Aren't cassette bottom brackets great? Huw's bike has been making some bad noises recently, a kind of shrieking from the 'pedal area'. Pedals seemed okay and when I checked the play in the bottom bracket, it was obvious what the problem was.
Dismantling it revealed one side was a mud/grease mixture and the other was bone dry, with powdered bearings! Cup bearing surfaces were pitted and the spindle looked like it had bomb craters in it.
So, we had to make a visit to the local cycle shop and get a new BB sealed unit. I learned a few things
- 68mm shell is the 'modern' size - certainly a British size
- Don't use any old ruler to measure the spindle length - use a vernier calliper
- The spindle length does not include any threads on the end for crank attachment.
Huw reckons this morning that his bike is the smoothest its been.
