There are a ridiculous number of competing bottom bracket standards in the bike world at the moment but I eventually established that mine (on a 2015 Giant Defy Advanced 2) was what is called a BB86 bottom bracket. The bottom bracket shell is 86.5 mm wide, 41 mm in internal diameter and accepts a 24 mm axle. The increasingly creaky nature of mine, and the fact that it has 2506.6 miles on it, led me to decide to replace it.
I ordered the bottom bracket and a Park Tool BB86 bottom bracket removal tool from Wiggle, made a red-neck bearing installer and got to work. It was very easy job, I could probably do the whole job again in five minutes, involving some basic tools and a smear of grease.
Firstly, to make the installation tool you'll need to visit B&Q and pick up a length of M12 threaded rod, a pack of M12 nuts and a pack of heavy duty square washers.
You need to saw off approximately seven inches of the threaded rod and smooth the cut end with a file. At one end, using plenty of thread locker, jam two of the nuts together to form a solid fixed end. Now add a square washer and one of the two dies that come with the Park Tool remover. Do the same at the other end but use one nut and leave it free so you can tighten it when you're pressing the new cups into the bottom bracket shell.The materials for this cost less than £9 and because there were four square washers in the pack I was able to make a second tool for my mate Phil at work. If you bought two packs of square washers, you could make four tools for about £11 - red-necking it for the win!
Secondly, here's a quick look at the grease I use on bikes. It's Finish Line grease with teflon. I've used it since it first appeared in the very early nineties when it came in a black tube with white writing. I've seen loose ball bottom brackets packed with this stuff looking absolutely perfect after a couple of brutal Scottish winters of mountain biking abuse.
If anything, I think it's actually improved since then, it used to be white and slightly translucent looking but now it's a sort of cream colour and smoother and stickier.
Anyhow, here's how it's done:
1. Loosen the two 5 mm bolts that hold the crank to the axle and use a Hollowtech II tool to unscrew the plastic adjustment plug from the axle.
2. Here's a pic with it removed. It's a good idea to smear some grease on the internal threads in the end of the axle when you're re-assembling later.
3. Now finish loosening off the two 5 mm allen bolts and, making sure you lift the retaining tab in the gap between the bolts, wiggle the crank off the axle.
4. You now need to unhook the chain from the chainring and carefully let it rest on the BB shell. You can now grab the driveside crank and pull the whole assembly out of the bottom bracket. You may need to bang the exposed end of the axle with the heel of your hand to get it moving.
5. You now need to insert the narrow end of the removal tool though one side of the bottom bracket and pull it until you hear the splayed end of the tool click into place behind the bottom bracket cup.
6. Using a fairly heavy metal hammer, hit the solid end of the tool sharply to get the cup moving and then a few more times to remove it. Mine wasn't difficult, it took three moderate blows and the cup popped out. Remove the central sleeve and remove the other cup. I found I had to insert the tool from the other side, narrow end first again, because the splayed end wouldn't seat behind the remaining cup easily from the now open side.
7. It surprised me how much muck and soil was in the bottom bracket shell. Needless to say, remove as much of it as you can now
8. Get the area as clean as you can and smear a good layer of grease around the inside of where the new bearing cup is going to seat in the shell.
9. With the seating area clean and greased, mount the new bearings either side of the shell (not forgetting to slot the central sleeve into one of the cups) and then assemble the red-neck bearing press through the whole assembly. Do the free nut up finger tight keeping everything as lined up as you can and then start turning the nut with an 19 mm spanner. I was expecting potential trouble at this point but the cups pressed in beautifully, one side seated first and when it was seated the other side followed it in. Tighten until you're sure both cups are flush with the frame but don't go mad; this is a bike, not a cylinder head.
10. And there you have it, job done - a nice new bottom bracket fitted. Re-assembly is easy, just put everything back in the order you removed it.
When you're re-attaching the non-drive side crank, you snug the crank onto the axle using the black screw in plug. Do it barely hand tight, just until you're the crank is seated but the whole crank assembly still spins freely. Now tighten the two 5 mm bolts, alternating between the two until they're both nice and snug.
Update since buying a torque wrench: The suggested value for these bolts is 12-14 nm. Tighten them alternately but bare in mind that once both bolts are at the correct torque value, the one you tightened first will have loosened slightly so tighten each bolt to the chosen value at least twice.
2nd July: Well, July started with one of the most Rule #9 rides I've done in a while. It was very cloudy with the odd patch of blue sky but it was incredibly windy, more like November than July. On top of that, it chucked it down for about quarter of an hour half way around just to add to the fun. I managed to average 16.0 mph though which I was surprised by given the wind but quite pleasing. One cool thing about this particular ride was that I passed the 7,000 mile 'distance since I started cycling again' marker which is a decent milestone! Anyhow, 26.9 miles to kick July off.
3rd July: I noticed my inner chain ring was looking particularly gross before today's ride so I took the crankset off the bike and thoroughly degreased and cleaned the rings. I then headed out to do the local 21 with the farm track. It was a gorgeous sunny summer day but the wind from yesterday was still around, albeit not quite as horrendous.
I was enjoying the ride so I decided to extend it a bit. I started it by climbing Alec's hill and decided to carry on and come back via King's Moss and Crawford. It was very windy but very warm when the wind occasionally dropped. I averaged 16.2 mph as well which was pleasing. Also, I've ordered a 105 crankset for the Giant to replace the non-series RS 500 crankset so I'll finally have a full matching groupset. Anyhow, 32.0 more miles.
