of the frame is a great idea. But when you suggest to clean and relube the bb, are you talking about pulling the seals off the "sealed" cartridge bearings to look for moisture and rust? IMO if moisture and signs of rust are found inside the bb shell, and the bearings are "crunchy", best bet is to just replace the bb rather than spend time trying to recover the bearings.

In some places, replacing bearings after a lot of rain could mean replacing a lot of bearings over the course of year. I think in the case of the 24 hours of rain the OP mentioned, the first order of business would have been to drain the frame (It'd be safe to assume water penetration with so much rain). The second task would have been to pull the seals and lube (or clean and lube) the bearings. Seals are easy to pull and put back in.

 

[Dietmar]

I think in the case of the 24 hours of rain the OP mentioned, the first order of business would have been to drain the frame (It'd be safe to assume water penetration with so much rain). The second task would have been to pull the seals and lube (or clean and lube) the bearings. Seals are easy to pull and put back in.

Yep, I agree with your procedure. Once you have rust inside the bearings it's too late, and you need to replace them.

 

[Dietmar]

But when you suggest to clean and relube the bb, are you talking about pulling the seals off the "sealed" cartridge bearings to look for moisture and rust?

No, you need to try and get the water out of the frame before it seeps into the bearing. Usually that shouldn't happen, but if you have "water standing in the frame" for a couple of days, all bets are off. If you have that water sitting in the bearings for a while, they will rust, too, and then it's too late to do anything for them. They may still be o.k. for a while, but they certainbly won't last as long as they would have if they had stayed dry.