Dumbling dice in my BB?
 

I've noticed that the bottom bracket on my single-speed is rumbling a bit, as though there were dice inside. It's a not loud noise; more vibration than sound when I turn the crank. The BB is probably old. It came of off an early 80s Puegot road bike, though it may not be original. Should I simply drop $20 on a new BB and be done with it?

Thank you.
Dave

"Rumbling" in a bottom bracket is not a good thing. The chances are either there is a lot of dirt in there, one of the races is badly mangled or a bearing has broken.

Take it apart and inspect the spindle and cup races and the condition of the balls. If any of these are scored or broken, a new bb is definitely in order.

If its a beater, take out the seat, put a tube down the seat tube long enough to reach the bottom bracket and give it a few squirts of oil. If you have a hollow seat post, you don't even have to take off the seat.

Thanks for the tip. I'll follow your advice. I'm almost certain (if memory is correct) the BB is not sealed.

As for pouring oi down the seat tube, I can imagine the mess that makes as oil drips from the unplugged hole in BB shell.

Thanks anyway.

Yeah, not sure what problem that would solve...Unless he uses the BB shell as an oil pan. :)

Yes...