Hi. I need to replace a bearing cartridge on a sugino cbbf-103 square taper bottom bracket. Its on the fixed cup side. Contacted sugino about it to find out how to replace the cartridges and as the don't recommend it, they're not willing to tell me any information on how to replace them ie cartridge size bearing rating etc.

Does anyone out there have any experience with this part that could shed some light on this?

Cheers
Slim

Not sure it'd be worth the hassle in this case unfortunately?

The manufacturer told you not to do something and you're consulting a forum for a workaround? Seems smart.

Most sealed cartridge bottom brackets are disposable units. Use until they wear out, then replace.

+1

How foolish I've been. Manufacturer told me to do something and I stupidly consulted advice from a bike forum as to a way to repair a faulty part myself. Really don't know what I was thinking

To me the "No user serviceable parts inside" sticker was always an invitation.

If they are cartridge bearings then Enduro or Wheels Manufacturing would likely have them. You would have to pull the bearings, measure them, order and then press in the new ones.
@50voltphantom is likely correct. Probably not worth the trouble.

It's entirely possible that it's not designed to be serviceable. Looking at the thing, I don't see how you'd remove the bearing without destroying it. (nor how you'd attach a new one)

LOL how true!

Exactly.

Throw it in the trash and get a new bottom bracket.

While I mostly agree with the "you shouldn't even try to work on a sealed bearing bottom bracket" sentiment - especially considering that you can pick up any number of decent replacement versions of sealed 103mm square taper BBs for as little as $12-20...I too, like Timothy H, regard being told not to mess with something as an invitation to do so

Once upon a time I had a same size no-name generic, so-called, sealed bearing BB as yours on one of my bikes and when (too soon to my thinking) it got crunchy - I just I replaced it. But of course I had to look inside the old one, and it was not too hard to pop the "seals" out with a small flat-blade screwdiver. I put seals in quotes because when I got into the thing it was obvious they were not very effective, as whatever lube it may have started with was gone and it was full of rust. It was a loose ball unit but I did not want to pry the ball bearings out so I simply filled it with Naval Jelly and flushed it, a few times 'til the rust was gone. I did my best to inspect for bad bearings and not finding any easily noticeable problems with any of them, simply loaded it up with marine grease and did my best to squeeze the so-called seals back in without damaging them. Using my primitive test method of spinning the spindle back and forth by hand - it seemed quite smooth and functional so I stored it away "just in case".

FWIW - when I later sold a crankset that took that size BB to one of my riding-buddies...I threw in that "rebuilt" sealed bottom bracket, and to this day, a couple years later, have not heard any complaint from him about it...

An invitation indeed.. cheers for the info

You're correct in saying that but in my experience, if it was made,it can be unmade. With a little gentle coaxing any square taper is easily serviced. Check out this video

https://youtu.be/2RczU--4Zjg

Any €20 bb I've bought in the past usually lasted a couple years then got replaced. I spent 70 on this one and it's lasted 13 months. I've never had a bearing crack on any part of mine before so I had hoped if there was any way to salvage it for a fraction of the cost, I'd give it a go.

I suppose in theory if you clean them every now and then keep them well greased they should last a life time.

Nice to give a new lease to old parts

A new lease on old parts can be great if the part is worth saving and designed to be serviceable. Just because something is old doesn't mean it is worth saving, a BB like that is designed to be replaced. If you want a serviceable BB go for loose ball or a Phil Wood.

Certainly you could get a new one and play around with the old one but generally if Sugino is saying don't do it, there is probably some good reasoning. Yes sometimes manufacturers say things because of liability but their reasoning is generally rooted in bad ideas that consumer have tried or might try.

People try to adjust bearings in a Dynamo hub and wonder why the thing doesn't work right afterwards even though all the manufacturers and many experts who sell them also say the same thing. People love to think that someone who does it for a living is wrong. If one believes the experts are wrong why even ask them? I never understand that.

Thanks veganbikes... Not sure who the expert who does this for a living is, as I've only ever received a response from a generic sugino rep after my enquiry to them. I asked a thread on a forum, and if there's someone on here that I've upset then I reckon the results speak for themselves. Found out where to buy replacement cartridges as per manufacturers specs @ €4, specs which they were unwilling to provide originally. Fitted them today quite easily and the bb runs better than new...

Sugino employees, bike mechanics, etc...

Glad the BB works hopefully you get some time out of it. Sometimes you can get lucky and things might work but sometimes it is just a bodge and can do some damage. Not saying this is that without seeing it just noting.

I hear ya dude, guess there was nothing to lose if the only other option was the bin. Hopefully it'll stand the test of time. Barring the cartridges, the whole assembly seems pretty bomb proof so hopefully that's a good sign

I'm really curious about the removal process. I can't see how to extract the old ones. Share the procedure please.

This video pretty much covers it. I used an old English thread shell that I had from a gutted scrap frame rather than buy a bsa adapter. Either or will work.

im all about diy but thats verging too close to tweaker for me. bike shop tweakers are thee worst.

My momma taught me never to touch meth

Why? It isn't too far off from DIY hub bearing replacement. Yes, many times it is cheaper to just buy a new BB, but for the expensive stuff like Campy and Sugino I would go for DIY replacement if I can order the appropriate bearings. The guy in the video used a BB30 to BSA adapter to remove the fixed cup from the unit, so anybody can do the same with a BB shell hacked off a dumpster bike. It just takes a little ingenuity.