6th July: I booked the day off work today because the BBC weather website was saying there'd hardly be any wind. As it turned out, it was overcast and fairly breezy but very warm when the wind dropped so a lot nicer than the last couple of rides.
I did the local 21 with the farm a quick diversion to take this picture, and added a few miles by staying on the East Lancs and coming home via Carr Mill dam and Billinge. As you can see in the pic, I fitted the new 105 crankset before I set off and I must say, I couldn't be more pleased with it. It's light and stiff and I think it looks absolutely fantastic and really complements the rest of the bike. Anyhow, it was sweaty ride but fun and a decent average speed of 16.1 mph and 33.1 more miles.
9th July: I did the local 21 today with the farm track added on (from here on in to be known as the local 27. It was a lot less windy than it has been recently but there were lakes and puddles from the recent rain everywhere so the bike needed a proper wash afterwards. On the plus side, my legs felt great and I averaged 16.7 mph which was pretty good and the baby rabbits were out in force on the big grass verge behind Kirkby which is always cute. Another 27.4 miles for July.
10th July: It was a bit of a weird ride today. The weather was pleasant enough so I set out to do the local 21 because I was meeting my folks for a pub lunch at 2 o'clock and didn't have a lot of time. For some reason, as soon as I set off my legs just felt like Bambi legs and I was struggling a bit. By about mile 18 they were feeling a bit better and I was puzzled to see I'd averaged 16.5 mph when I uploaded the ride, I though it would've been down in the low 15's, anyhow, an odd ride but it was 21.6 more miles.
13th July: I booked the day off work today and ended up with a rather strange ride, weather-wise. The sky was blue but full of white clouds so it was cool for a few minutes then warm for a few minutes as the sun shone through the moving clouds. The wind was pretty strong but dropped for a while every twenty minutes or so which was odd. Also, I did my usual trick of assuming that because it had been dry and sunny all day, the route would be too. Of course, because of all the recent weather there was a lot of mud and, especially in the woods near Billinge, so the bike needed a thorough wash when we got in. Anyhow, my legs felt good and I averaged 16.0 mph which wasn't bad given the wind and climbs and it was 32.0 more miles for July.
16th July: I did the local 27 again today. The weather was strange for July, it was warm and overcast but with quite a cool wind which felt chilly with just a t-shirt and bibs on. Anyhow, my legs felt good and I averaged 16.5 mph despite getting stuck behind a family with young kids cycling along the by-pass for a while. The total was 27.0 miles which, rather bizarrely, took the July total to exactly 200 miles; plenty of time left to work on the mileage overdraft!
17th July: And again... There was a coolish wind like yesterday but the clouds were largely gone so it was quite a warm, sunny ride. The wind was quite strong but I managed to average over 16 mph so not a bad ride overall and good for keeping the sun tan topped up and 27.2 more miles.
21st July: I went out today to do the local 27 but ended up getting diverted by a road closed sign at the left turn traffic light at the back of Kirky. I ended up cycling down a long straight road along the edge of Kirkby which ended up on the main road so I ended up cycling through the middle of town, something I haven't done for a long while. A somewhat reduced 24.2 miles.
23rd July: It was a warm day today without much wind so I headed out to do the local 27. The road blocked sign was there but being a Saturday there were no workmen there doing anything so I decided to ignore the sign and see what was going on. It turns out they were coating the road on the bend with that weird grippy beige coating. It was a fast ride with a 17.5 mph average and another 26.5 miles.
25th July: I got out this afternoon to do the local 27. It was fairly windy so not as fast as the last ride but an enjoyable ride nonetheless and I stopped at the Subway as I left the industrial park for a tuna sub which is always nice. Another 27.2 miles.
27th July: My new sports glasses from Optilabs arrived today so I dragged myself out to do the local 21 after work. It was overcast and fairly windy but quite warm overall.
The glasses felt a bit weird but I'm sure I'll get used to them, they certainly keep a lot of wind out of your eyes though which is pretty cool. One slight downside is that I can no longer glance over my shoulder to check for cars when turning right but I'm sure I'll adapt a new technique. 20.8 more miles.
29th July: I got out after work tonight with aid of a mug of Old Brown Java and did the local 27 again. It was overcast but warm enough so not too bad. It was quite windy but a pretty enjoyable ride overall and another 26.5 more miles.
30th July: I got out and did the local 27 today. The weather was better than it has been, it was blue sky full of white clouds and quite warm. I'm getting used to the glasses now and enjoying the lack of wind in my eyes, I'm getting better at looking behind me as well which is probably a good thing! Anyhow, another 26.8 miles.
31st July: I managed to get out early this afternoon and drag myself around the local 21 for a final 21.7 miles. The weather was same old, same old ie blue skies but with lots of big white clouds floating around and quite warm out of the wind. I chose this distance knowing it was going to contribute to quite a significant event (for me!) in that it was the highest mileage I've ever done in a month - 400.9 miles! My mileage overdraft for the year was nearly three hundred so by having a bumper July, it's now less than seventy so roll on the rest of the year!
Having lowered my stem about a centimeter the other day and really enjoying the results, I was getting quite annoyed with the two unnecessary narrow spacers above the stem so I bought a stem cutting guide from Planet X and borrowed a star-fangled nut setter from my mate Al at work and got to work.
I unscrewed the brake caliper and snipped the two zip ties that held the cable to the fork leg and moved it out of the way. I then removed the top cap and loosened the stem clamp bolts and removed the stem and bars. I then removed the forks and trimmed the necessary half an inch or so from the steerer, set the SFN with the setting tool and put the bike back together. I think it looks absolutely epic and I'm now fully Rule #45 compliant as well!
