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Hi all, hope Friday eve is going as well as it can for you all.
I raise a small whisky... to you and those who are working to keep the ship afloat.
About to spend £81 on a Hope.
This Hope BB
Am I missing something. Like a Uberbikes/ Token / Superstar. Or even £15 Shimano XT (which appear to be Out of Stock)
What is the best fit and forget and one you can pop out bearings and regrease one you have found?
Wally
The Hope is OK. It'll last just as long as an XT one
I use Shimano, it's the only XTR i own, look for Shimano XTR BB93 Hollowtech 2.
The main advantage of the Hope is replaceable bearings.
The XTR is half the price of the Hope, XT half the XTR.
I have 2 hope stainless BBs, 6 and 9 years old with regular use and infrequent maintenance. Still running perfectly. Paid for themselves many times over compared to SS or even shimano.
I had an uber bike one. Died after a few wet rides. They sent me some new bearings. They died. It could be me but I reckon it's down to crap sealing and crap bearings. Replaced it with a Saint BB.
I’ve got a bike with an Uberbike one on that has been excellent, off the back of that I replaced both our proper bikes with Uberbike ones. And they’re both knackered after a few winter rides.
I’m just going to fit cheap SRAM ones from now on and treat them as consumables. The original on the bike lasted nearly 2 years and it wasn’t that bad When I decided to replace.
My experiences ...
RaceFace. Crap. Avoid. The BB equivalent of making a safety barrier out of a child's balsa wood set.
Shimano. Decent but very much a consumable. No need to go above XT level.
Hope. Very good. Fit and (almost) forget, just need the occasional clean every six months or so. A set of bearings lasted five years on my HT through all sorts of conditions including sustained dunkings. Have never popped the seals to regrease. Don't bother with the ceramic version.
SRAM GXP. Nearly as bad as RaceFace and of course has the stupid asymmetrical spindle.
Conclusion: Hope if you want fit and forget, Shimano if you don't mind treating the BB as a consumable.
as whitestone said...
hope..since years on several bikes without any issues
I have a Hope BB on one bike and have changed the bearings twice in 18 months. Instead of replacing the bearings a third time recently I switched back to shimano because its cheaper.
1 replacement Hope bearing costs the same as an XT BB
I like the look of the WheelsMfg BBs with angular contact bearings, they seem like a good idea. I might try one next if the XT BB dies quickly.
Shimano.
My days of packing, cleaning, repacking bearings are behind me. Bronson gets free bearings, hope pro4 lasting well (3 years) and I'll whip out and change a shimano BB every 18 months.
Who says FS bikes are a pain. 🤗
I get fed up of replacing my hope bearings so now buy XT or Saint again. Tried Raceface but lasted 1 winter without much use.