Originally Posted by
justinzane
At the moment, I do indeed plan to keep my BB. I'm asking just because the whole BB choice is somewhat insane to the uninformed. I was vaguely hoping that with the input of a few experienced wrenches, it might be possible to compile a "sticky" guide on the subject since there is so little out there that Google readily finds.
I see. I tried to do some reading on "phil wood vs. shimano" bottom bracket a while ago. Seems like the consensus is that there's no consensus. Phil wood stuff is undoubtedly good stuff and the BBs are nice in that you can replace bearings as needed and probably keep one going til Armageddon, but the fact is the Shimano UN55 is pretty good too and a whole lot cheaper. Under normal use it'll last a long time, and it probably doesn't cost a lot more to replace the Shimano than it does to replace the bearings on a PW.
I recently repacked the loose ball BB for the first time on my old Schwinn (after about two years of use in all types of weather) and it was pretty quick and easy... and it probably wasn't even necessary yet. I don't really see any need to go to a sealed unit as long as this one is still working. It's very smooth, got a chunky built-to-last spindle and it's
the cheapest to maintain.
I think it'll be hard to get to any objective truth on this one. It's yet another topic that seems to just come down to personal preferences.