# Water in Bottom Bracket (Solution)



## KillerQuads (Jul 22, 2002)

I ride my aluminum single speed in the rain (Van Dessel Country Road Bob, photo in my user gallery). When I removed the BB sealed cartridge, I was surprised when about 1/4 cup of water came out. Water can get into the frame via the little weep holes on the stays, holes in the stay bridges, and possibly the seat post. But the water cannot get out and collects in the frame's BB shell. In the aluminum frame there was no frame rust, but the outside of the cartridge was grungy. 

To allow frame water drainage, I drilled a small 5/32" hole in the bottom of the BB (frame). First I removed the BB cartridge and cups, stood the bike upside down on its seat and bars, filled the BB shell with paper towels to catch metal flakes, used a center punch and hammer to indent the chosen site (the very bottom of the BB shell and dead center away from the cup threads), and drilled a 5/32" hole. A small hole will suffice as it only has to be a weep hole. I coated the hole with some clear nail polish, making sure to pop the hole with a tooth pick while the polish was still wet (a bubble of polish will close the hole and defeat the purpose). The polish seals the bare metal. Then I applied a flap of doubled over electrical tape that shields the hole from front tire road spray, yet still allows the hole to drain any water inside the BB shell. I have since removed the BB cartridge a year after doing this, and it was bone dry.

I recently removed the BB cartridge from my chrome Bianchi Pista (see photo in my user gallery) and found dampness and mild rust in the frame's BB shell. I performed the same procedure on the Pista's BB shell (frame). The secret is to use the center punch, otherwise the drill bit will not bite into the chromed finish. I made sure to seal the bare metal in the hole with nail polish. I also made sure the nail polish did not close the hole with a bubble.

I think some people would be afraid to do this mod, but if you ride your fixed or SS bike (or any bike for that matter) in the rain, it could collect water. If it is a steel frame, it could rust from the inside and do a lot of damage. In the old days, road bikes had their logos cut in the bottom of the BB shell, not only for decoration but also to drain water from the BB.

Note: I am not talking about drilling the BB sealed bearing cartridge. That unit should remain sealed. You must remove the cartridge before drilling the BB shell (frame).


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## DY123 (Oct 5, 2006)

The Campy instructions all say that you should have a hole in the BB.

I put a hole in mine, but I have seen factory steel frames with no hole......


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## SSSasky (Apr 8, 2004)

The three steel frames I've had have all had some sort of hole. The pinarello I've got now has a lot of hole - drainage hole plus 4 holes for internal cable routing - first time I've seen that. It's all drainage now.


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## dburns (Apr 10, 2006)

Many years ago I designed my Jiggle Valve - a small hole drilled in the BB shell and a piece of an old spoke dropped through it to keep the hole from plugging with muck. I straighten the bend in an old spoke and then snip off the last 1/2" and drop it through the hole from the inside (of course!).

I had an early '90s Bontrager mtb frame that filled up with about a cup full of water. I never knew it was there until I stood the bike on its front wheels and rusty water came out of the lower headset cup. Never again!


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## KillerQuads (Jul 22, 2002)

Instead of a jiggle valve, I just use a piece of electrical tape. I fold over one edge on itself to make a non-sticky flap, and leave one segment exposed (sticky). I stick this to the BB shell (frame) just forward of the hole with the flap pointed down and back (over the hole). It acts sort of like a check valve. There is nothing to rattle and it is inconspicuous. Water can flow out of the hole unimpeded, but water from the front tire cannot splash into the hole. This would not stop inflow of water from total submersion like in a stream crossing (mountain bike style), but it would empty out rather quickly.

From my experiments with my Aluminum bike (hole drilled and tape flap in place) the BB now stays bone dry, whereas before the hole it collected lots of water.

P.S. I heard a rumor that to defeat bike weight testing, racers fill the seat tube of an underweight bike with ice in order to pass scrutineering. The ice quickly melts during the race and dribbles out a bottom bracket weep hole, allowing the racer to cheat with an underweight machine.


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## dburns (Apr 10, 2006)

KillerQuads said:


> Instead of a jiggle valve, I just use a piece of electrical tape. There is nothing to rattle and it is inconspicuous.


Great! The tape will stop me going deaf from my piece of spoke rattling!


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