Originally Posted by Andrew R Stewart

I do quite the opposite. I find that having the lever arm of the RH crank attached and tightened onto the BB axle helps me feel the slight amount of play in the BB adjustment better. I can use my hands to squeeze the arm into the chain stay then away from the stay (or DT or ST) and feel for the play. But i always start my bearing adjustment final steps with a slightly loose setting. This way one can feel the slop and as you approach the correct adjustment this slop reduces bit by bit. If the setting is too tight you can't feel how tight often. If i only spin the axle by hand and try wiggling it for play I often find that when an arm is attached I can feel a small bit of play. I also let the crank arm pendulum swing back and forth to gage the freedom of the bearings spin. Often with many bikes I find that there is a compromise in the final adjustment. There will be some slop at one point of arm rotation and a tightness at another. (Poorly made axle or cups or a shell in need of facing are the usual reasons).

Don't forget that when you tighten up the lock ring the bearing slop will increase (unless you let the adjustable cup rotate with the lock ring as you tighten it). So all adjustment/spin checks are best done with a tight ring. Then readjust as needed to correct. It often takes 3 or more back and forth to get it right. Only then will i attach the LH arm. Andy.