# Can a GXP bottom bracket wear out this fast?



## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

One of my bikes developed a "click-clack" sound under heavy pedaling. I had something similar on another bike and it was the Look pedals. The bike has 5000 miles total on it, Having the pedals wear out in 5000 is feasible so I replaced them. No change. This noise happen every crank revolution and it does not matter if I am sitting or standing. The next logical thing would seem to be the BB but 5000 miles seems way too early. The BB is a Truvativ GXP with SRAM Rival cranks


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

5000 miles in sunny weather...or 5000 miles of CX mud and pressure-washes?


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## dracula (Mar 9, 2010)

DaveG said:


> One of my bikes developed a "click-clack" sound under heavy pedaling. I had something similar on another bike and it was the Look pedals. The bike has 5000 miles total on it, Having the pedals wear out in 5000 is feasible so I replaced them. No change. This noise happen every crank revolution and it does not matter if I am sitting or standing. The next logical thing would seem to be the BB but 5000 miles seems way too early. The BB is a Truvativ GXP with SRAM Rival cranks


5000 miles is actually quite good for that SRAM ****.

It is a SRAM typical crap design.

You can disassemble the bottom bracket and grease the ball bearings and bearing cage. You need to remove the bearing lip though.

However, it may be better and faster if you replace it (they are cheap on ebay).


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## ogre (Dec 16, 2005)

Having pedals wear out in 5k miles is not feasible in my book


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

If you got caught in the rain, and water pooled in the bottom bracket shell, the bearings could go in 500 miles.


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## dracula (Mar 9, 2010)

ogre said:


> Having pedals wear out in 5k miles is not feasible in my book


SRAM doesn't give a ****.

Admittedly, I also have had Shimao Tiagra 4700 bottom brackets wear out in no time (3000 km) on my commuter. I bought it from a seller in Ireland on ebay and it came unpacked and without instructions and I have no clue if it was a fake.

Edit: I should read your post first. Anyway. I agree pedals shot after 8k is a no go.


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## dracula (Mar 9, 2010)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> If you got caught in the rain, and water pooled in the bottom bracket shell, the bearings could go in 500 miles.


So you are saying SRAM GXP brackets are not designed to be used in rain?

Maybe SRAM in Chicago should put in a disclaimer: Must only be used in sunny California.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

Marc said:


> 5000 miles in sunny weather...or 5000 miles of CX mud and pressure-washes?


5000 miles of mostly rain free riding. I had the heavily maligned Veloce BB on one of my bikes and it lasted over 20K


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

dracula said:


> SRAM doesn't give a ****.
> 
> Admittedly, I also have had Shimao Tiagra 4700 bottom brackets wear out in no time (3000 km) on my commuter. I bought it from a seller in Ireland on ebay and it came unpacked and without instructions and I have no clue if it was a fake.
> 
> Edit: I should read your post first. Anyway. I agree pedals shot after 8k is a no go.


I am a heavier rider 180-190 and Look pedals usually get me about 6000 miles before there is a noticeable "click". Given that you can find a pair or Keo Max pedals for $60, I live with it. I have a spare GXP BB so I guess I will replace it


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## dracula (Mar 9, 2010)

DaveG said:


> I am a heavier rider 180-190 and Look pedals usually get me about 6000 miles before there is a noticeable "click". Given that you can find a pair or Keo Max pedals for $60, I live with it. I have a spare GXP BB so I guess I will replace it


I have Shimano SPD pedals.

However, pedals should definitely last longer than 8k. 

I wouldn't be happy if they last less than 20k.

In theory the pedals are serviceable. However, no one -- except bike shops -- has that ****ing wrench (at least not me).


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

Pull the crank.

Unscrew both sides of the bottom bracket.

Clean the threads in the shell really well.

Clean the threads on the bottom bracket cups really well.

Apply fresh thick grease to both threaded surfaces.

Reinstall everything.

Should take care of it. I doubt there's anything wrong with your bearings. You can turn them by hand though after pulling the crank to see if they're still smooth or not, I bet they're fine.


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## dracula (Mar 9, 2010)

DaveG said:


> 5000 miles of mostly rain free riding. I had the heavily maligned Veloce BB on one of my bikes and it lasted over 20K


One theory that has been popping up over the years is the following: your bottom bracket cups are not properly aligned with each other due to an improperly milled bottom bracket end of the frame. This will reduce the lifespan of the bearings and races and increase load. 

I cannot believe that a good bottom bracket is like the princess and the pie.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

The BB could be going south. OR, it could just be loose. Take everything apart, put everything back together, torque everything properly, see what happens.

