Truvativ HammerSchmidt FR Bottom Bracket

Very Strong DH, freeride and Trials Bottom Bracket

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

The Evolve Series of Bottom Bracket from Race Face Have an amazing Spec for the Price, There Retailing at Around £45 for something that is twice as strong as the competitors. When I say Twice as strong this is because the The whole case has been shot penned to harden it and There are two sets of bearings in the drive side of the bottom bracket to allow for great strain to be put on it, as your drive side takes the power to the chain. Plus a few other tricks to make it the strongest BB on the Market. This makes it ideal for trials as the bash ring, when used pushes a lot of force onto the drive side arm of the bottom bracket, causing pits in bearings in most BB. Race face have gone a step further though as the bearing have been bought in and disassembled and the grease replaced with there own mix that is said to increase the life ...

Jaypetch 19.03.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Race Face Evolve FR BB

Retro Tech Delivers the Goods

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 ...

fred_redwood 31.05.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Shimano UN54 Bottom Bracket

Shimano UN 72 Tapered bottom bracket

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. ...

Cheezy_Feet 26.02.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of UN 72 Shimano Tapered Bottom Bracket BS 68mm