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Bottom bracket (hope with xt hollowtech II cranks) had developed a wobble last time out. Just investigating and found the driveside threads all stripped.
The frame is an old Santa Cruz Superlight (circa 2001/2).
Can anything be done, or is this the end of a much loved frame?
Velo orange do a square taper BB that threads onto itself for stripped threads or get it sleeved with a new liner ? I know its done for steel I assume its possible with aluminium as well ?
Not at all. You can send it to Argos cycles in Bristol who do a helicoil insert which is more reliable than the original thread.
Isn't there a company that does a sleeve insert to sort this out? Argos cycles, is it?
Someone'll be along shortly with more of a clue than me!
Thanks... A call to Argos cycles in the morning then (unless anyone knows of something similar slightly further north - like Yorkshire)
Argos work in steel I dont know if they do aluminium as well ?
Bob Jacksons in Leeds?
BETD do a helicoil bottom bracket repair. Closer to yorkshire.
I had my old Patriot frame done by Argos, and it's a top job, better than new, and great people to deal with. A full width sleeve propely bonded in. I think this is a better solution than helicoils, but either should be ok.
Argos definitely do aluminium frames, they did a great job on an old Giant XTC, I dropped the bike in on the way to a meeting in Bristol and picked it up on the way home.
Good to know Argos repair aluminium as well I wasnt sure
+ 1 for BETD I stripped the thread on my Mega two months ago and took it to these guys and the service I received was second to none. Highly recommended. How they do it is to ream out the old thread and bond in an Italian thread, they then fit an Italian to UK conversion thread and jobs a good en. Get em phoned 😀
join the club sheeps, mine went too,
2 plastic driveside spacers doesn`t leave much thread on Hope BB,
i salvaged mine with an Isis BB ....
[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/bb-issue-bb-spins-in-frame ]http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/bb-issue-bb-spins-in-frame[/url]
Some downhill BBs have longer threaded sections than the regular MTB version from the same manufacturer. [url= http://www.raceface.com/components/bottom-brackets/bottom-brackets/x-type-team-dh/ ]Race Face[/url] says 35% more thread engagement on their DH version
BETD recused my 06 heckler with the same issue
JoeG's suggestion is definitely worth a look as a cheaper option.
If you've stripped the thread with a standard short cup, there could well still be enough thread left for a longer cup to engage.
The Race Face bearings won't last long, but it's worth buying for the cup alone and reusing by pressing new bearings in when it fails.
Replace the plastic spacers with aluminium as well. That should help eliminate any slight movement between cup and frame and reduce the chance of it stripping again.
What I did recently was...
Fit a Hollowtech II BB without the drive side spacers. This gives 5mm engagement (the same as you get when you use two spacers with a good thread). Then fit 5 1mm external spacers on the crank shaft (Race Face X-Type Chainline Spacers).
Works fine. I guess it may reduce bearing life long term. This does depend on the BB width.
I think the saint BB has longer threads too
If drive side is the issue, don't GXP cranks ie SRAM, only hold on the NDS bearing?
You can get threadless bottom brackets, not high end stuff, but serviceable.
Defo recommend BETD, I had the same issues on my Giant Reign with stripped threads but unfortunately the heli-coil wouldn't work.
Instead they reamed out the BB slightly and used a threaded sleeve insert which is usually used for converting press fit BB's to threaded.
It was then spot welded in place- in essence its a brand new BB shell now and a far better option than the heli-coil.
the above sounds like a good option, but no better than helicoil.
When completed helicoil can be stronger than the original thread, so its a excellent repair
The self-threading BBs are pish, incidentally.
Saint has a longer driveside thread but I think the brakeside thread is standard.
Sorry to hear.. Although, if the threads aren't completely stripped you may be able to have them chased. Had a couple non drive side threads stripped on my 04 Kona caldera (butted Al 7005). Phoned a few LBS to get quotes and most didn't offer the service or were charging ~£30 + a weeks waiting time. Eventually rang halfords and had it done for £15 on the same day! Bottom bracket now threads in smoothly and sits tight. Still putting it back together so haven't tested it but seems as though it should be ok.