Hey folks!
For those of you that have ever had to deal with press-fit bottom brackets
on their frames, you know how frustrating that can be.
But today we have options,
One of those options is the Wheels Manufacturing PressFit bottom bracket,
so we're gonna take a closer look at it.
On the box you have the Wheels Manufacturing logo,
but you also have the Enduro logo,
because they make those bearings that you probably use
as an upgrade on your bike.
Looking over here, you'll see that this is compatible with 24 mm crank axles
with some adapters.
Also, the shell width of your frame can be between 61 and 86.5 mm.
Mountain bikes usually use 73 mm.
Here on the back, you will have the part number
of this specific bottom bracket.
This is what's called threaded, mostly to differentiate
between this version, and the one that I've used on my previous Norco build.
If you're not familiar with that, check it out.
In the box you got the bottom bracket shell, bearings installed.
You also get the little bag with spacers,
and I assume the dust seals, yes they are right there,
and you have this business card like - thank you for your purchase.
They also gave you a two-year warranty for this product.
BB30, PF30 are kind of referring to the same thing, 30 millimeter axle
here on the cranks for saved weight and a narrower Q-factor.
And PF30 refers to the PressFit bottom bracket,
the one that I'm going to install over here.
For mountain bikes, 46 mm ID shell is usually used with PF30,
and also we're talking about the shell width of 73 mm, measured here 74 mm and a bit.
Installation instructions are provided online as a PDF,
and you have everything from tools needed,
to how to install,
to how to replace a bearing or maintain your bearings.
So you're going to need the bottom bracket press for the drive side cup,
you're going to need some grease,
but they also mentioned this which is a bottom bracket wrench.
you see it here mention in 44 and 48 millimeters, 16 notches.
This is specific to their bottom brackets
so you're probably gonna need this to tighten up the non-drive side cup
because it has to be tighten up to 40 to 50 Nm.
I guess you could use a set of pliers
but I don't see how you would use that without actually damaging
the finish of the bottom bracket shell.
Apply grease on the exterior of the cups here and here.
Also on the threaded area of the non-drive side.
Also apply some (carbon-safe) grease
to the inside of your bottom bracket shell on both sides
Then you're gonna press in the drive side cup.
And finally you're gonna thread this in.
This is the non-drive side,
Here you go.
And tighten it up to 40 to 50 Nm as per the instructions.
If your frame has a bump right here, next to the bottom bracket like mine does,
this wrench doesn't really fit properly
so you're probably gonna be better off if you have their socket
as opposed to this wrench to tighten it up.
Finally, put a bit of grease right here behind the seal,
it goes on top of your bearing.
Use the additional spacers to take up the slack from your cranks,
and you should be good to go.
Cranks installed the BB is very smooth,
If anything a bit tight, but it's gonna loosen up rather quickly.
The beauty of this is that you can install different type of bearings,
and also that you never need to remove the bottom bracket shell from the frame.
Installation is simple, as you saw,
the downside is that you need their specialized tool,
highly recommend using the socket.
What do you guys use?
Do you use third-party bottom brackets like this
or what manufacturers provide?
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
If you consider purchasing anything like this
I put links in the description.
If you found this useful,
don't forget to like and subscribe,
and until next time,
I will see you folks on the trails.
Cheers guys,
Cheers!