I have a Shimano Hollowtech II bike that did this at 4K miles. I did the above and all was well with the world.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

dracula said:


> I have Shimano SPD pedals.
> 
> However, pedals should definitely last longer than 8k.
> 
> ...


I use good old humble cheapo Shimano SPD 520 pedals. Over 6K miles and no problems. At $25 a pair, it's hardly worth servicing them when they do break. They won't owe me anything by then.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

MMsRepBike said:


> Pull the crank.
> 
> Unscrew both sides of the bottom bracket.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I have a spare GXP BB (they sent me 2 when I bought the build kit), so I probably will just install it if I have to pull the BB anyway


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

You've never had water egress into your frame tubes on an hours long rain ride, or race??


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> You've never had water egress into your frame tubes on an hours long rain ride, or race??


What's an egret got to do with this?









With the GXP design the bearings are outside of the BB, so they are perhaps a bit more vulnerable. I will take it apart this weekend and have a look in there


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## Keezx (Jun 6, 2017)

dracula said:


> It is a SRAM typical crap design.
> 
> You can disassemble the bottom bracket and grease the ball bearings and bearing cage. You need to remove the bearing lip though.
> 
> However, it may be better and faster if you replace it (they are cheap on ebay).


SRAM (Truvativ) is one of the better outboard designs.
Perfect location of the axle without any preload on the bearings.
A small problem with the current GXP BB's is the fact that SRAM has thougt it to be necessary to deliver the left bearing with 22,2 inner diameter while the axle is 22,0 mm.
This very likely causes movement and the clicking sound when the crank bolt is not extremely tight.
Since I know this I wrap the 22,0 part with 1 turn of PTFE tape and my GXP BB is now running 4 years (> 25000 km) without any problem.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

DaveG said:


> What's an egret got to do with this?
> 
> View attachment 319301
> 
> ...


And what would an Egret find in your frame tubes, fish?


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

If you get an egret's head stuck in your front wheel.....It's gonna hurt...
As for egress....
Draining your Bike


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## oct3 (Oct 2, 2012)

DaveG said:


> The next logical thing would seem to be the BB but 5000 miles seems way too early. The BB is a Truvativ GXP with SRAM Rival cranks


IME noises usually come from the cup/shell interface; I agree with the suggestion to disassemble, clean and regrease, and I'd also add: be very generous with the grease, and, in doubt, tighten the cups at the higher values from the recommended torque range.

FWIW, I have over 30,000 kilometers on the same GXP BSA BB, too. Spare has been collecting dust in their tiny, colored box.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

oct3 said:


> IME noises usually come from the cup/shell interface; I agree with the suggestion to disassemble, clean and regrease, and I'd also add: be very generous with the grease, and, in doubt, tighten the cups at the higher values from the recommended torque range.
> 
> FWIW, I have over 30,000 kilometers on the same GXP BSA BB, too. Spare has been collecting dust in their tiny, colored box.


I will check tightness and play first. If I dont see anything there I will probably just replace it since I dont feel like messing with it again


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## Keezx (Jun 6, 2017)

Read my post? (which is a bit lost in the thread for some reason)
I registered espcially for your problem....



Keezx said:


> SRAM (Truvativ) is one of the better outboard designs.
> Perfect location of the axle without any preload on the bearings.
> A small problem with the current GXP BB's is the fact that SRAM has thougt it to be necessary to deliver the left bearing with 22,2 inner diameter while the axle is 22,0 mm.
> This very likely causes movement and the clicking sound when the crank bolt is not extremely tight.
> Since I know this I wrap the 22,0 part with 1 turn of PTFE tape and my GXP BB is now running 4 years (> 25000 km) without any problem.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

*epilogue*

I replaced the BB and my click-clack sound is gone. Still a bit surprised the BB went south that fast but it was a easy fix.


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## oct3 (Oct 2, 2012)

FTR I was out on a group ride yesterday and the BB started clicking when out of saddle on my way back. While I have had the spare part for a long while, as mentioned, I'm simply going to clean and re-grease.

According to my diary, the last time I serviced it that way, was June, 26th, 2016.


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## Keezx (Jun 6, 2017)

DaveG said:


> I replaced the BB and my click-clack sound is gone. Still a bit surprised the BB went south that fast but it was a easy fix.


A worn out BB does not click-clack.
Most likely it's in the bin in good condition.


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## oct3 (Oct 2, 2012)

On second thought, this seems a perfectly good chance to test Keezx's suggestion of re-torquing the crank bolt.

BTW, this is likely obvious and it's just the heat: where are you applying the Teflon tape, the spindle? and how do you get the Teflon tape to stay in place?


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Keezx said:


> A worn out BB does not click-clack.
> Most likely it's in the bin in good condition.


