This has been a frustrating couple of months. I am wanting to change out the crappy Bontrager crankset and SRAM cassette for a Dura Ace crankset and cassette. However, I've been told by my mega Trek dealer that the new "bearings" for the bottom bracket aren't available yet. I was first told that they would be in the last part of July, then early August, then the last week of August. Now they're telling me mid-September. Does anyone know if this part is available elsewhere? If so, please let me know! Thanks a bunch...

They can't get replacement bearings? Trek already uses the Dura-Ace cranks on their Madone's, why wouldn't they be able to do something so simple?

Outboard bearing BB right? Just get a DA BB and slap it on there. Colorado Cyclist has them for $40

https://www.coloradocyclist.com/product/display/15453/

nope.

i've seen some problems with them already at our shop.

Really, what problems?

which bontrager crank do you have?
I have the Carbon Bontrager race lite gxp on my Waterford and Zero problems. I did replace the chainrings with Shimano D/A and it shifts alot better and looks cleaner,that's been it.

No cups!

https://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?...e_5.2_BB_shell

Ask Chris @ Enduro if his bearings will work? Maybe Treks bearings are proprietary?

https://www.enduroforkseals.com/id182.html

This is the problem with cutting edge. You end up having the latest and greatest but if something goes south there are no parts available.

And now what'll happen in a few years? Will Trek's new design take over, making all our current outboard bearing cranks obsolete, or will Trek's design go the way of the Betamax?

This is why I'm sticking with Octalink until the waves settle down. I'm sick of having to buy components I don't need because the new design (deliberately) pushes the old one out of existence.

No outboard bearings on the '08 Madone as we currently know outboard bearings as. Trek has this nifty, proprietary 90mm wide BB shell that incorporates the outboard bearing design inside the shell, but the bearings are pressed in, not threaded.

Trek's system might be more obsolescence-resistant than past attempts like Merlin's. Those frames had to have their BBs cut out and a new BB shell with conventional threads welded in place. A system where the cartridge BBs themselves are industry standards and readily available would be better. The 10-spd Shimano outboard bearings can be purchased from various industrial suppliers such as McMaster even if Shimano no longer provides them.

It's bad to say, but in a way I'm glad to see people having these problems.

We should really be putting in more consideration before supporting these manufacturers with their proprietary products. The Treks and Cannondale's of the world are doing a huge disservice to the community.

Yea, they claim to be innovating, but what they're really doing is instituting planned obsolescence.

Let me call my bike shop. They went to that trek event a couple of weeks ago. Here is what I have read though. The new madones use STANDARD bearings for the cranks. This means that while there are no cups..the bearings are the same as the ones already used in the cup method. This means you should be able to use the dura ace cranks and KEEP the bearings that are already in the frame. If not, find some ceramic dura ace/shimano bearing only and put them in yourself. The great thing about this system is that you can BUY the ceramic bearings cheap if you look. It is the KIT that presses the bearings into shimano cups that is expensive (like $100).

If you buy D/A cranks, you will get bb cups and bearings that are installed in the cups and you can find instructions on how to take the bearing out of the cups and you can put them in the madone frame.

Personally, I have read reviews of the Bontrager cranks and other than MAYBE being slightly heavier...they work.

While the BB shell IS wider...the bearings are the same size as the ones found in the BB cups already used and the q factor and spindle length did not change.

ohhhhh.... right, I forgot the new madone's have that all encompassing BB shell, my bad.

Even though it has been mentioned some people seem to still not ralize that there are no cups on a 2008 Madone. That's the beauty. It also isn't proprietary either. It uses standard "off-the-shelf" cartridge bearings.

The problem comes from the fact that most of the Trek dealers have no idea what bearing sizes are used.

Sorry to state the obvious here, but I assume you had bearings on the original Bonty crank right? Those bearings will (most likely) work for a DA crank as well. Why do you want to swap them? They are not attached to the crank.

Well, after having talked directly to Trek, they say to just keep on waiting. Evidently there is a difference in the inside diameter between Bontrager and Shimano and it's almost like an "adaptor" (for lack of a better word) that I need. Talked to a mechanic at Richardson BikeMart up in Dallas, though, and he said they had switched a couple of them out using FSA parts. Who knows....

How's your black and white television holding out?

Actually I remember reading that the bearings were in fact the same as the ones currently in the cups (as pointed out previously)...just without the cups. If that's true then you can pick up any of the bearings you see anyone selling as replacements for Shimano cranks.

Enduro has some decent priced ceramics if you are interested (around $60 I believe). Also I remember Competitive Cyclist selling a Phil Wood spec'd replacement (standard catalog bearing).

I have notes somewhere that show the bearing number. If I find them and post then you can just order a set up through McMaster or Grainger or MSC, etc....

You see, I was going to post that, but I didn't want to sound like an old fart.

This is exactly it. This is the only real reason to deviate from standards. At least with standard sizes of parts, if a part is poorly designed, another manufacturer can make something better and it's a quick and easy fix (ISIS is a good example of this). Buying a standardized frame means you have the ability to upgrade in ways we don't even know yet.

I've learned this the hard way from my Cannondale MTB.

BTW: there is nothing "cutting edge" about the new Madone, unless lack of replaceable rear dropout is cutting edge. It has gimmicks that are different, not better.

If Bonty cranks are still made by Truvativ/Sram, or if they are still using their(Sram)crank bearing standard, then the bearings are different than Shimano.

Not a chance in H3LL!!! You can't even imagine what it would cost to have a special bearing made for such a limited application. Just measure the bearing o.d., i.d., and width and take those numbers to a bearing supply house. They'll have you up and running in minutes, with as good a bearing as you can afford.

Finally got the parts to change out the crank....went ahead and made the whole thing Dura Ace...cassette, crank, even the damn chain...

What do the op-art letters and numbers on those rims mean?

Can you move the hinges on your dryer to the left? I've been thinking of doing it for over a year now on mine.

so what is original on the bike still?

Without taking into account the problems with replacing things and the lack of parts available, the gents at SRAM think that the pressed bottom bracket idea will be forced to drop within the next two years. Not necessarily that Trek did a bad job with it, but the idea in general isnt very suited to work