Upgrading a Bottom Bracket
 

I was thinking of upgrading the Bottom Bracket on my bike (68mm 1.37X24 square taper spindle) with a cartridge setup, and my LBS said that it can't be done, but I think they are blowing smoke..... They also said I could no longer find parts for the current BB if it did ever fail, and I would have to throw the bike away. I have found several cartridge type BB's that are 1.37X24 which is standard 68mm English thread, what gives?

Aside from BB30, most modern bottom brackets are still standard english threaded BBs. They'll work fine. Pretty sure you can even get square taper, otherwise you'd need cranks to match the spindle.

Square taper English threaded cartridge bottom brackets are widely available in a variety of spindle lengths and both JIS (Shimano and many others) tapers and ISO (Campy and a few others) tapers.

Unless there is something very odd about your frame or the crank you want to use, you need a better LBS.

Nothing odd about the frame or crank. The crank is a Shimano 600 and the the current BB is a Shimano, and is stampped on the outside of the cups (1.37X24) and it is a 68mm shell, maybe this is why the Bike Shop is going out of business. They are closing after being open for just over a year.

Just a side note, a cartridge bb is not necessarily an upgrade. If you have an all Shimano 600 bike, your current loose bearing bb should be a really nice one.

In my experience rehabbing bikes, the old style bottom brackets are almost always rebuildable (maybe 1 in 40 or 50 that I find are shot), whereas probably 20% of the bikes I find with cartridge bb are shot. With a little maintenance, the older style bottom brackets can last just about forever. If never maintained, eventually you will see some spindle and cup wear. At that point, replacement is warranted.

I tend to only replace bottom brackets when I upgrade cranksets. If the upgrade crank requires a different bb, time to change. The last four I changed were due to installing hollowtech style cranks (external bearings).

You can save some weight with modern bottom brackets..

That sounds like an LBS trying to sell more bikes, if you ask me. If the measurements are the same, they should fit. I hate to say this, but I can see why that shop's going out of business.

what kind of bike do you have? if you really want to 'upgrade' you BB for a project they really upgrade it and get a Phil Wood.

too bad the shop is closing he should have learned about bikes before opening. unfortunatly too many shop employees can only replace parts these days. the have no diagnstic skills or ability to figure out what will work.

as for you Vintage needs go see Joe at the Bicycle Clinic in So Weymouth. he can be a bit gruff at first but IMHO is the best bike guy on the So Shore.

LOL, you can get Shimano UNs for $10-$50 and they would be comparable to what you've got now. I just replaced my Sister's BB and I'll see about getting her into a Campy part but only because it is so cheap (Free for me, a couple bucks for her) and it is an excuse to buy another tool ;). Ha, that's another reason to go with External BBs, you can buy more tools!

No mention of the axle length of the old one, ?

Note : USA made Phil wood BB's are very nice.