Originally Posted by
justinzane
Sorry to be pedantic, but I'm wondering how to identify what quality I need. Say I've got a 68mm shell and 110mm spindle with JIS square taper. How do I know what spending the extra $75 on a Phil Wood vs a Sugino gives me. Durability? Ease of maintenance? Stiffness? Ability to attract unicorns? Ability to impress bike club folks?
Phil Wood is a boutique brand. Really high quality stuff, but you pay a substantial premium for the workmanship. Sugino's inexpensive bottom brackets are decent quality, but utilitarian.
Originally Posted by
justinzane
Does it matter if I do small time crits? Seriously loaded tours? Riding the cobbles in Boston or Roubaix? What about if I am a female triathlete weighing in at 105 pounds? The actual me, weighting in at 222.5 pounds?
If you're racing, you'll probably want something light. In general, the lighter, the costlier.
For loaded tours, you'll want something reliable because you don't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. You don't need light, you need durable.
If you're a clydesdale, you don't need to pay a price premium for a high-end racing-oriented bottom bracket. Kinda silly to spend a bunch to save a few grams when you're carrying extra pounds.
Originally Posted by
justinzane
While I know that extremely high speed applications like dental drills benefit from the lower mass of ceramic balls, does it make any difference in a low speed, high force application like a bike? Why, other than the couple of grams?
If there's a benefit to ceramic balls, I'm sure it would be too small for me to notice. Maybe if someone's looking to shave a thousandth of a second off their race time...
Originally Posted by
justinzane
And, if one is a cheapskate, like I am, how do you know what is truly crap to avoid and what is a reasonable quality affordable part?
It's probably easier to identify a known decent inexpensive part than to identify all the ones that aren't up to snuff. Shimano's inexpensive square taper bottom brackets like the UN-55 have a solid reputation.