Originally Posted by
repechage
The bearings came with a lip contact seal, use eventually wears that away, so in time the drag is reduced, I found that out decades ago with my first Phil bottom bracket. I have one of the original design units that exhibits the same one side is locked, other side rotates, I set the last torque to install on the rotating side. That just seemed reasonable.
Not sure it matters much, but can't hurt.
True about the lip seal. A well-used but uncontaminated cartridge bearing will be nice and smooth.
The outer races of the bearings on a Phil BB are "pinched" between the center sleeve and the mounting rings. When the rings are properly torqued in place, the bearings won't move. Doesn't really matter whether they stay attached to the sleeve or not when you remove them. Just make sure a loose one is seated in the sleeve before tightening the mounting ring.
The sleeve's width is precision milled to match the spindle's bearing saddle width plus the bearing width, so the bearings aren't side loaded when installed. That's bad for radial-contact cartridge bearings. Make sure the bearing seats are nice and clean on both the rings and the sleeve. Theoretically, overtightening the rings could bulge the center sleeve enough to cause some bearing side load, so don't overdo it.
When I install a Phil, when I have the rings close to tight enough, I give the ends of the spindle a good tap or two with a hammer to align everything. Then I tighten to spec. If it's still a little rough, another tap or two with a hammer should smooth things out. If not, I take it out and troubleshoot.