dhugs

I'm in the process of putting a new crankset on my bike, but something doesn't seem right, so I'm wondering what I'm missing. First off, the spindle on my bottom bracket moves from side to side, and logic tells me that it shouldn't be doing that. This is probably my most important concern right now, because fixing that might lead to the solution of my other problems, which include the cranks not going on the spindle all the way, and having to much space, it seems, between the crank and the bike.

So, what do I need to do to keep my spindle in place? Do I need to buy spacers or a lockring or something?

moe sizlack

loose ball BB, or sealed?

if it's loose ball i would tighten the cups down further.
if it's sealed you'll need to measure and get an appropriate spacer.

dhugs

it's loose. i'll give that a try.

trons

like so https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=93

dhugs

So, I pulled the crank off, readjusted the bottom bracket, thought it was fine, and then felt a little bit of play still. I pulled the crank off again, and now I'm fairly confident I fixed the problem. I also tightened one of my toeclips, which I think might have contributed to the wobbly feeling i was getting. However, after putting the crank back on, I keep getting this horrible creak/groan/cracking kind of sound. It's definitely coming from the crank/bottom bracket area of my bike. It seems like it happens everytime I push down with my left foot, but it's fairly random otherwise. I pulled the crank off again, retightened everything, but still no dice. There's nothing more frustrating than trading one problem for another. Should I pull the crank again and regrease everything before putting it back on? I can't imagine what it could be from. I feel like I've checked and rechecked everything. Is it possible that while readjusting the bottom bracket I might have tightened it too much? It pedals fine, and I'm afraid to loosen it and have the spindle shake again.

Any suggestions?

Rugen

Did you overhaul the BB too? If not, I would go for a full overhaul. New balls, grease, maybe even a bb shell liner. There are tons of articles on how to do this.

Does it spin freely with the chain off? I would guess it's too tight. If you've got loose ball BB (which is what it sounds like), there may be ball retainer cages... those can get bent and might be jacking up your ball movement, especially when tight. I got rid of my cages and upped the ball count. As a result my BB is a lot smoother and I don't have to worry about jacking up the cages. Although you don't want play, a tiny bit is natural. If you've completely elminated the play it may be a bit too tight.

You might also want to check the torque on the crank arm bolt to make sure the crank arms are adequately secured to the spindle.

dhugs

I've already overhauled the BB with new bearing and what have you. There were no retainer cages. Maybe I'll try loosening it a bit, and recheck the crank arm bolt.

DeafLamb

If you where riding the bike at all while your spindle would "move from side to side" there is a good chance you seriously screwed your bottom bracket up. I would try new balls first as those are the cheapest. If that doesn't solve your problem spend the extra dough and get a cheap cartridge BB.

-ray

dhugs

Alright, I've removed and retightened almost everything. I noticed my fixed cup was rather loose, and thought that might be the culprit, but alas, it was not. The rest of the bike rides perfectly now, except for this clicking. I tried forcing the noise, and I'm pretty sure it's coming from the rightside crank. Earlier today when I was riding I thought it went away on its own, but now that I fiddled with it, it's back. I'm running out of ideas and it's frustrating because it didnt make that noise before, and I didnt fiddle with anything else. ugh. I'm afraid to keep riding it the way it is, because I don't want to make anything worse for me later on.

dhugs

I removed and regreased the right pedal, and then retentioned the chainline, which had gotten a little saggy. The click is gone, and it rides better than it ever did before. phew.