# BB30 crank - tightening?



## jswilson64 (May 20, 2008)

All my previous bikes had old-fashioned square taper BBs and cranks, and required re-tightening the crank arms after the first month(s) of riding. My current (new in April) bike has a BB30 crank (FSA Gossamer triple) and I'm having trouble tracking down a ticking/creaking when I pedal. It might be the saddle but I'm trying to figure out what else it might be.

Do BB30 cranks require the left arm to be re-tightened after an initial break-in period like the old-school ones?


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

Knock on wood.. but I haven't touched my cranks since I installed them.. SRAM force BB30 cranks on my Supersix... silent and were easy to adjust. Clicking might be from your cleats.. pedals... chain ring bolts.. or 101 other places.


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## QuattroCreep (Nov 30, 2009)

Not that I have ever seen.

I have put BB30 cranks on a number of bikes and none have need any re-torquing. It is possible that your crank arm or BB is making noise. I would check out every thing else first then look at the crank. I am not a huge fan of the self extracting Aluminum bolt on the gossamer cranks. The less it has to be removed and re-torqued the better.


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## PoorCyclist (Oct 14, 2010)

Well.. you can put a 10mm hex in the middle to see if it will take any more torque..
the torque is written on the bolt itself.


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## jswilson64 (May 20, 2008)

Just about any bolt *can* take more torque. Whether it *should* is another matter. Don't ask me (or my previous bike-shop managers) how I know this... 

But seriously, I might take it up to the LBS and see if they can let me borrow a torque wrench and double-check it.


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## fatbastcaad3 (Jan 6, 2010)

*torque check*

+1 on the torque check. Also, FSA recalled some of those gossamer cranks. I just got my left crankarm replaced due to the recall. Have it Checked!!!


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## locustfist (Feb 21, 2009)

Your bb can get creaky if it gets mucky in there. Do some checks to find the creak. I like to strip my bikes to the frame once a year to get them really clean, re-grease and check for wear.


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## topflightpro (Nov 3, 2004)

I've run three different bikes with BB30, and at some point, all have started clicking/creaking in the BB.

The noise was common when standing and more pronounced on one side.

The issue each time was that the bearings were coming loose inside the BB shell.

The key to fixing this has been to use some light Loctite - I think it is the green kind - to hold the bearings in place.

If you do a search on the Weight Weenies forum - weightweenies.starbike.com - you will find several discussions related to this issue.


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## PoorCyclist (Oct 14, 2010)

2500 miles after loctite'd bearing outter race, and standard FSA issued bearings, stock grease and stock fill rate, the mechanic says the bearings are still fine, he picked out the dust cover and packed some new grease to the ball bearings inside..

If you get around to it, some grease in the beginning would probably be good as well, I have heard they have a stingy fill rate on the grease.


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## j.carney.tx (Jun 15, 2011)

Having a similar issue. I removed my bb30 crank, cleaned everything and re-lubed. when putting the crank back in, the left side bearing seemed to have moved outboard a fraction. Before I put the crank in, that bearing was 1/16-1/32" (very small lip on the bb shell). After re-installing crank, that bearing is now flush with bb shell. Guess what? Still has the same 'tick' (cranks almost horizontal, left arm rising, right arm falling).

I have, so far checked* pedals, chainring bolts, rd hanger, rear quick release, new seat, seatpost. I'm going to try and see if any of my mtn bike posts will fit. I'm currently using a carbon fiber seatpost, maybe it has a micro crack or something? All my posts have been Al. I bought this bike new in april and it has the carbon fiber post.

*removed, cleaned, re-lubed


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## nightfend (Mar 15, 2009)

BB30 bottom bracket bearings are notorious for making clicking sounds. I find I have to take apart and re-lube my BB30 cranks every few months.

Never had this problem with external bearing cranks, so I'm not impressed with the industries move to press-in bearings for cranks.


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## ScruffyChancer (Oct 23, 2011)

*Not convinced on BB30*

Sorry for the late entry on this one, but my experience mirrors many here. Both my friend and I bought 2011 Cannondales (mine a Synapse and he a CAAD8), each have BB30s.
Within weeks, both of us returned to the LBS complaining of the cracking noise, and in both cases the remedy was to take apart and re-grease the BB.
A couple of months passed and again both of us had a repeat visit. The remedy the same.
What has become apparent is that it happens after riding in, or after, sustained and heavy rainfall - so clearly something's not sealed well enough.
Mine's gone AGAIN this weekend and I don't have a spare £90 lying around for a torque wrench - so back to the LBS (nice two-wheeled eye candy) it is.
Not sure where to go on this.
Happy riding!


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## Kontact (Apr 1, 2011)

Half the time the "BB creak" is a loose rear QR, loose cassette lockring, loose pedal, loose crank arm bolt, too few washers or creaking saddle. While BB30, like every BB system I have ever seen, can make noises, a bit more detective work is needed before running the risk of damaging your bearings knocking them out - most BB30 bearing removal tools are not kind to the bearing.


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## locustfist (Feb 21, 2009)

on this topic. just recently added a BB30 bike to the stable. Friday a 'clank' developed. Not a creak but a ping that seems to occur under power out of the saddle. it's not very consistant.

