My gf needs a replacement bb. she rides an IRO (group buy) with iro cranks and a deep v w/ velocity hubs-- typical iro build.
the bb in place is the wrong size-- her drivetrain sounds like the El.
I know she needs a 68 x110mm spindle (eng. threads, obv). i do not know what the taper should be, though i'm assuming it's JIS-- y/n?.
also, is there a good brand you guys recommend? she rides ~100 miles a week. my initial thoughts were that a phil wood is overkill, but is it? is there anything else out there that's smooth and durable + less expensive?

thanks.

JIS most likely
what spindle length does she have now? 107?
If so, keep in mind that a 107 and 110mm BB (shimano) have the same size drive-side spindle length. The extra 3mm are all on the NDS. So going to a 110mm BB won't do anything to her chainline.

interesting. i'm not sure-- i know i pulled it off of something else, and that the spindle was def <110. i haven't pulled it since, so i forget what the size is. i'll look tonight; i'm hoping that's not the case, as i don't feel like playing drivetrain detective.

When you say the BB is the wrong size, does that mean the chainline is way off?
I have an IRO crank and BB that give a chainline pretty close to 42 mm. I have been putting quite a few miles on that setup through all kinds of weather and the BB has held up way better than I expected.

In short, why not just get the IRO BB? It's a great value.

1) probably. i don't have a caliper, so i haven't been able to accurately measure the chainline yet-- however, i do know that a. the bb size is not the iro recommended 110, and b. the sound is almost unmistakably a bad chainline noise. so while it's not 100% that the problem is with spindle size, i'm betting it is (i'll know for sure tonight, though).
2) i'm more concerned about something that'll last and spin well than something that's a good budget. she rides over 100 miles a week (sometimes a more) on that bike, in crappy weather, hills, etc. if there's a better square taper than the iro rebadge, i'd like to go that route. if it's absolutely not necessary, then fine-- but i'd rather buy her a $70 bb that works well forever than a $20 that lasts a year. she seems to have trouble identifying problems, so i'd rather rebuild the drivetrain to last.

has anyone used the ird qb-75 bb? i'd never heard of it, but was just told that it's "supposed to be good".
i can't find what bearings are used, but it seems to be quality: t/f?
comes in the right size and at $40 isn't expensive.

i see this description all over the World Wide WebŪ:

subtle bump

Well I have an IRO BB 68x110 and I've noticed a bit of clickity-clack on it from time to time, but it's not too bad. On a another bike I have I had a really loud BB so I stuck a Shimano UN-54 on it and it's worked really good for me. I might put one on my IRO.

I am using the IRO BB on my IRO with a set of Dura Ace track cranks, works perfectly. The 110mm width is perfect for the older Dura Ace as well as the Sugino 75 cranks, I have tried both. I wanted something sealed, as the bike is my cruiser, and I wanted something low maintenance. The IRD one looks good as well, although I think I didnt buy it cause one of the cups was plastic, like the Shimano's, but dont quote me on that.

But a few miles on the IRO BB, and its nice and smooth.

lol

It is.

Shimano cart bb at least 10-20k+ miles on it. $20-$30. Really the only thing you need in this world is either a shimano cartridge, or a phil wood. You don't need anything else.

turns out the axle was 113.

spoke to someone who uses this on a ss mtb. they blew through a shimano, got this, haven't had issues since (a full year).

ordered.