On Sep 29, 1:17 am, Lou Holtman wrote:
Op 29-9-2012 5:17, Dan O schreef:



On Sep 28, 6:26 am, Doug Cimperman wrote:
On 9/28/2012 6:01 AM, John B. wrote:

On Thu, 27 Sep 2012 19:15:52 -0500, Doug Cimperman
wrote:

On 9/27/2012 6:05 PM, AMuzi wrote:

The Shimano unit is a stamped cartridge. Cannot be opened in a
nondestructive manner.

Some other similar looking products of better quality such as Tange,
IRD, Phil can exchange bearing cartridges but none of these units uses a
loose ball system

I thought about getting a square-taper with cartridge bearings; I would
have preferred it but couldn't find any cheaper options. Just Phil Wood,
Dura-Ace, ect.

If you are intent on the cheapest possible fix you might be able to
get a set of the old three piece bottom brackets with the loose balls
and install that. From a functional point of view it is probably as
efficient as the more modern ones and if you keep it greased and
adjusted and will likely last a lifetime.

Well,,,,, I didn't choose the absolute cheapest solution. I did want
Shimano parts, and I didn't get the absolute cheapest ones there either.

The UN55 is $24 and a Phil Wood BB would be around $200 (if I saw it
correctly). If the UN55 fails soon then I'll probably want to spend more
than $24 on another BB, but I probably won't jump up to the $200 level.
Is there any square-taper/cartridge bearing BB's for $100? $75? I did
not find any.

The UN54 in my bike has gone tens of thousands of miles and is fine,
but if I had the dough, I'd be very happy with a Phil Wood BB (why go
halfway?)

Why, even a Phil Wood are two ball bearings in a shell, with a spindle.
Hard to beat a Shimano unit. I had a UN72 which served 8 years of ATB
duty and is now in a friends ATB.


Well, as noted I am running a cheapo throwaway BB; but there's an
appeal to having core components that are both maximally durable,
serviceable, *and* provide ideal performance. I can't afford a Rolex,
but expect my Seiko to be there for me forever.

The guy was talking about spending $100 just to get up away from the
low end. Given that kind of inclination, I'd just go for the high-end
and be done with it.