Bicycle Mechanics - Bottom barcket problem in Uganda

Last month I made a tour in Uganda by bike, and my bike had the following problem:

The spindle of the cartridge bottom bracket was not well fixed in the cartridge, but had a little movement in the direction perpendicular to the axis.

I have Fuji Outland with TT-Industries Power Pro BB-7700 Cartidge Bottom Bracket

This is the history of the bike and how the problem started:
The bike was brand new, before the tour I cycled 800 km in good tarred road here in Italy. Before my departure the bike was checked by a mechanic; in Uganda I cycled 500 km on good tarred road.

Before starting the unpaved track, I checked the bike and it was ok. I made a track of 130 km on hard unpaved dirty road, with the
typical african red mud-dust. The day after I got a lift from a pick-up, back on the same hard road with a lot of bumps and shocks. The following day, after 100 km on good tarred road I checked the bike and there was the problem.

To the end I made other 500 km and it seemed to me that the problem not worsened.

Back in Italy the mechanic said to me that the balls were consumpted, but I'm not sure and I wonder if the pick-up lift may have damaged it with some hard shock; it seems to me that trip was too short for
such a consumption.

I ask if you have experienced similar problem before, and how can I check if it is a deterioration problem or hard shocks, in this way i can have better planning in myfuture trip.

Many thanks, I hope in your answering and sorry for my english

marco

Hi Marco - Don't worry about the English. It's a lot better than my Italian :D. Is it an expensive BB ? I'm just wondering if it well sealed or not. If it isn't, maybe a lot of that red African dust got into it and has worn out the bearings slightly. If you look at the bearing in the bottom half of a poorly sealed headset, you will notice the balls are visibly worn and may even have a matt finish instead of being shiny.

Hi Marco - you're english is as good as many native speakers :)

Dust ingress sounds the most likely cause of the problem - BB's take shocks fairly well as far as I'm aware. Others on the forum might be able to suggest particularly well sealed BB's.

Richard

If the BB was a cartrige bearing type, you really have know idea how well it is assembled, or how much grease is in it. For such a severe tour, I would suggest using a good loose-bearing BB, and packing it with a fairly thick grease. For hot, severe conditions like you would find in Africa, automotive molybdenum bearing grease mixed with bike grease would be a good idea.

Thank you all for the immediate answers.

Now I turn the question in this way: I'm planning a bike tour in the desert, so which BB I have to use to avoid the problem ? (now i have a Shimano dehore).

Ciao
marco

The 7700 is a Shimano Dura Ace number, and they are notorious for wearing out quickly. The Ultegra 6500 seems to last longer.

You might try a Campy or Stronglight if you can get the correct spindle length.

Well, he is using a mountain bike BB, not a road BB. Deore is probably a cartridge bearing BB.

If it's new Deore, then it's Shimano's own Octalink Spline so you probably don't have much choice unfortunately. Short of taking a spare and the appropriate tools then I don't know what to suggest.

Richard