Problems with BB30

Hi Guys
Just a built up a cannodale Six 13 frame I bought on ebay.
It came with a large diameter BB30 canondale bottom bracket fitted so a bought a suitable pair of cranks and built it up.

All good except the BB/cranks.

It seems to be impossible to get one of the cranks done up completely tight. Its ok if you keep pedaling forward and keep the pressure on but if you back pedal half a turn and stand on the cranks you can feel one of them give slightly.

Am I correct in thinking that there isnt much of a taper on these BB30 aspindle/axles and maybe someone cycled on it not done up tight and the hole or the spindle is now worn and the thing is scrap? Or is there some way of sorting this?

thanks in advance

Which cranks did you get?

You can get an adapter sleeve that allows you to run a conventional bottom bracket btw.

Not sure ...it s got SI written on it and manufacutured by FSA

I know you can get adapters.......and I guesss that might be the only answer

thansks anyway

Or a new bb?

I have a system six with the bb30, Cannondale/fsa carbon cranks an they work perfectly - however they are expensive.

My thought process was that if you sleeved it then you would have the option of a lot more Frank's, making things cheaper.

Personally I'd stick to bb30 cranks as i think they are a good idea mind you.

You heard of anyone getting this kind of play when they are worn?

odd really ..with the old style taper you just tightened it up tigh and bingo...

seems like there isnt much o f a taper and not renough depth to tighten it any more......

ahhhhhhhh

maybe the botttom bracket spindle and the cranks dont match? maybe if I shaved a bit off the end of the spindle?

Which crank arm has developed the wobble?

Drive side is attached to BB spindle so if this is wobbling at crank arm / BB interface the thing is fucko'd if the other side is wobbling then same deal as should only be wound up to 1.5 Nm then torqued using the pinch bolts on non-drive side crank arm or just bolted straight in using and M8 (crank dependant).

BB30 uses press fit BB cups, it's most likely these aren't sat properly in the frame or the frame has previously had them installed badly and has warped around BB cup so the 'wobble' or 'give' you can feel is actually the crank and BB assembly twisting in the frame.

Either way it ain't good.

If I could look at it I'd tell you in 2 minutes, hard to diagnose with description though. Jim at Brixton Cycles could tell you for sure.

Good luck.

My BB30 BB is now making the most horrendous noise imaginable with every pedal stroke. I'm inclined to believe the BB is the problem because it makes the same noise pedalling in either direction regardless of pressure/cadence.

It's the standard BB on a 105 CAAD10 which I guess is FSA. I wouldn't be that bothered but I bought it brand new in June and the shop I bought it from (Tredz) have told me that "Due to the timescale you have had the bike we wouldn't cover this under warranty. Bottom brackets can go wrong within 3 miles -3000 miles and more this is why they are classed as a serviceable part".

I've read that the SRAM bearings are supposed to be a big improvement, anybody any experience?
They seem reasonably priced if they'll actually last.

How wet did it get? You could try popping the cranks off, lifting the bearing seals with a scalpel, flushing them out with solvent, drying and re-greasing.

Token ti / ceramic bearings served me well on my cross bike.

The trick with BB30 is to dry it out if the bike gets very wet.

I bought it brand new in June and the shop I bought it from (Tredz) have told me that "Due to the timescale you have had the bike we wouldn't cover this under warranty. Bottom brackets can go wrong within 3 miles -3000 miles and more this is why they are classed as a serviceable part".
Bullshit.

Tell them to do one, and insist they repair the bike, at their expense, or offer a replacement, at their expense.

Tell them that a BB that fails in 4 months is not of a reasonable quality.

Have a read of your rights under the Sale of Goods Act

Fucking chancers.

OP never mentioned how many miles they've ridden or the conditions they rode in.

If he's put 1000 or more in, in all conditions then I wouldn't bother getting militant with Tredz.

If 200 or so dry miles then there's a bigger problem - i.e. BB not installed correctly in the first place which can mess the frame up - and then I'd be on the phone to CSG if Tredz don't want to sort it.

I don't think the mileage or weather conditions matter a jot. If it has gone in 5 months it isn't fit for the purpose. How many BBs would you expect to wear out in the time this bike has been on the road, even if you were a high mileage wet weather rider? Any reasonable BB would shrug off 5 months of serious abuse.

How many BBs would you expect to wear out in the time this bike has been on the road, even if you were a high mileage wet weather rider? Any reasonable BB would shrug off 5 months of serious abuse.

Ah - the mistake here is confusing BB30 with a 'reasonable bb'.

BB30 is clever, but if we measure bb effectiveness with its ability to put up with the good ol British weather, the design comes up short.

So if you put in 300 miles in the poring rain and don't dry the thing out, and it gums up because water has got into the bearings, you can't really claim SOGA as it's performing exactly how it was designed to.

In all honesty, I wasn't planning on getting too arsey with Tredz. I've done a couple of thousand (almost entirely dry with some exceptions) miles in that time. I know BB30s are prone to failure and knew I'd have to replace the BB sooner or later, I just hadn't thought it would be this soon.
I emailed on the off chance they might cover the cost of the repair as a gesture of good will.

Ah well, at least it makes a cool noise now!
CAAD 10 Bottom Bracket Bonus Feature - YouTube

Whilst you are at it, bin that FSA lump and put Daz's Hollowgram SI chainset in it.

You could always convert it to a regular, english threaded shell and shove on whatever your favorite cranks are.

I deal with this alot at work.

The problem is manufacturing discrepancies, i.e sometimes the BB shells are slightly oversized. This creates play in the BB interface that can lead to creaking and ultimately premature wearing of the bearings. You can fit the bearings with a loctite bearing retaining compound to take up the slack (this is FSA's official line) it seems to have worked on bikes we have serviced. If that fails to cure it, then it should be a frame replacement under warranty.

Also, re. the british weather comment, you only have the bearing seal itself to hold back the water, which is not ideal. Plus more can work it's way through the seatpost clamp. Wheels manufacturing make a set of better quality bearings with better seals than FSA.

^ you'd expect 'dales to have a pretty good QC standards on things like BB shells, etc.

Yes - it would be surprising if cannondale couldn't manufacture frames to their own standard. Especially ali frames. However I know other frames have had problems. The design is utterly intolerant of any deviation from spec. It's also highly sensitive to hamfistedness - so if in doubt get the bike to a trusted competent mechanic.

Thanks for the advice guys. As galling as it is to hear that the frame may be at fault, it's reassuring to hear that this isn't par for the course. Any mileage in contacted Cannondale directly or should I just enlist the help of my LBS and ask them to loctite the bearings in and see how I get on?

Any mileage in contacted Cannondale directly or should I just enlist the help of my LBS and ask them to loctite the bearings in and see how I get on?

Take it to a trusted Cannondale dealer, explain the symptoms and ask them to fix it. If you want better bearings explain that at the time and be specific about the ones you want.

If there's no 'dale dealer near you, take it to a trusted LBS that knows its stuff.

Gluing the bearings in is a last resort.

Gluing the bearings in is a last resort.
I loctited them in after 2 months and 4 years later they're still good.

Well, yeah. Gluing the bearings in doesn't harm the bearings. It might not harm the frame if it is alu or carbon with an alu insert.

Ultimately though if you must glue the bearings in to solve a problem it means its possible that your frame is off-spec or the bb shell is damaged in some way.

There really should be no reason to glue the bearings down in a modern CAAD frame. The only reason you might do this is when the shell has been damaged.

Or you think that the clicking noise that is actually coming from the skewer is coming from the BB due to the bad rep that BB30 has, which caused you to think the worst of it...