Are all isis BB doomed to a quick death?
08-01-11, 08:36 PM
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Are all isis BB doomed to a quick death?
I am going on my fourth ISIS BB in the past 2500 miles, two FSA platinum Pros a Truvativ and now am going to install an American Classic. Its been the same with all, first a slight creaking then some roughness and I replaced the Truvativ and one FSA at that point and the other FSA I tried to ride out for a little longer and it seized up.
I have a decent crank and really don't want to spend the money on getting a GXP crank because I doubt ISIS standard would get me a good resale on my current crank.
Should I just give up and get a new crank? or have I just been buying the wrong BB brands? Are there any ways to improve the longevity of a BB?
Thanks.
I have a decent crank and really don't want to spend the money on getting a GXP crank because I doubt ISIS standard would get me a good resale on my current crank.
Should I just give up and get a new crank? or have I just been buying the wrong BB brands? Are there any ways to improve the longevity of a BB?
Thanks.
08-01-11, 08:43 PM
#2
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No problem with my 2 shimanos. On one I failed to tighten the allen bolts properly and the cranks creaked for a while the cranks might be shot now and I will be ruing the day.
08-01-11, 09:27 PM
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Shimano never made ISIS BBs.
ISIS's design flaw is that the large spindle doesn't leave much room for bearings inside the BB shell. The best I found was the FSA Platinum Pro Ti. They use dual-row bearings that are mounted close to the ends of the BB. The Token Ti BB I took apart had tiny single row bearings far inboard. Those didn't last nearly as long.
The AC has a poor reputation for durability.
If you can afford it, go to a GXP crank and BB when your next BB dies. The GXP BBs are $35 so even if you do croak one it's cheap to replace. But with larger bearings they should last longer than an ISIS BB.
ISIS's design flaw is that the large spindle doesn't leave much room for bearings inside the BB shell. The best I found was the FSA Platinum Pro Ti. They use dual-row bearings that are mounted close to the ends of the BB. The Token Ti BB I took apart had tiny single row bearings far inboard. Those didn't last nearly as long.
The AC has a poor reputation for durability.
If you can afford it, go to a GXP crank and BB when your next BB dies. The GXP BBs are $35 so even if you do croak one it's cheap to replace. But with larger bearings they should last longer than an ISIS BB.
08-02-11, 06:07 AM
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VP makes a pretty good one. You can also buy the FSA Platinums and others, brand new, on eBay for as little as $5-$10, so you could just stock up and replace them cheaply.
08-02-11, 07:37 AM
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I was so fed up with all of them that I eventually got an XC Raceface BB. Slightly heavier, but put on another 3K miles with no issues before eventually selling the bike.
08-02-11, 11:08 AM
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I am going to look into that raceface if the American Classic fails, thanks.
08-02-11, 11:23 AM
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Crank Bros makes a good ISIS BB. So does SKF, but it ain't cheap (10-year warranty on the bearings, though).
08-02-11, 11:55 AM
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3k miles is 4-5 months for me- I ride about 8k miles/year. The tokens would go almost a year. FSA Platinums 1.5-2 years.
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