on 4/7/09 3:21 PM, [email protected] at [email protected] wrote: > So I took my Atlantis to a shop and had them take a look. They said > that it was bone dry in there and that the bottom bracket had loosened > up. They took it out, greased it up, and reinstalled it. Everything > seems to be working great now. They said they recommend regreasing it > once a year b/c wet riding and city riding tend to dry it out. I > asked the guys at the shop if you can overtighten a bottom bracket in > a bike like the Atlantis and they basically said no. They said they > like to make them super-tight. I'm wondering if folks think that's > true. And also whether it rings true that you should regrease every > year.
Now, I don't know your shop and can't tell you what they did. But, I would find it very far out of the realm to think they pulled the seals on your bearings and regreased them. If I remember the original post correctly, you had the stock (or an OEM-type) bb in there. Pretty much a PITA to do that. More than likely, they cleaned the Bottom Bracket Shell on the frame and regreased the threads before reinstalling your BB. That would be a reasonable thing to do once a year in any instance. I find that the high heat conditions of summer cause grease to melt and work its way out when in a more fluid state. When the grease layer gets thin enough, you get metal/metal contact and typically a creaking noise, etc. I once had a - cough-cough - Specialized that was particularly prone to this. As my mechanic sensei made clear to me: A greased thread connection can be torqued properly. Cartridge BB's can absolutely be overtorqued. You can feel binding in the bearings when this is the case. Back off just a bit so they turn easily. With the composite rings that some are now using, you can probably deform or crack it. Most home mechanics probably do undertorque this - and more importantly, they do not follow up after 100 or so miles to make sure it hasn't loosened. (Not a bad idea with cranks either.) Just to be clear, I do think your shop did right to remove, regrease and reinstall. It's a good idea on any frame to peek in there every year. - Jim -- Jim Edgar [email protected] Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com Current Classics - Cross Bikes Singlespeed - Working Bikes Your Photos are needed! - Send them here - http://www.cyclofiend.com/guidelines "I threw one leg over my battle-scarred all-terrain stump-jumper and rode several miles to work. I'd sprayed it with some cheap gold paint so it wouldn't look nice. Locked my bike to a radiator, because you never knew, and went in." -- Neal Stephenson, "Zodiac" --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
