That creaky bottom bracket took me a whole Saturday to figure out

Had a customer bring in a vintage road bike with a weird creak that only happened under load. I was sure it was the pedals or cranks, so I spent hours regreasing and torquing everything. Finally pulled the BB after like 4 hours, and the non-drive side cup had a hairline crack you could only see with a magnifying glass. Totally missed it on the first look. Anyone else had a sneaky cracked cup drive them nuts?

2 comments

2 Comments

lee.diana12d ago

Cracked cups are usually pretty obvious once you pull the BB. A magnifying glass seems like overkill for a problem that announces itself with play or rough bearings. You might have just had a really strange one.

fisher.mason12d ago

I've found hairline cracks can be sneaky without a close look, especially on older steel frames.