BB Design renders frame a throwaway?

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kgt
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by kgt

@ Calnago
I know this is a single piece which is bonded in the carbon shell so any adjusting will not be easy. Did your friend buy the frame as new? Wilier 101 is supported by a 5 year guarantee if I remember well.

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Calnago
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by Calnago

Yes @kgt, there is no adjusting possible, and no replacement possible. I didn't really expect anyone to offer up a solution here. I just thought it was a good case study to show why I, and most any mechanic out there who's been around long enough to experience the progression of bottom bracket "standards" over the years, say the entire pressfit or non threaded experiments in bb design have largely failed miserably to date.

Hopefully, we'll get a warranty replacement with a frame that does not use this design (I don't think any of their newer ones do). I did see that Wilier increased their warranty period from 2 years to 5 years for any frame purchased after September, 2010 I believe. So that's good as this is a one owner frame purchased from a large US online retailer, with all receipts in hand. The only thing is that she probably didn't actually go on and "register" the bike with Wilier in the first 10 days. So it will be interesting. First though, I'm still in the process of exhausting all possible other sources of noise to ensure that I am 100% sure it is due to what I've described in this thread.

Also, I should state that this is not a slam on Wilier bikes at all, but a slam on the BB design. It is not limited to Wilier.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

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Calnago
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by Calnago

ras11 wrote:If I understand your situation, it does not seem all that different than aluminum frames with BB30 or many other frames with incerts. If "gluing" in the bearings is not an option, you could try something a little more time intensive. Assuming you know the frame bearing dimensions are only slightly oversized at this point, you could spray in some solvent borne epoxy marine coating. Let dry (hair drier if needed). Then back address the dimensions with a bore, or simply fine-grit sand until close. You can mask the frame and even the ring clip location of you are afraid of getting the epoxy coating everywhere. At the end of the day it's not as good as the original aluminum, but should suffice for a half dozen bearing replacements (~10yrs use). Who cares after that. The point is to resize the bearing cups with something. Keep in mind carbon bearing sleeves are epoxy also! So it's not that far fetched.


Yes, @ras11, it is not all that different than a lot of other current BB systems, unfortunately. I appreciate your "fix" but with all due respect it is a cludge at best, just trying to fill up the gaps that were caused by wear. The only way it could work to my satisfaction is if you could build up the epoxy layer thick enough to be able to bore both sides perfectly straight and parallel to each other essentially creating a new bottom bracket inner face. Simply not a viable solution. One of the most critical things to get right when you have two sides that the bearings fit into is that they are perfectly aligned and parallel with each other, another issue when you see separate PF30 cups being banged into frames and just assuming that they will end up square with each other. That's why it's a good idea to use a retaining compound and primer and a proper press that will hold both sides together and aligned with each other while the retaining compound sets. Otherwise, it's a never ending battle to keep the (plastic, delrin) cups from moving in the bb shell.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

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Calnago
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by Calnago

bikedoc wrote:None of the press fit bb's work, they all wear and start to creak. That's why company's like praxis made their bb's to try and solve this problem. ( it actually works really well)

Yes @bikedoc, agreed... the Praxis, and other similar designs, are a good alternative to a press fit BB, and one I would always consider. In this case however, that is not an option because the "cups" are non-removeable, so when they wear enough, you're SOL.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

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