I've got a Phil BB with the titanium axle on my vintage weight weenie bike, and it's done well. The bike gets treated gently, at least in regards to weather, and I probably have less than 5000 miles on the BB. No problems with it.

I've also been using the Shimano UN-71 cartridge BBs on a few bikes. These get a lot of miles and subjected to a bit of rotten weather. One bike was exhibiting a bit of roughness, so I pulled it out and figured out that the cups were too tight (I've since decided that this is an issue with the BB shell or the threading itself). The UN-71 had about 15,000 miles on it, so I cut it open and took at look at the bearings and the surfaces where the bearings run....





summary: it all looked great. Lots of miles left in it.

I don't think the UN-71 is still made, but for a $30(?) BB, they have been quite reliable for me. Seems like the UN55 is likely a good value too.


Steve in Peoria