Bike looks great Clanier - your plans also sound good.

In have managed to rack up 3000Km on my CAAD10 - having owned it since March this year. I've gotta say, it is a cracker of a bike and it seems that it makes the pain I inflict myself with just that little bit better! Gave it a bit of a scrub up after this morning's local bunch ride and took a couple of snaps.

http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps5bdacb88.jpg

http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k...psb7ae7b19.jpg

cheers

So yesterday I experienced a "spontaneous failure" of the BB30 bottom bracket. Bottom line, lbs says it's fried and needs to be replaced. I know there has been a lot of discussion about BB30 creak, but has anyone else had this spontaneous failure happen?

A little background: This is a 2013 10 5 that I've been riding since last July. Not sure how many miles as I don't have a comp, but I'd guess around 1500 miles. I've had no problems whatsoever and the bike has been ridden in fair weather until last week. Wednesday I got caught in a storm and was in very heavy rain for the last 10 miles of my ride. After the ride I pulled the wheels, wiped the bike down, cleaned and lubed chain, and put the wheels back on. No noise or anything from the BB30. Yesterday was my first ride since Wednesday and a few miles in there were three distinct ticks per revolution on the BB. I rode a bit further before deciding to turn back as it seemed to be getting worse. By the time I arrived home, BB sounded like rice krispies. Went straight to the lbs and he diagnosed it instantly. "You'll need a new BB" - not covered under warranty unless it's actually the shell in which case they'll replace the frame. He said they've changed quite a few BB30s and only seen the shell bad once. So, $50 for the stainless steel or $250 for the ceramic, and I should have the bike back in a week.

Tech at the shop said it's too soon after riding in the rain for that to be the cause (which it shouldn't be anyway since it's a sealed bearing). He said if the cranks were loose they could cause accelerated wear, but the cranks are snug. So, he said it's just "spontaneous failure". Anybody else experienced something similar? Or have any other theories on what might have happened?

-Tyler

BB30 is very simple, I can't imagine what would cause that. It's essentially just a couple of sealed bearings pressed into the frame. Perhaps a faulty bearing ball has shattered?

Sounds like rain + wave ring issues.

Also, 50 dollars and a week is too much money and time to install a bottom bracket. That's absolutely ridiculous.

My exact thoughts. Also, don't most component manufacturers offer 1 or 2 year warranties for parts on new bikes? I know at least Shimano and SRAM do...

"spontaneous failure" isn't a diagnosis. Spontaneous failure of what, exactly? Nerull's guess is a good one (shattered ball bearing), but you should have the shop open up the seals to check it out. It should probably be under warranty.

$50 is not totally unreasonable for the cost of good steel bearings and installation. It's a 5 minute job though, so see if you can push them on the timetable, and bring the mech a sixpack/bottle of his/her favorite as a thank you.

Thanks! Love the scheme on your 10, I was looking for a 10 but couldnt justify passing this bike up with less than 500 miles on it!

Very nice.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know when the CAAD lines are usually released? I am not in dire need for a bike yet but would like to upgrade to a CAAD10 Rival, not a fan of the color way to be completely honest (I know, but if I'm dropping 2k I want what I want).

Thanks

Agreed. I'll be interested to hear what exactly the failure was. And to clarify the timetable, I won't have the bike back until Friday because the shop won't have parts until Wednesday and they are closed Thursday for the holiday. The tech told me it was only a 15 minute job, so it's really just a matter of getting the parts there. I'm not implying the shop is taking too long for the repair, I'm just lamenting the fact that I'll be stuck on the sidelines for a week.

As far as warranty goes, he told me that the only portion of the bearing that's covered under warranty is the outer shell which is welded to the frame, not the bearings themselves. I'll probably be calling Cannondale tomorrow to follow-up and make sure that's the case.

August or September, I think.

I purchased my 2013 CAAD10 5 on Julyl 17, 2012.

M'Lord, i have a Black/RAW 2013 CAAD10 105 - same bike as you. After 600km riding on smooth cycle tracks that have sand dunes next to them and no rain, my bottom bracket started creaking, or pinging. It did sound as it someone was flicking a metal ball inside the frame. took it to the LBS. they said that they would grease it. got it the next day. took it for a ride, and after 15km, the same thing, but not as loud. Took it back. the LBS greased everything on that bike. took the BB apart, greased the headset and anything else. Rode 45 km on friday, then 65km the next day and no problems.

