Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Isis Bb

Right now I have a naked BB, and I keep breaking the dam ball bearing races! (I just replaced them 2 months ago) So I've been looking at sealed BBs. And there is a type of BB (as you probably know) that uses a connection standard called "ISIS". I wanted to get a BB that has a standard since my experience with sqaure connections is they never fit correctly.
I was wondering if anyone had experience with this ISIS setup (pros and cons)
I am looking a Race Face BB and Crank set off Nashbar.com. BB is $30, Crank is $70. I hear good things about Race Face but have had no experience with their products.

The best ISIS BB out there is the Truvativ GigaPipe series specifically the GigaPipe Team DH. Truvativ's bearing placement and setup surpasses anything else I've played with

is fsa any good?

Raiyn
clear something up for me: is it true that there are more problems with the bearing in an ISIS-type set up vs. the old styled BBs? Since you have experience with the ISIS, figured I'd ask.

Isis sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks. Octalink sucks too, Isis sucks worse

Isis sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks. Octalink sucks too, Isis sucks worse

why? ?

Oversized axle means tiny bearings, which don't last. Really, they don't. RaceFace stopped making Isis BB's and Truvativ has admitted that the desing is a dodo

Oversized axle means tiny bearings, which don't last. Really, they don't. RaceFace stopped making Isis BB's and Truvativ has admitted that the desing is a dodo

ah, thx for pointing it out. I wasnt aware of that since I havent seen a Isis BB in real life yet.

I busted 3 different Isis BB's on my singlespeed last winter. Now I run a square taper Miche on my fixie which has not given me any grief so far

Did you have to locktite the Miche BB cups? There's no lip on either one right? That sounds really cool as far as getting the chainline spot on, but would it loosen up after a while? I've been thinking about the Miche BB to go with my Miche cranks which currently stick out a bit with the Campagnolo BB.

Bikkhu what brand was it? I've heard bad things from Truvativ, FSA, and Raceface and they are high price brands...I'm to the point where I'm just gonna buy a Truvativ Gigapipe Team SL and see how long it lasts. It hard to decide when 50% of people say it only lasted 3months and the others say its lasted 2 years. The thing is I'm gonna be putting this in a road bike so I won't be doing jumping like I do on my mountain bike. So I think it will be worth it.

I also don't understand what your saying about more bearings being weaker. From my understanding more bearings = more surface area, which means a force of impact is distributed along more bearings which means each bearing takes less force. I do agree about smaller bearings wearing out faster...

first of all let me admit that i'm a little bias towards truvativ since their office is just a few blocks from my house and the one warranty issue i handled with them didn't require a receipt or any questions. just a simple swap. after saying that i have a truvativ gigapipe sl (gigapipe means they put an extra bearing on the drive side) on both my mountain bike and and my road bike, the fixie gets a square taper cause it was lying in the garage. the gigapipe incarnation has been excellent, about 9 thousand miles on one with the road bike BB and zero problems. we also get little rain here and i'm only a 140lb spinner so that helps. i had the original isis BB in my mountain bike once and the fixcup broke after about 2 months use but since they replaced it i had zero problems. good stiff and durable ever since. local mechanics agree that the first truvativ isis BB wasn't all that great, but the gigapipe is a good improvement. but yes i am biased.

Bikkhu what brand was it? I've heard bad things from Truvativ, FSA, and Raceface and they are high price brands...I'm to the point where I'm just gonna buy a Truvativ Gigapipe Team SL and see how long it lasts. It hard to decide when 50% of people say it only lasted 3months and the others say its lasted 2 years. The thing is I'm gonna be putting this in a road bike so I won't be doing jumping like I do on my mountain bike. So I think it will be worth it.

I also don't understand what your saying about more bearings being weaker. From my understanding more bearings = more surface area, which means a force of impact is distributed along more bearings which means each bearing takes less force. I do agree about smaller bearings wearing out faster...

I'v wrecked two FSA's (Platinum Pro and a cheaper one) and a Truvativ. Also, my mechaninc pal tells me that to date they'v had to change every single Isis BB they'v sold as part of a bike within 3 months to a year.

Did you have to locktite the Miche BB cups? There's no lip on either one right? That sounds really cool as far as getting the chainline spot on, but would it loosen up after a while? I've been thinking about the Miche BB to go with my Miche cranks which currently stick out a bit with the Campagnolo BB.

My pal installed the BB, it's a road version, methinks, but no trouble so far

']Raiyn
clear something up for me: is it true that there are more problems with the bearing in an ISIS-type set up vs. the old styled BBs? Since you have experience with the ISIS, figured I'd ask.
Yes it is true on most of the ISIS designs except for the Truvativ GigaPipe design and the new outboard offerings from Shi*NO and Race Face. Truvativ's design isn't compatible with a traditional BB tool where the tool is inserted into the cup area of the BB. Truvativ's design uses that space for bearing races instead. The Team DH has four sets of bearings to offer the best load dispersal of any traditional style ISIS BB out there.

Oversized axle means tiny bearings, which don't last. Really, they don't. RaceFace stopped making Isis BB's and Truvativ has admitted that the desing is a dodo Really? That's funny I just went to their website and I count eight different models they're producing. Also, none of the industry rags (I'm not talking about stuff you buy on the newsstand) have said one thing about Truvativ calling ISIS a "bad design" nor anything about Race Face stopping production on ISIS. Show me something other than "my mechanic pal sez" and maybe I'll believe you.
http://www.raceface.com/components/
I busted 3 different Isis BB's on my singlespeed last winter. Now I run a square taper Miche on my fixie which has not given me any grief so far
I'v wrecked two FSA's (Platinum Pro and a cheaper one) and a Truvativ. Also, my mechaninc pal tells me that to date they'v had to change every single Isis BB they'v sold as part of a bike within 3 months to a year.
Interesting. Were any of the failures due to your having loose crank bolts?

Riding with loose crank bolts
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=559833#post559833

Raiyn:

I read about RaceFace getting out of Isis BB's in Finnish cycling magazine, in an artice on a trade fair in Italy

The loose crank bolts were one-off incident

Raiyn:

I read about Race Face getting out of Isis BB's in Finnish cycling magazine, in an article on a trade fair in Italy


Do you have an link? In English preferably

Do you have an link? In English preferably

nope, unfortunately.