BB30 Creaking - My success story.

[Frankie - B]

a grave dig, only to state "earplugs"?

[ricey155]

I start my build next week with bb30 I hope its doesnt creek

Cotton wool then or ride downwind

Nexus 4 kit kat

[ricey155]

Earplugs mines been ticking for 1600 miles - they run lovely but the dam noise is driving me insane

anyone used blue loctite bond the bearings in place ??

[Oswald]

I'm having a similar problem with a press fit Shimano BB. The creaking is driving me nuts.
I never had this kind of issues with Octalink. I did have a very short experience with Octalink II which I gave up because of the very short bearing life. I used Octalink for over a decade without any issues.
I hate all these new standards...

[johnnyscans]

Apparently alloy bottom brackets (wheel mfg is the first that comes to mind) make a huge difference regarding noise reduction.

[Irish]

I've used locktite 641 on the pressfit cups AND bearings on my tcr, running without any noise at present.

[maxxevv]

These are what you need to solve the creaking for practically all press-fit assemblies.

http://www.henkelna.com/industrial/loct ... -22361.htm

http://www.henkelna.com/industrial/reta ... -22943.htm

[chanthony]

thank you so much for the write up!!

[ms6073]

But on my bike, using a SRAM Force BB30 crankeset, the spindles were snug enough that I have to tap them through the inner races lightly with a mallet to put it together.

Typically with BB30/PF30, use of a an external lateral force to seat a spindle will deform the inner races long before the spindle is fully inserted or bearing is unseated. While not a permanent fix, having used Loctite 609 on the outer races and polishing the spindle diameter to allow insertion by hand has eliminated both short bearing life as well as creaking issues on BB30/PF30/BB86 frames with alloy inserts in the bottom bracket.

[wacomme]

I have a Cannondale Slice with a BB30. I'm not a mechanic, but my bike shop mechanic has regreased the BB 3 times and it still creaks. Before suggesting the semi-permanent Loctite 609 solution, is a Praxis conversion kit a viable alternative? And if I go with the Praxis conversion kit, do I need to change my crank? I currently have a Quarq Riken BB30 crank. Would this fit on a Praxis converted BB? A new crank is too costly.

[ms6073]

The Loctite 609 should not be considered a 'semi-permanent' solution as the bearings are easily removed with a suitable BB30 bearing extractor; preferably something similar to the Enduro BB30/PF30 Bearing Press/Puller although the Park Tool BBT-30.3 will work as well but is more abusive on the bearings during removal.

[wacomme]

The Loctite 609 should not be considered a 'semi-permanent' solution as the bearings are easily removed with a suitable BB30 bearing extractor; preferably something similar to the Enduro BB30/PF30 Bearing Press/Puller although the Park Tool BBT-30.3 will work as well but is more abusive on the bearings during removal.

What kind of longevity are people having with the Loctite 609 solution? I like the idea of the Praxis Conversion Kit, but I would likely need to replace my BB30 Quarq power meter crank in the process - expensive.

[rmerka]

Well over a year on my two road bikes and MTB and not a single peep out of any of them. There's nothing permanent about the retaining compound, it just fills the gaps. I don't bother with grease just use the loctite and never worry about it. Also I only use alloy cups. They're a little heavier than the plastic ones but the quality bump is worth it to me.

[Rick]

I've written about my BB30 experiments in other threads (search).
The loctite works OK for a while. It is an improvement, but eventually it breaks free also.
It only requires a miniscule amount of microscopic motion under load to create clicks, groans, & squeeks in metal to metal contact that echo through hollow carbon frames.

The fundamental flaw (IMO) in BB30 is that they typical wave-washer installation does not create a stiff-enough lateral clamping force on the bearings, giving a slight side preload.
Note how a Hollowgram crank puts a very slight side preload on its bearing, but then RIGIDLY CLAMPS the crank arm in place so there can be no subsequent motion. I have never had a problem with a Hollowgram crank.
So, for example, I got my 2010 FORCE cranks to be quiet for a long time by completely removing the wave washer and just selecting a build-up of the thin plastic washers to just take up any side-play while leaving a very slight side preload on the bearing. But this is a bit risky because if you get too much side load you can damage the bearings.

I now have a 2013 RED crank, and its "preload adjuster" is a step in the right direction and seems to work ok. But even it got loose on me once already, leading to creaks and pops. The mistake is that it is made out of plastic, which just isn't robust enough. They should have made the preload adjuster of aluminum.
I am on the lookout for a "split ring shaft collar" like in the picture, but it has to be only 5-6mm thick, so I haven't found one yet.



I am pretty sure that if I found one to fit the 30mm BB30 shaft, and it was thin enough to replace the "preload adjuster" it would hold things in place much better.

[weekapaugin]

I have a 2014 supersix evo with a rotor 3d+ power2max crank installed, and am getting an embarrassingly loud click under load. It happens when my non-drive side is at about 2 o'clock (if facing the nds). I've removed, cleaned, re-greased the crank/bb twice now and each time it quieted down for a few months, but I'm now seeking a long term solution. It sounds like many have good success by switching to alloy cups?