On 2017-08-11 19:38, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 11 Aug 2017 16:02:43 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

On 2017-08-11 15:55, AMuzi wrote:
On 8/11/2017 4:26 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-08-11 14:00, AMuzi wrote:
On 8/11/2017 3:04 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-08-11 12:39, AMuzi wrote:
On 8/11/2017 1:00 PM, Joerg wrote:
The BB on my MTB makes a ticking sound when warmed up,
sounds similar to a hot car engine after it is turned off.
It has also develoved an ever so slight play, just a few
mils. It is an Shimano ES25 Octalink.

How long do you guys let that go before replacing?

Can anyone recommend a better quality BB for this that
lasts
longer than 5k miles and doesn't cost an arm and a leg?


Ensure the arms are not loose on the spindle first.


They are on tight. The play is also a bit sideways. If I
keep riding will it just become gradually worse or can it
fail catastrophically in the middle of nowhere?

On my last Shimano 600 BB I rode until it had about 0.1"
play in the largest chain ring and shifting trim became iffy
(old friction shifter bike). But that was an ajustable BB
where I could milk out a second life by mounting the cranks
180 degrees rotated.

What I don't like on these newfangled BBs is the left side
plastic cup. For the road bike I got a UN-55, only aluminum
on the left but at least not plastic.


Since it's shot and since you dislike low quality bearings
and nylon
cups, Tom Kunich is right; get a better quality version
of it.


The BB-5500 Tom suggested doesn't come in the same spindle
length. Which better one could replace the ES25 and is
compatible? The ES300 looks like it also has a plastic cap
on the left.


What length? The 5500 goes to 118mm besides the regular 110mm and 113mm.


The ES25 comes in 113mm and 121mm. I haven't taken it apart yet, wanted
to do that when I know what to buy and then order immediately after
disassembly, to minimize downtime.

I've seen the ES25 advertised in 113, 118 and 126 widths.


That is weird, never seen that here in the US. Maybe there is a Thai
model and a US model :-)


The BB-5500 I could only find in 109.5mm and 118mm. There were also
warnings that the spindle only accommodates older 9-speed group set cranks:

https://www.excelsports.com/main.asp...or=1&minor= 6

Quote "The pipe-billet spindle has eight 9mm deep splines and only fits
older Shimano cranks - many of the 9 speed 105 (not all), Ultegra and
Dura-Ace variety". I have a Deore M522 crank set on the MTB.

I've found that there are differences in Shimano stuff that appear at
first glance to be the exact same part. I bought a 50 tooth chain
ring, after carefully checking the bolt ring diameter, for a Tiagra
crank set. The new "105" chain ring appeared in the shop to be the
same as the Tiagra (with 2 fewer teeth, of course ) but when I came to
install it I found that the outer curves of the "spokes" was not the
same and while it fitted, and worked, it looked a bit odd.

Since then I've made it a point to limit my Shimano parts buying to
buying the correct model parts :-)


I never cared about the aesthetics of my bikes. As long as it could be
made to fit and work with acceptable reliability it was ok. Which has
also meant using non-bicycle parts on bicycles because those are almost
by default more reliable.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/