Originally Posted by
bowermb
Sorry to bump this thread, but I am having the exact same issue. I took my bike by a shop today and they suggested I remove the spacers as well. I got home, removed the spacers, and the crank spun freely, but there was a lot of play in the crankarms. More importantly, the same width of the spacers was left visible on the drive side spindle. There's plenty of grease and everything was tight. Any suggestions or explanations?
The SRAM printed manual has a mistake. It says to use the black spacer rings with 68mm English road bottom brackets, when really they aren't supposed to be there. I think the spacers are to be used with mountain bike BBs, if I remember correctly.
If you use the spacers, it will cease up your BB when tightened fully. If you loosen it enough to allow the cranks to spin again, there will be play in the crank arms.
Remove the spacers, tighten to recommended torque, and all will be good. If you are still getting play and can see some spindle exposed, that means your BB isn't tightened to spec. Just to be sure, try tapping the drive side crank arm in with a rubber mallet to make sure it's fully seated and then tighten the NDS crank arm to spec.