Originally Posted by
Shimagnolo
In my experience, sealed cartridge BB's easily last a decade.
External BB's have gone bad in as little as a year.
I am resurrecting an old thread because it was one of the top hits when I asked Google how long a BB will last.
My Spec. Roubaix SL2 S-Works, 2009, has about 30,000 miles on the original BB. Mostly fair-weather Michigan riding with some rain and wet roads too. It was ridden for about 4 years, sat neglected in my garage for about 5 years, and has about 5,000 miles in the past two years. The original BB is still in it, has never been serviced, and has no lateral play and spins smoothly.
My 2008 Spec. Tarmac Pro was my race/training bike and has about 25,000 miles on it, same conditions as the Roubaix plus a few long wet races. Same storage, similar miles over the past two years as my friend has been riding it. The original BB is still in it, has never been serviced, and has no lateral play, spins smoothly.
Neither bike was ever pressure-washed, only garden hose and usually (always?) just water running over it, no nozzle nor stream from a finger over the hose.
There is a very significant difference in sealed bearing quality from different manufacturers and even between models from the same manufacturer. Enduro have made a name for themselves in the bicycle market but there are some other manufacturers doing similar quality work.