Ideas


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## Nickk (Oct 24, 2011)

Kontact said:


> Half the time the "BB creak" is a loose rear QR, loose cassette lockring, loose pedal, loose crank arm bolt, too few washers or creaking saddle. While BB30, like every BB system I have ever seen, can make noises, a bit more detective work is needed before running the risk of damaging your bearings knocking them out - most BB30 bearing removal tools are not kind to the bearing.


pardon the newbish question but are BB30 cranks/BB hard to deal with? I only have experience with older style cage or cartridge BBs, the idea of pressed in kinda frightens me. I'm looking at getting road bike and the Felt F75 has BB30 whereas the Bianchi Via Nirone 7 does not so this could be a deal maker/breaker for me.

any opinions are greatly appreciated


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

Nickk said:


> pardon the newbish question but are BB30 cranks/BB hard to deal with? I only have experience with older style cage or cartridge BBs, the idea of pressed in kinda frightens me. I'm looking at getting road bike and the Felt F75 has BB30 whereas the Bianchi Via Nirone 7 does not so this could be a deal maker/breaker for me.
> 
> any opinions are greatly appreciated


why would it be a deal breaker? you learned about old style bb's when you started working on them, why can't you figure out bb30? no threads to mess up, just some bearings pressed in to a hole. no crank puller is needed to take the crank arms off. yeah, you may need to service them more often than cartridge bottom brackets, but it's easy. i would never let the style of bb in a frame keep me from buying it. chances are pretty much everything will be 'press-in' of some type in the next couple of years.


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## ScruffyChancer (Oct 23, 2011)

ScruffyChancer said:


> Sorry for the late entry on this one, but my experience mirrors many here. Both my friend and I bought 2011 Cannondales (mine a Synapse and he a CAAD8), each have BB30s.
> Within weeks, both of us returned to the LBS complaining of the cracking noise, and in both cases the remedy was to take apart and re-grease the BB.
> A couple of months passed and again both of us had a repeat visit. The remedy the same.
> What has become apparent is that it happens after riding in, or after, sustained and heavy rainfall - so clearly something's not sealed well enough.
> ...


UPDATE: Picked the Synapse up from the LBS - same old, same old - the BB was removed and regreased and now it's fine. I asked them what the remedy was and was told that this is the way it is - it will need regular stripping and regreasing.

Is this good enough Cannondale??


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## nightfend (Mar 15, 2009)

The creaking of the BB30 bottom bracket is not specific to just Cannondale bikes, but to the BB30 design in general. Some people have had good luck using red loctite when pressing the bearings into the bottom bracket. Supposedly the loctite helps fill any micro gaps between the bottom bracket and the bearing race. But, I think there is often some creaking also coming from the crank moving back and forth because of the wavy washer design.


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## jezzery (Dec 8, 2011)

I also had this problem recently after only a month of purchasing my supersix. They said it was a bearing issue and they changed the bearings apparently - they may have said that just to cover up this issue. I won't be happy if I have to make a regular trip to the LBS.


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## scirocco (Dec 7, 2010)

I understand that BMC have ditched BB30 for their 2012 range, at least partly because of the negative feedback about the system.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

With these types of cranks (crankshaft slid through inner races of cartridge bearings) creaking can originate between the crankshaft and inner bearing races. If this is the case, greasing the shaft and inner bearing race will cure this problem.


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## Winters (Dec 4, 2011)

" ... so I'm not impressed with the industries move to press-in bearings for cranks. "

Of five bikes, my only creaking one is a BB30. This Park tool link shows lots of opportunities for such: 

Park Tool Co. » ParkTool Blog » BB30 Bearing System Service


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## j.carney.tx (Jun 15, 2011)

An update on my bb30 clicking issue posted above. After a couple of rides on the trainer, the ticking got way too annoying. Took it apart again and found that the center rotatated smoothly when OUT of the shell, but was a bit 'crunchy' when in the shell. After taking it apart, I could squeeze the outershell with my hand and that would change how the center turned. I could find no cracks visibly but apparently it was bad. Ordered a new set, replaced and now all is quiet again.


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## Sully00 (Dec 29, 2012)

I found this thread through a google search...I've been having similar issues with my BB30 with only 750 miles on it. I'm getting a loud "clack" is the best way I can describe it. Only happens when I'm climbing or pushing out of the saddle. Not only can i hear it but I can feel it into my shoes. Stopped by my LBS...He torqued it, checked for movement and told me to monitor it and hope for it either going away or that more symptoms develop to better diagnose. I'll try to update as I go.


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## jmess (Aug 24, 2006)

*BB30 replacement*

I have one of these on my bench but I haven't installed it yet.

httphttp://praxiscycles.com/pages/conversion://


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## rcharrette (Mar 27, 2007)

j.carney.tx said:


> An update on my bb30 clicking issue posted above. After a couple of rides on the trainer, the ticking got way too annoying. Took it apart again and found that the center rotatated smoothly when OUT of the shell, but was a bit 'crunchy' when in the shell. After taking it apart, I could squeeze the outershell with my hand and that would change how the center turned. I could find no cracks visibly but apparently it was bad. Ordered a new set, replaced and now all is quiet again.


That sounds more like it could be a pawl on your freehub body getting hung then "banging" into place.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

rcharrette said:


> That sounds more like it could be a pawl on your freehub body getting hung then "banging" into place.


nevermind the last post from j.carney was over a year ago, i'd love for you to explain to me how a noise that happens while pedaling (meaning the pawls are engaged) could be the pawls engaging.


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