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So since the original BB gave up the ghost without creaking on a 2016 Kona Process I have tried 3 separate BB's and all of them creak, even with an attempt to Loctite the cups into place. The frame has a 89mm PF41 shell so the options are limited. Has anyone tried or considered grinding down and facing a similar BB shell to less width to accommodate other BB options? And was it done successfully?
I'm thinking of taking 8mm off each side, fitting an insert and using external bb cups. Used that system on a 2015 enduro and it worked fine but it seems a bit extreme if I can sort it another way. Thanks
Ps not bothered about any frame warranty issues, just want a quiet running bike
Burn it with fire, then nuke it from space
WMF! End of!
I fitted one of these to my Process
Didn't creak
Wheels Manufacturing.
Not only the best bb solution for press fit, but one of the best bbs full stop.
I have a 2016 Kona Process 111 DL with a Hope PF41 30 mm BB I fitted in 2017 (with the stock RaceFace Turbine cranks), there have been no creaks at all since fitting and I didn't locktite the bearings into the BB shell.
If you have 24 mm axle cranks, this is a good option: https://www.hopetech.com/products/drivetrain/bottom-bracket/press-fit-pf41-bottom-bracket/
I have this fitted to a 2017 Kona Hei Hei Race DL (with the stock RaceFace Aeffect cranks, no creaks and I didn't locktite the bearings into the BB shell.
For both of the above I used the Hope PF BB fitting tool, well worth the investment. It can also be used to replace the bearings in any Hope BB.
I would say that grinding down the BB shell is a bad idea!
Another vote for Wheel Manufacturing.
Highly recommend a Wheels MFG "screw together" unit. Had a couple on various bike sans they just work.
Another vote for sure together wheels MFG unit.
SRAM POS PF BBs on my surly died twice in 3 months from new, was warrantied both times, then I just bought one of the screw together fellas and had 5 years trouble free BB use.
This thread has been up for 12 hours and no one has come along to say how their pressfit BB is perfectly fine and always has been and that you must be doing it wrong. Strange times.
But yes, apart from killing it with fire, get an adapter of some sort. I fitted a Hope one to a mates bike and that seemed good. Solid, silent and makes changing BB bearings very easy.
The problem with pressfit BB's is not the BB, it's the frame. If you follow Hambini (generally hilarious) then you'll see that the biggest issue with BB's is lack of alignment between sides and lack of concentricity. This is all solved with a solution like Hambini or BBInfinite provide because the entire BB shell is machined from one piece of aluminium. The downside is that it's generally more expensive than other solutions but having a single machined block in which your BB bearings sit is the only way to sort the problem. Anything that screws together from either side is never going to be perfectly aligned.
Despite the above I still prefer the threaded BB I have on my mountain bike because it's just so much easier to work on and I'm really not bothered about losing a few watts due to lack of alignment.
Got a Hambini Racing BB86 sitting on the desk waiting to go in the good road bike when there is any prospect of getting out on the road again. (Sticking to offroad during lockdown after having seen some well dodgy driving in the area recently).
It's a thing of absolute beauty and precision engineering. Smoothest bearings I have ever felt. Can get almost a full rotation of the shell just holding the bearings between my fingers. It's also a fit once and leave for the life of the bike deal, bearings can be switched out of the shell without removing it and he guarantees it won't creak. If you've watched his channel at all he will quite often get a problem bike shipped in to him and, if required, custom design and manufacture a BB to solve an issue caused by the frame.
Very professional bloke to deal with too, not at all like his YouTube persona.. 🙂
I've got the same one as kimbers on the Anthem frame, only 2 rides in but seems ok so far.
Don't have a problem with pressfit. All my headaches have been badly sealed Sram bearings. Not really been any better with screw in types.
Shimano pressfit and Wheels MFG have always been trouble free.
"Press fit BB issues" , also, water is wet?
Joking aside, it's a crappy way to house BB bearings, specially when there's a perfectly good and fool proof alternative. Even if the track record is not as bad as some people make it, I think it's a stupid discussion to even have when threaded BBs are available. It's the kind of thing I refuse to pay for, and I really wanted that Meta AM 29 last year
It’s the kind of thing I refuse to pay for, and I really wanted that Meta AM 29 last year
It's funny you mention Commencal. I've got my eye on a Supreme DH or Mega TR and noticed that all their bikes are pressfit. It's a ball ache but if I took the plunge I'd just budget for a conversion.
We consumers have an immense power to steer the market. As such, even with an available solution, I wouldn't buy a bike engineered with a PF. It's their job to come with a bike that pleases my preferences.
As for Commencal, had the Meta a BSA BB I would have likely got one. Internal brake hose routing is also on the list, but I'm not as adamant about it
.It’s a ball ache but if I took the plunge I’d just budget for a conversion
It's not really a ballache, mine never creaked , but the sram of BB died after riding most weekends through a wet winter
Just swapped out fir the wheels manufacturing one when it died.
You'd be mad if it put you off buying a decent bike, when it's a consumable component you have to replace anyway.
It's not like a BB effects the performance in any way.
.
Being a "consumable component you have to replace anyway" is only half the story. The other half is how often you have to replace it, how easy it is to do so and how peaceful will it's life be. Great engineering option, for cutting corners that is. All this, like I said, with a perfectly good alternative next door
Thanks for the helpful replies. It's a 2016 process 111 and I love the bike but this has been driving me up the wall. It will be great to get it silent. Will never buy press fit again though. Well maybe never depending on how well the replacement BB works.
I have also avoided press fit BB bikes, as the tales of woe put me off.
The aftermarket adapters seem to be a good answer, but their mere presence hints at how unsatisfactory PF is.
I can see that the Hambini BB is more accurately aligned, due to being machined from a solid piece of metal, but isn't the installation of that dependent on the accuracy of the frame, anyway?
I can see that the Hambini BB is more accurately aligned, due to being machined from a solid piece of metal, but isn’t the installation of that dependent on the accuracy of the frame, anyway?
Yes, but if you fit two, separate cups into a frame that are not perfectly aligned, the bearings will never run true and will wear out early, or not run smoothly out of the box. By forcing in a single, machined tube you bypass this problem by forcing the bearings to be aligned to each other in a single block of metal. Yes, it might mean that the axle is fractionally wonky in relation to the frame, but it'll be no worse than before and now the bearings will be aligned to the axle and not the frame - much more important.
Of course, if the frame is hugely out of spec, you're going to have problems fitting it, but I would also argue that you have bigger problems to worry about...
That makes sense daern - ta
If you want more details about the Hambini products I highly recommend a visit to his YouTube channel.
It's both informative and hilarious
Just a comment to the original question. I had a creak (actually, more of a loud "click") from the BB on one of my road bikes. I faffed around, replaced the BB with a new one, spent a fair amount of time re-fitting it perfectly, making sure it was bonded in with the correct seating compound etc. but it still creaked...
And then I swapped the crankset for the same sort from another bike and, lo and behold, it went away! Swapped it back, creak returned, swapped it out again, creak went away. I've come to the conclusion that the original crankset might be heading towards failure, so I've reluctantly retired it and will get a new one when I can sneak it past my wife.
Push fit may be the worst thing in the world, but it's not always the cause...
Slight hijack, sorry, does anyone know if the Wheels Mfg 'external' PF BB is a direct replacement for an internal one? I've got an Intense Primer with a Sram X01 crank and a 'BB92' bottom bracket (press fit) They make it sound like it will work on the website, but these BB 'standards' are a bit of a minefield, to say the least ....
no-one? It look as though it would be v. close to the chainring ...
Assuming its GXP 24/22 not 30mm
Yes, it's 24/22mm GXP. c.2017 model cranks.
Very late final response but it ended up being the interface on the chainring to crank that was the problem and not the BB at all. Raceface turbine, pita but a dab of grease every now and again sorted it.
Doh!