Snapped Bottom Bracket

not me, numbnuts!

not me, numbnuts!

haha

Just had this happen to me this morning outside Holland Park crossing intersection into Ladbroke Grove...will post some pics later...bollocks still attached luckily, but pretty cheesed off...I am only 70kgs, but I havent really maintained the BB since about 1990....serves me right!

http://www.lfgss.com/album.php?albumid=1193&pictureid=9413
http://www.lfgss.com/picture.php?albumid=1193&pictureid=9412
http://www.lfgss.com/picture.php?albumid=1193&pictureid=9411

damn crappy hollow square taper filth. Cotterless solid steel billet axle is where its at or GTFO.

serisouly though, in roady world snapped BB's are rarer than rare. MTB/random shit bike mechanic for years I've never seen a roady snap a BB. however they go THROUGH bb bearings at a rate. Guessing due to more out of the saddle big ring cranking compared to MTB fellas who drop cogs and spin up stuff.
MTB guys snapped BB axles VERY commonly (square taper, shim octalink) until raceface ISIS came around, BB's with lifetime warrenties. idea being you snap or wear it out they would replace it with new free of charge for life for original buyer. Mine is STILL going, 9years old now, best £115 I ever spent in my life, and thats been on a single speed city thrasher for 5years of that. teh first 4years thrown down DH course, woods, homebuilt, singletrack and general mucking about. Winner.
then outboard came out and they will never snap (unless you use a road 2piece chainset for leaving the ground) but they do go through bearings at a rate unless you buy decent stuff.

snapped pedal axles was another favourite. I killed two left pedals in a month, thankfully I don't have any scars or busted ankles for the pleasure though.

103 bb available here

http://www.velosolo.co.uk/shopchain.html

These broken axles are scary, I did not even know hollow square taper axle existed... I hope I don't have any!

snapped pedal axles was another favourite. I killed two left pedals in a month, thankfully I don't have any scars or busted ankles for the pleasure though.

This happened to me too, twice, left pedal too, when I was a student, with my old bike, shit pedals with rubber grips like these:

I fell off and I was in the middle of a large boulevard (2 lanes one way system) and a lorry or a bus (15 years ago) was coming onto me, they stopped just in time...

Something new for me yesterday, a broken bottom bracket cup:

The cup on the drive side was not sitting parallel to the shell's edge anymore after I had to re-tighten it because it was coming loose (french thread...) and I though the thread was damaged... I was not using the bike since. As I was sorting it out yesterday evening, I realise the cup was snapped as I was removing it. I managed to remove what was inside the cup by cuting it carefully with a good old Dremel, without damaging the thread (I was nervous though!). I could repair as I had a spare cup, but it was my last one with french thread... I hope it won't happen again!

Loic

I had a Raleigh 501 frame got a new BB and after installing it we noticed there was a gap between
the outside BB plates and the frame on the front side. So either the thread was off square or the
BB shell faces were not cut absolutely parallel. Anyway works fine now (with a fixed wheel and 15 stone driver) so presumably the latter.
If the BB destructs its possible someone may have 'cleaned' a thread a bit much.
Maybe worth knowing if its an italian thread as they can loosen?

Just had this crossing the junction from Crossway into Boleyn Road. BB Spindle sheared off about an inch from the end of the non-drive side, completely without warning. Ran up the road to Push cycles and despite being closed, they let me in, said that they'd try and get it fixed that evening, and called me an hour or so later to let me know that they'd done it! Absolute lifesavers!

sounds good, very good of them to re-open and do the work after hours. though it makes business sense.

i.e. customer has problem, willing to pay, worth staying open for...

that general idea of running a business doesn't apply to most of the LBS's up here in the northern wastelands, generally they see customers as an inconvenience to their day.