A friend asked me to re-pack his BB because there was play, the bearings have deteriorated. The problem is that the adjustable bb cup seems to be stuck or damaged and I can't remove it. The bicycle is a Supercycle road bike recently purchased at Canadian tire. I am removing the cup by turning it to the left but it gets stuck at a certain point. Any thoughts on how I can remove this, or is the frame trash.

Thanks

"Turning it to the left" Do you mean counter clock wise? Are you able to turn the cup out far enough to figure out if the cup is cracking or otherwise somehow damaged?

Usually the cup will turn out, although sometimes with a lot of effort during to whole process. Usually only after the cup is out can you discern the shell's condition, unless the damage is evident externally. Do make sure that you're not talking about a cartridge BB unit and it's hanging up on the cable guide fixing bolt.

Did you look inside the shell before you tried to remove the cup? Did you see ball track damage? How are you holding the cup while you remove it? Andy.

Have you applied some penetrating oil?

Yes I have

"turning to the left" meaning counter clockwise. I just went off of SheldonBrown.com and my previous experience with BBs to establish that. When turning, the first 60 degrees turns smoothly but then suddenly it will not go any farther and it feels as though it is going to snap if I push any harder. This is definitely not a cartridge BB, I have experience with those and can tell the difference (I can appreciate your advice thought).

That's very odd behavior for removing a threaded part, as all the internal and external threads have already engaged each other, vs. when you hit a damaged sectionof thread with the lead-in of a threaded part. I would just get a longer tool or put some vicegrips and a long lever on it and push harder, OR carefully cut the cup in two, remove and then have the BB threads cleared with a tap.

solid advice, thanks mate. It seems to me the problem must have something to do with the low quality of the parts. You can just feel how cheap the bike is when you touch it.

First I'll ask the obvious, you are talking about the non-drive side cup, correct? Just checking as the drive side cup has left-handed threads. Another thing to check - perhaps the bolt used to hold the cable guide on the bottom bracket is too long and his somehow hanging up the cup? I know - it's a reach, but it's worth a shot to try backing that bolt out and then seeing if the bb cup will continue to turn.

What tool are you using? You may want to pick up one of these spanner wrenches; the pins give a solid hold on the non-drive (adjustable) cup pin holes.

Ovalised BB shell and cup - cup will not rotate easily through the perpendicular plane of the deformation. I've seen this one a few times on department store bikes. Must be something to do with the way they're assembled or packed.

- Joel