Hey Guys,

Purchased a new Tange square taper BB for a Cannondale Quick. For the life of me I can't get the non-drive side off of the new BB - figured it would pull right off but nope, what am I missing.
Took 10 minutes to pull the cranks and take the old one out, now can't figure out how to get the new one apart.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Shepp

Pictures never hurt.

Sure, thanks - brand new, can't get the non-drive cup side off.

My memory is it’s not screwed on, it’s just temporarily pushed in. I remember just pulling it off.

On some sealed cartridge BBs, only the non-drive cup slides off.
I just grabbed a new after-market BB from my parts bin. The driveside cup does not come off.

Yeah, I have only replaced maybe one of these ever - and I am not sure the non-drive side cup wasn't in a bag separate from the BB. I suppose I could thread it in by hand
backwards and give it a slight tap with a dowel rod from the other side or something. I am pretty sure these aren't pressed fit, bit is definitely snug on there.

The NDS cup may just be sitting a little angled to the shell and thus wedged on. See if you can 'wiggle' it a little to get it aligned. You can use your remover tool to wiggle it.

Yes, the NDS should simply pull off the new BB. It must be jammed on there or something.

Maybe try some heat.
Run it under hot water to heat the cup, but not the cartridge.
That might relieve the tension enough.

Or try a hair dryer if the thought of giving your new BB a bath gives you the willies.

I had that happen with the same model bb. I wrapped cloth around the nds cup, held that with adjustable pliers just hard enough to hold the cup with the pliers on an edge, jaws and cup off the edge. Tapped that end of the spindle a couple times and it popped right off.

That may work just fine.
It's may be a fine balance between "far enough to not break off part of the cup" and "not too far" to get the cup back out easily, since the removal splines are on the wrong side.

I also bought one new recently, and it came as two separate pieces, but without bolts to the crank arms. How the &%$# am I going to connect cranks to the BB without bolts? Their listing didn't even specify they will be shipping the BB without out bolts. Had to go out and buy the bolts separately.

In any case, why can't they send yours like this?

I don't recall a lot of bottom brackets coming with crank bolts. Generally I have bolts that come from the cranks or I upgraded to the TA Specialities Auto Extractor or something else. I don't see why you would assume CRANK bolts would come with a bottom bracket?

Me neither.

If the product you're buying doesn't specifically address the included contents, assuming much of anything is a common pitfall.



You get what you pay for....

A first-time DIYer would expect a new bike part to come with every bolt and nut that is needed to install the part, unless there is a clear mention in the listing that additional hardware is required.

*does not include crank bolts. 👈 Wouldn't hurt.

So the buyer wouldn't have to wait 2 weeks for the part to arrive, and another 2 weeks for the bolts to arrive, to complete the installation.

There is a reason they are called crank bolts and not BB bolts.....

GOT IT! It was a little bound up on there and looked like some heavy paint/powder coating inside, I actually took the bottom bracket tool and worked/wiggled it hard and it broke loose. Cleaned it up with a little extra fine steel wool and greased it up. Thank you all for your suggestions - was a bit of weird one. Like someone posted above, if I recall the ones I bought previously had the cup separate in a baggy.

Good to go!

Glad that it worked. BBs with steel NDS adapters/main units seems to have this happen occasionally.

Re: crank bolts.
Is there any reason why the bolts that secured your crank to the old bottom bracket wouldn't work?

I would not expect CRANK BOLTS to come with a bottom bracket. If it doesn't say they are included why are you assuming they must come with them. I don't need CRANK BOLTS to install a bottom bracket EVER. The CRANK BOLTS are to affix the CRANKS not the bottom bracket.

I was going to suggest threading it into the frame so you could give it a good wiggle, but you got it already.

I believe JohnD was addressing the post quoted above his.

There is a variety of square taper crank bolt styles depending on the crankset, the bottom bracket maker doesn't know what sort you need. Also they don't really wear out so the bolts you already have will do. If you don't have some already and they're not pictured with the one you're buying (they might be, but I'd be surprised) they are readily available on next day delivery from Amazon, or from a local bike shop or co-op, or local-ish eBay seller (this one has a "buy two, get two free" offer on the external hex type).