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My stumpy fsr 29er is on it's 3rd PF30 bb in 12 months, and this buggers making a racket now.
The current one is a Wheels manufacturing one, the last 2 were SRAM ones.
Frame shell measures up perfectly square, just appears to be crappy bearings that give up in mud/wet conditions, which makes them a fairly pointless option for a mountain bike.
Anyone got any ideas or suggestions for a reliable PF30 BB that'll last more than a few months, or is it time to raid the bank and buy a chris King one?
King one apparently...
I'm using a Praxxis Works one, partly because I was fed up with the cups trying to walk out of the frame, so went for one that screws together.
And has the other advantage of being able to use Shimano cranks now.
I'm using the angular contact wheels manufacturing one on my stumpy seems to be holding up fine. Only trouble with the praxis one is you can only use shimano cranks, which for me was a pain as I've got carbon sram ones that there was nothing wrong with.
That said I've got a praxis one in my road bike and it's perfect after a couple of thousand miles most of which have been wet and salty. So if you don't mind swapping chainset it's probably the best option out there
I've still got the original SRAM one in my Stumpy. Is there a way top up the grease in the bearings?
hope.
Use a sharp pick carefully to prise out the seals. Flush with something solventy like disc brake cleaner, then pack with grease. Don't use lithium grease, it sucks in water. Calcium-based grease is good (often called marine grease), especially the stuff for outboard motors. Some bicycle greases are good too, e.g. Finish Line Teflon , Shimano Dura-Ace and some Blue Morgan stuff. Replace the seals, smear on more grease, replace the dust shields and away you go, for another couple of months at least.
PF30 is a shitty idea, or at least it's been shittily implemented. BBs run slowly with heavy off-axis loads and the near-certainty of dirt getting in. You'd be best off with a full complement of larger balls, like an old cup and cone BB or one of the older cartridge bearing BBs. Instead, what you get is nowhere near a full complement of balls, which are tiny anyway, because that's all you can fit around the huge bloody axle.
The problem is your bike manufacturer jumped on a new tech without testing it properly. What does their warranty department say? I'd try them just to point out it's a waste of time and money.
My Shimano SLX press fit bottom bracket lasted few weeks only, I was not going to buy another one. Eventually I decided to go for a [b]Hope PF[/b] one, it's been quite a few months now and so far it's been flawless. Pricey [url= http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/60500/Hope_PF41_Press_Fit_Bottom_Bracket ]SHOP[/url] but well worth it IMHO.
Praxxis for me with Hollowtech 2 cranks, really pleased with its performance so far. Sram version coming out soon as well.
Richard
Really interested in this thread as have been looking at the Praxis option for PF30 to HT2 for my stumpy fsr.
Reports Ive seen so far seem to be positive, is it too soon for anyone to have any feedback on the "hope" option?
[b]HobNob[/b] and [b]Tricky Dicky[/b] - are you happy with the praxis one? Any issues to be aware of?
I'm using the sram PF30 to HT2 adaptor and its all good so far.
Only been in frame a few weeks but yes so far.No issues, no noise just works.
I had one of the Praxis ones in my Hard Eddie for nearly a year now, no issues at all.
Thanks for the feedback chaps, sounds like its well worth a go.
Not sure if you or maybe the OP will know the answer to this (im finding it a bit of minefield) but have a 2012 stumpy FSR (carbon comp model) with a PF30 BB, so am assuming this will need the 73mm version from Praxis?
Yes same as my frame. Speak to Anthony at Bike scene he can advise
Richard
Thanks again, just spoke to them and very helpful.
I can't comment on the longevity of the Praxxis, it's only been in there a month or so. The actual 'design' of it though looks a lot better, in that both cups screw together. All the others I used (SRAM/Wheels) seem to suffer with the DS cup walking out of the frame. I had to resort to loctiting them in.
I don't have an issue with the whole PF bit, what I do have an issue with is the crap bearing life i've experienced so far. I'm hoping with the praxxis & using a smaller axle'd crank, with a bigger bearing will increase the life beyond a month at a time.
Granted, we had a sh*tty winter, but even so.
I'm still chasing a creak from that area, but I don't think it's the BB, I think i've got a slightly bent pedal axle that's worn a bearing (same incident that wrote off an XTR crank arm).
The 73mm will be fine for that frame. I have the same on my Enduro.
Had a praxis one in my spearfish was working just fine for 8 months till I sold the frame.
Felt a little rough when I stripped the bike but did not notice while riding.
Creaking from BB area with sram cranks if it isn't the BB make sure the none drive side bolt is tight think it's a 10mm had a few of these making noise in the past when they come loose.