Originally Posted by
vesteroid
I have a giant defy advanced and the wife has a trek 5.2 and both have ultegra cranks on them, and neither has an outboard bearing...so I assume they are bb30....does that just mean they have an adapter?
Yup...they are BB30. An Ultegra crank is one of the most popular and effectively adapted external bearing crank that will adapt to BB/PF30.
Most bike makers use Wheel Mfg. spacers...which space radially from 24mm spindle to 30mm BB30 ID and outboard to take up axial distance between bearing being mounted inside aka BB30 versus outside the shell as is the case with outboard bearings.