Originally Posted by
DayGloDago
[Not necessarily arguing...nor agreeing...but...] What then was the purpose for inventing BB30? If they already had a cheaper, easier way to manufacture BBs which had superior strength and durability? [I wouldn't buy the argument that it was merely to save a fraction of an ounce of weight]
Now, I'm no egg-spurt on bikes, nor manufacturing...but it seems to me, that BB30s could be installed completely by machines....whereas standard threaded BBs would, if nothing else, require an actual human to adjust. No?
Once you realize that BB30 was driven by the designers and not the manufacturers it makes more sense. BB30 was not conceived because of some manufacturing advantage, it was conceived because of a perceived performance advantage. The designers designed and then the frame makers had to figure out how to make it and tool up for that.
Anyone who has ever worked in any kind of manufacturing knows about this tension between the design side and the manufacturing side of a product. The same tension exists between architects and engineers, for example; Just because you can dream it up does mean it can be built.
This is where we sit with our OE customers. We try to manage design expectations and coax manufacturers until we find that balance the leads to a product that makes it to market. Fun stuff but my hair is graying far too quickly.