On 11/08/17 22:04, 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.

The UN-55 is the Canine Wobblers of BBs imho. Cottered, Octalink,
Outboard, have all failed me over the years, but never a UN-55. Ok,
they do eventually wear out with year long commuting, but I reckon on
10-15k miles. That said, the last was on the 10K side of things. Bit
disappointed tbh, but the Shimano outboard ones I used to change
annually and I had stability issues with the Octalink. That said, I
still do have one Octalink, and it seems ok and 3k miles, but them's is
dry miles...