Hopefully this is the problem solved, but due to the issues that i have read on forums, i am thinking about getting a new Bottom Bracket. What did your LBS recommend for you? $50 or $250. i was looking at the SRAM or the Chris King, but don't know what would be good?

any other forum members who have experience in replacing the FSA BB30 with something else and can share their thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ratty

If ALL they did was add grease to fix creaking, they did it wrong. Needs loctite.

Great pics Nagrom and macca33.

Here's a couple of mine from this past weekend.
http://i.imgur.com/L5nldUdl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kizwWXfl.jpg

BB30 cup installation instructions:http://media.cannondale.com/media/ma...ctions_web.pdf

Bill

It doesn't need loctite. I'd avoid putting that in the shell if possible. These bearings don't seem to last very long and they aren't that expensive so if in doubt I'd just replace them. If new ones still creak then maybe loctite will help. Not sure how easy it will be change out and clean the next time though.

$250 is definitely not in the budget right now so I didn't get too many details. LBS said that the ceramic was an upgrade in that there is less power loss through the ceramic bearings. I believe he said up to 10 watts per hour. According to this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_performance) an amateur racer might generate 200 watts per hour. So, maybe a 5% reduction in power loss due to bearing friction? We didn't even talk brand name, so I wasn't even aware that there are lots of different makers of BB30 bearings.

I haven't been able to find too much info online, but I have seen a few anecdotes that say the ceramics don't last as long.

The linked instruction addresses the cleaning procedure, those cups are supposed to be "bonded to the shell, per Cannondale. The lack of a proper bonding is why you get the creaking of the cups so many have experienced. Some have gotten away with not using the correct Loctite, up to each individual. LordLivingston needs to evaluate continuing to use a shop that is more concerned with selling him a ceramic bearing BB when it is pretty much a waste of money. Those power gain numbers for just switching to a ceramic bearing set are way off. His going to Cannnondale for a clarification of the warranty would be my path.

Bill

Well ok it doesn't need loctite, just like you don't really need to properly torque bolts.

If you don't follow instructions, then yea I wouldn't expect your bearings to be quiet OR last long.

(FYI - I've got about 8000 miles on my CAAD10, with the original bearings.)

Agree about the shop.

Any link on the Cannondale specs using loctite? All I've ever seen from Cannondale is using loctite in an irregular shell - as in the linked instructions. I have two Cannondale bikes with BB30 and the bearings were not bonded when new and when replaced the shop mechanic was pretty adamant that using loctite was a bad idea. It may be necessary if there is a problem, but I'm not aware of anything saying it's required.

Please show me the instructions where it says you have to use loctite in the shell. The link above is referring to a fix for an irregular fit - which may be the case here. But I wouldn't read this to mean you always use loctite. Those instructions are also for Pressfit 30 and the caad uses BB30.

"The process described in this Tech Note can be used to install BB cups into Cannondale Pressfit 30 frames where irregular BB cup parts or frame shell surfaces are resulting in a partial press or slip fit."

It's the conventional wisdom around here, so I'm not gonna spend time googling for you. I don't know if Cannondale's CAAD 10 instructions say anything about loctite, but if you spend a few minutes searching around, you'll find a consensus that proper loctite usage leads to quiet BB30 bearings. You don't need a lot of it, and proper application won't hamper removing the bearings later.

(If you have cannondale cranks then this applies -
http://media.cannondale.com/media/Ma...plement_en.pdf)

Yes, it's often recommended as a fix for a problem, but that isn't the same as saying it's required or recommended by Cannondale in general which is what a few people were saying.

Slynkie,
You are reading more into the tech bulletin than Cannondale intended. I linked it because it is in the web site's area for technical assistance resuorces as a fix for a creaking BB or press fit set up. It isn't a requirement for warranty or other issues like that. Please don't make more of my reply than was intended, it is just a possible solution to a problem and has been successful for a lot of Cannondale owners. Bikerjp is right in his position about Loctite, even they say not to use their products as a panacea.

Bill