Price definitely does NOT equate to greater longevity ALL the time. I've thrashed a Phil BB in less than a year. Why? Well because I ride in sub-freezing temperatures for about half the year. The bike sees a lot of freeze/thaw cycles. I'm running a Phil BB with the 'mud guards' that press into the BB cups, which are designed to significantly reduce the amount of water and slush that contact the bearing seals. Still, less than a year...? Paying for a Phil gets you some other nice perks though, like the ability to fine tune your chain line, a huge range of lengths, ability to pull the spindle to an offset position, etc.
On my commuter bike, which I often use in the wettest nastiest weather (it's a ti frame), I have the cheapest BB I could find. I think it's maybe 10-15 bucks. It's coming up on five years old now, still smooth as silk. I shudder when I think of trying to remove it from the ti frame after all this time though. For me, when the Phil BB goes I will be replacing it with a SKF BB. The seals and overall design looks SO much more robust. The warranty is great, but I'd buy it even without the warranty. Without needing to buy installation rings and two tools like Phil requires, I think they come out cheaper than a Phil BB anyway. Haven't tried a White BB yet, but I've got one sitting in a box ready to go. It's a 108mm though, not sure what I'd even use that on. For a mid-range price with great performance, I've heard a ton of positive reviews for the IRD QB-95 bottom brackets. That seems to be the 'nice BB of choice' at my local bike shop. On Thursday, April 28, 2016 at 8:44:51 AM UTC-5, Philip Kim wrote: > > white industries stainless steel BB are nice, but they run sizes specific > for their cranks. > > otherwise, I would just get a phil bb (for adjust-ability), or an SFK (if > you don't wanna buy extra phil tools). > > i've used shimano un55/75's and they are great bang for the buck, but do > require frequent replacement if you're riding a lot in dirt/mud/rain. > > lately i've invested a bit more in parts and have become more of a "set it > and forget it" type. > > On Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at 4:27:49 PM UTC-4, dstein wrote: >> >> Why are more expensive bottom brackets more expensive? What do you gain? >> Is it just durability? Or is there any sort of performance gain (ie, does >> it roll smoother, faster, etc)? >> >> I've worked on most bike parts now minus the bottom bracket and headset. >> About to change cranks on my hunqapillar form the Sugino triple (with a 107 >> or 110 bb) to a White Industries Eno (with a 113 bb). Trying to figure out >> if I go w/ the $40 bb on Riv's site? Or a White Industries or something >> similar? This bike will see 500-1000 miles a year on dirt and some mud. And >> support the occasional overnighter. >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
