Race Face Face Cadence X-Type Bottom Bracket Cups

Advantages: Light, Strong, twice as strong as competitors, isis
Disadvantages: non

...up to 4X. I have ridden with a race face BB on my pashley for 4 years with no slack or knocking from by BB in that time. It's still going strong, even though it has been smashed many times from going to the bash ring. The factory and Shimano BB have nothing on them as they are designed to have the least amount of friction but no strength for the more extreme ridding of street and DH. Most top range Bottom Brackets sit at around £80 so pick your self up a bargain and get an Evolve.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cheap, extremely durable, abuse tolerant
Disadvantages: Poor crank choice, may not be suitble for extreme use

...the others, and now the latest big thing are external bottom brackets. X-type from Race Face, Hollowtech II from Shimano, and GXP from Truvativ. While they have different names they are all interchangeable, as they are all made to similar specifications and similar dimensions. Each "improvement" has led to stiffer and lighter BB's, with a marked decrease in durability. The latest BB's can last as little as 3 months on a mountain bike, if ridden in wet and muddy conditions. ISIS are particularly bad in this regard, but the new external BB's are in a class all of their own. Mounting the BB outside of the frame, makes them extremely vulnerable to water penetration and early failure. The UN54 will give you an average service life of around 18 months to 2 years, and this reason alone may be enough to persuade you to stick with square taper. My... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cheap
Disadvantages: Breaks easily

...I have had three or four of these because they were cheap, it turned out that in the long run it was cheaper to save up and buy a decent bottom bracket. Everyone of these that I bought broke in under a month, the same two faults occured each time. 1) Mud and grit easily get past the seals and wear out the bearings causing them to cease or rattle. 2) The ends of the tapered arms round off very easily, even during light XC and commuting use I have rounded them off. Steer clear and buy a decent bottom bracket, or even better get the new external type, or if your into jumping and DH get some 3piece cranks.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful