Sleeve for my Bottom (Bracket)

Anyone know where I can pick up one of these in London today? Tried Condor, BLB, 14, and all of them looked at me like I was nuts.

I've got a really lovely cup-and-cone-style Sugino 68 BB, but no plastic sleeve thingy and need to fit it in pronto!

Alternatively, one of the chaps at Condor suggested that "back in the day" they used to just cut a piece of plastic to line the bb shell themselves… Any of you older types ever done that? What would work: yoghurt pot? Would I need to glue it to the shell somehow? And how wide would it be/how much of the shell would need covering?

Answers on a postcard, please… Or an online bike community forum, such as this, I suppose. ;)

ive got one sitting on my desk. wont be in london until tomorrow (possibly) or monday (defintely!)

Isnt the plastic sleave there to protect the bearings of the BB? So if you really need to fit it asap and cant find this sleave, just fit it and re-fit it once you find a sleave.

So it'd be safe to fit it without the sleeve, ride it through the weekend (I've a few reasonable rides on Sat and Sun, you see), then strip it back off and refit with Cheesecake's sleeve?

And the bb will be fine and the world won't explode? :)

Is your BB shell cut out?

Out of curiosity why are you fitting a non-sealed BB?

Is your BB shell cut out?

Very slightly: three small diagonal slits cut out at the bottom. So should I just tape these over or something for the time being? I'm a bit worried about putting anything in the shell that might come loose and get caught in the spinning spindle or bearings…

Out of curiosity why are you fitting a non-sealed BB?

The quest for the perfect chainline on a NOS Sugino Super Mighty track crankset.
(See the various Sugino Mighty/75 bb arguments and advice throughout the forum…)

ive got one sitting on my desk. wont be in london until tomorrow (possibly) or monday (defintely!)

Assuming I can't find one today, that would be incredible! Let me know where your office is and I'll swing by on Monday, if that's cool… Ta muchly!

Are the mighty JIS or ISO?

With cut outs in the bottom of the BB I would say a sleeve is essential. I don't know if I count as an 'older type' but I have made my own in the past. I used a fairy liquid bottle once in the days when the shape was circular (a good start, even if it's too big) and the plastic was soft enough to roll to the correct size. I have a Campag Record BB that I'm probably going to refit and I have bagged a plastic bottle which currently has childrens' bubble blowing fluid in it! Almost the perfect size - just a slit and slight overlap should do it. Have a look through cupboards - yours, your friends', family's. Good luck.

@DickBarton, the sleeve is still only needed to protect the bearings from dirt right? So in the long run I would then say yes the sleeve is essential, but can work without for a weekend.

And I figured out that the Mightys are ISO, so I would go with a sealed campag BB. I use the 75s with a campag centaur and get a perfect chainline.

Thanks for that! Out of interest, do you curl the plastic from the bottle, once it's cut, back on itself ( to stop the end potentially hanging inwards towards the spindle? Or do you just leave it curling in its natural direction with a little overlap?

Does any of that make sense at all?! :D

(Oh, and no comment about stealing bubble liquid from your children…)

alternatively, if its only for the weekend; jam some blu-tack in the holes until monday!

@Johan, the Centaur with the 111m axle? And what hub/sprocket combo are you running? I had a poke around the incredibly useful transmission database (now with fully functioning search function), and it seemed that a Sugino 109 was the bb of choice. Even if it isn't sealed…

@Cheesecake

What, and hope they don't fall out of the holes and into my spinning bb?

Yes Johan you're absolutely correct, but I am obsessive about maintaining the condition of my bearings and cones and cups. The slots in the bottom bracket seem to be designed to catch any dirt/sand/grit/water thrown up by the front wheel so I personally wouldn't ride even for a weekend with an open BB. Taping up the holes will be a good temporary fix for the weekend. I would also recommend spraying the down tube, seat tube and chain stays if possible with some sort of frame saver or cavity wax or at a push, WD40 (though that won't last long) so that in the long term any rust won't form on the insides of the tubes and drop into the BB area.

Addie, I would probably go for an overlap and glue or tape to seal the joint as best as possible. A quick assembly of the BB out of the frame on the bench should enable you to get the side to side width just right.

Cut outs in the BB shell are for water to drain out and not in.

The only worry you'll have without a sleeve is water ingressing through the seat tube, and bottle cage bosses (if you have them fitted). And obviously if you wash the bike upside down!

Just use it without until you find one. And when you do, clean and regrease the bearings for peace of mind.

Haha! I love conflicting advice – especially when it all sounds so damned plausible.

Poll?

@addie, yes the 111mm ones, im running phils with eai sprocket.

You could try some canneloni tube, or failing that but a spring roll, bite off either end and suck out the midle bit. Voila!

Sam's correct about the purpose of the cut-outs, but I was never convinced. The seat post seals the seat tube and you would have bolts in the cage bosses. Water from the front wheel will spray into the BB shell in wet conditions and then, great, then it will drain out again (after soaking your axle).

Oh and look, the forecast is for rain in London on Saturday and Sunday.

Did someone mention food? Is it lunchtime yet.

It's probably best to have a sleeve even if there are no cutouts in the bottom bracket shell. It'll stop the bearing getting contaminated by all the rust and dust and little bits of goodness only knows what kicking about inside the frame. A sleeve's a small expense. Well worth a couple of quid to cut down on BB services.

I had about a pint of water in my frame before I realized it. Was working fine. Just get a sealed BB ;)

I have now drilled a rather large hole in my BB, so it drains fine :D

Would a paneer roll do it? The ones from Ambala on Schtick Lane look like they could hold up to a bit of wear…