Old 09-06-13 | 11:11 AM
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Campag4life
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Joined: May 2007
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I agree with you about C-bear. Only time I would run the pricey C-bear is with a Campy crank because it is effective. In that case I would choose the one piece press in alloy BSA sleeve. The solution you linked is simply a longer press of captured bearings. It could be argued it is a bit more robust that the factory solution...but not head and shoulders better...plus it still relies on a press fit.

What would I do in your shoes? Contact Praxis and tell them what BB you have and what crank..in your case DA.
The way it works is...the Praxis BB30 BB is what they will recommend. You press in the Specialized Delrin sleeves on both sides. Specialized OSBB on your Venge is a narrow version of PF30...about 7mm undersize width wise. With Specialized proprietary Delrin cups pressed in place, this evolves BB width to standard BB30 width of 68mm. Bore size of your press in cups is the same ID as BB30 bearings...hence the Praxis sleeve spec'ed for Specialized version of narrow PF-30 is the same as BB30.

Beauty of the Praxis BB is it is non invasive...it can be readily removed. There is no press. Instead it relies on a collet expansion joint to create an interference fit to the ID of the Delrin cups pressed in place. Praxis BB's also have captured bearings so you don't have to mess with bearings either. Your DA crank should be plug and play because the Praxis BB replicates outboard bearing spacing that matches Shimano crank spacing.

But there is a bit more OP. You needlessly suffered with a noisy BB. If you tried to maintain it then you didn't install the crank properly. If you had the shop do it, then they didn't. It isn't complex but it takes attention to detail. For your Venge BB, Specialized spec's green Loctite for both the OD of you press in Delrin bushings...AND Loctite for the OD of the BB30 bearings. If you did both which you likely didn't and why it was noisy, then surfaces weren't cleaned properly for adequate Loctite adhesion...or...you didn't adjust the axial pre-load of your DA correctly. If any of these steps are not performed, a good chance your crank will creak. Again, none of this stuff is difficult, it just needs to performed properly. The stock Venge BB serves hundred's of owners quietly with DA crank. A last note. If you decide on the Praxis BB which is the best sleeve integrated bearing solution, be sure to Loctite the Spesh Delrin bushings to the virgin carbon 46mm ID PF-30 (narrow) shell. If you don't then the bushings will creak and you will be back to square one.

HTH.

Last edited by Campag4life; 09-06-13 at 11:23 AM.
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