Hello. I've had my Dawes Galaxy for 2.5 years and have done about 4000miles on it. Before that it had another owner and I have no idea how much it was used.

The bottom bracket is, as you'd expect, the sort with separate bearings (in races), an adjustable cup, a fixed cup, and a spindle/axle.
Lately it has been coming loose a lot, and is now making that clicking noise/feel at certain parts of the pedal stroke, and last time I overhauled it the bearings and cups weren't exactly in perfect condition.

I'd like to replace it, I think, but I have different options:

> Buy a cartridge BB of some sort. Longevity reports vary wildly, I'd probably spend £10 on one
> Buy new cups and bearings - available for £3 brand new - suspicious quality
> Get some "new" second-hand bearings from my usual old parts source


I suppose my main question is has anyone ever bought brand new cup/bearing sets in recent times? I was surprised to find them for sale at all. How were they?

Thanks