Huh? Where do you come up with this very general and inaccurate statement? A worn BB may very well click-clack. As Oct3 said, it may be a loose crank bolt, but it may also be a worn BB (play in the bearings).


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## oct3 (Oct 2, 2012)

FTR I tightened the crankset bolt with the wrench set for 32 Nm. This was an afterthought before leaving, so no chance to check the service manual; kind of a guess, based on it not budging with a torque of 25.

We're in the middle of a heatwave, my acclimation is lagging behind by whole months to be generous, as is my shape, and I was very slow for close to 4 hours; still I have a few 600-800W peaks towards the end of the ride and I didn't hear any clicking, though that was getting away from traffic.

If indeed the crankset bolt is it, that's 2 minutes of 30, although generally a good clean of the area on a yearly basis doesn't strike me as a bad idea !


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

oct3 said:


> FTR I tightened the crankset bolt with the wrench set for 32 Nm. This was an afterthought before leaving, so no chance to check the service manual; kind of a guess, based on it not budging with a torque of 25.
> 
> We're in the middle of a heatwave, my acclimation is lagging behind by whole months to be generous, as is my shape, and I was very slow for close to 4 hours; still I have a few 600-800W peaks towards the end of the ride and I didn't hear any clicking, though that was getting away from traffic.
> 
> If indeed the crankset bolt is it, that's 2 minutes of 30, although generally a good clean of the area on a yearly basis doesn't strike me as a bad idea !


according to the directions I have the crank bolt should be 48-54Nm. It requires serious effort to get the that point


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

Keezx said:


> A worn out BB does not click-clack.
> Most likely it's in the bin in good condition.


I saved the old BB. I really did not want to go through the trouble of fussing with it and then having it still not working. I already had the spare BB so it was a sunk cost.


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## Keezx (Jun 6, 2017)

oct3 said:


> On second thought, this seems a perfectly good chance to test Keezx's suggestion of re-torquing the crank bolt.
> 
> BTW, this is likely obvious and it's just the heat: where are you applying the Teflon tape, the spindle? and how do you get the Teflon tape to stay in place?


The tape must be wrapped around the 22 mm part of the spindle, nothing happens when you put the crank on.
It just prevcents movement (and so noise) when the crankbolt is not crazy tight.


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## Keezx (Jun 6, 2017)

Lombard said:


> Huh? Where do you come up with this very general and inaccurate statement? A worn BB may very well click-clack. As Oct3 said, it may be a loose crank bolt, but it may also be a worn BB (play in the bearings).


Sorry, in 50 years I never expirienced clicking sounds from worn bearings.
Higly unlikeley, but never say never though.....


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## Keezx (Jun 6, 2017)

Well if it starts clicking/creaking again you know what to do now.....


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

Keezx said:


> Well if it starts clicking/creaking again you know what to do now.....


This is a plastic bike with a glued in threaded aluminum BB sleeve. Its completely possible that the sleeve deformed a little bit and space was created, causing the noise. It was still in there tight though; I torqued it to spec when I originally installed it


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## dracula (Mar 9, 2010)

Keezx said:


> Sorry, in 50 years I never expirienced clicking sounds from worn bearings.
> Higly unlikeley, but never say never though.....


Quite common. 

I have experienced it with GXP and Shimano Hollowtech brackets.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Keezx said:


> Sorry, in 50 years I never expirienced clicking sounds from worn bearings.
> Higly unlikeley, but never say never though.....


Interesting. I had an older bike with a square taper BB go south at 4K miles. The clicking on each pedal stroke was the first sign there was play. Bearings were shot.


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## Keezx (Jun 6, 2017)

You didn't mention a sleeve, I assumed it was a threaded BB....
The more parts, the more chance that some parts will move and cause noises.


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## oct3 (Oct 2, 2012)

After re-torquing the crankset bolt at 48 Nm, I had another quiet couple sessions. Today it started clicking again, out of saddle, towards the end of the ride.

To make a long story short, I began by cleaning the chain and ended up disassembling most of the bike and may finish picking it apart entirely because...

...the grease, a bike-specific PFTE grease BTW, wherever it is closer to the elements, has dried up.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

oct3 said:


> After re-torquing the crankset bolt at 48 Nm, I had another quiet couple sessions. Today it started clicking again, out of saddle, towards the end of the ride.
> 
> To make a long story short, I began by cleaning the chain and ended up disassembling most of the bike and may finish picking it apart entirely because...
> 
> ...the grease, a bike-specific PFTE grease BTW, wherever it is closer to the elements, has dried up.


After a few rides, some clicking has returned, although not as bad as before. I pulled the assembly again, used two turns of Teflon tape and re-installed. Hopefully that is the end of it


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