I've always been a Campy man. I started riding during the Nuovo/Super Record era. I've logged many miles on all my Campy stuff and, other than a few minor "failures", the parts always performed well. In fact, I'm still using Campy parts that I've owned for 25 years.

My question is about Campy's sealed bearing/square tape BB. How many miles would you consider the life span of these BBs?

The reason I ask, is that my Campy sealed BB has just over 17,000 miles on it (this bike have never seen rain) and it started to make noise. I checked it out and noticed that, though it turns freely, it feels "dry".

17,000 miles may sound like a lot. But, I'm still using a Chorus "loose ball" BB from the C-Record era that has over 85,000 miles on it and it is still smooth (it has been on my winter/wet weather bike for the past 10 years). I also have a C-record BB that is pushing 30,000 miles and is still as smooth as ever. I'm not a maitainence freak. I disassemble and clean/repack these BBs every 10,000 miles or so.

So, back to my question. I'm I asking too much from the sealed bearing bottom bracket or did I get a rare bad one from Campy?

Generally when a sealed cartridge-type BB starts acting up - it's usually replaced. There may be a way to repack it, and I'd suggest looking around for the tech docs. How much would a new one cost you?

Actually, I'm not looking to repack it. I figure it needs replacement. As far as cost; from shops they run about $100-120. But, I've been picking them up, off ebay, for about $75-80, new. I have three spares waiting in the wings. So, there is no problem there. I'm just wondering if they should last longer, or what I got out of it is the normal lifespan?

Don't know about Campy sealed bb's in general but my Chorus triple bb has 11,000 miles and has no signs of problems. A Shimano Octalink sealed bb on another bike has 22,000 miles and runs like-new so I'd expect Campy to last at least that long.

If your bb still turns smoothly and has no play at the crank arms, I'd just keep riding it. Replace it only when there are clear signs of trouble.

I just repacked a Zeus BB from 1981 and it is as smooth as ever. I was going to put in a sealed Chorus BB but I couldn't get the fixed cup off so I just repacked it. I put the Campy crank on it.

+2 If you clean and repack those old beauties, they can outlive you.

If they run about $100-$120 each, you must be using at least a Chorus and likely a Record BB. Those have three standard-sized cartridge bearings each that can be replaced for a very modest cost. (~$15 total at most) Then they'll be as good as new.

Yes, they are Record. I was thinking about trying to replace the bearings, but how do you get the righthand bearings? The cup looks like it is permanately attached to the carbon sleeve.