Bottom Bracket

[SeaWolf]

My bottom bracket on my Gary Fisher Katai has gone bad... I think it was cheap to begin with. I want to buy a new bottom bracket that is high quality and can withstand a lot of abuse. I do XC racing and urban riding when I can't get to the trails, so my new BB will need to withstand bunny hops and drop-offs of about 5-8 feet at the most. The only one I have found so far is the Race Face Taper Lock Chromoly Bottom Bracket, but I'm going to keep looking. I need a spindle with tapered flats.

[CRUM]

Since the introduction of the Splined systems, decent tapered B/Brkt's are hard to come by. Unless you want to switch cranks to an Isis system, the Race Face tapered B/Brkt is probably your best bet. While Shimano's UN 72 series is solid and strong, the Race Face has two major advantages. It has adjustable chainline. That is, you can move it up to 2 mm inboard or outbord to tweak your chainline for better shifting up front. And you can replace the bearings when they become toast.

[The Rose]

if i remember right that race face unit was pretty pricey back when i was running the tapered BB's. i usually ran the shimano 72 without any problems.

[CRUM]

Yes, the Race Face BB's are more expensive than the Shimano UN 73. In my store, about twice as expensive. I guess the only reason I might suggest the Race Face is because of the replaceable bearing factor. Sea Wolf indicated 5 to 8 foot drops, and from my experience that kind of riding is brutal on the bearings. The chainline aspect is nice, but only important if chainline has been an issue in the past.

FSA makes a tapered unit, the Ultimax. It's use of oversized bearings has possibilities but the use of a Ti spindle makes me wonder how well it would hold up under the kind of riding Sea Wolf wants to do. I have not sold many of them, so I cannot say with any authority how they hold up.

[SeaWolf]

I went to the local shop and bought one... I'm not exactly sure what I bought though, lol. It was like $35. My friend who works at the shop says he used one with a longer spindle and it stood up to his trials riding, so I figured it would be good enough. Then the guy putting it in found that my front derailure attached to the BB and wouldnt work with the new one. So I bought a new front derailure, too... It was only $25 though. Shimano something or other... I think both were Shimano.

[The Rose]

you did good dude. i never like the BB mount for the front deraileur. as far as the new BB goes just ride it till it breaks, buy a new one and do it again.