Two weeks before a long trip, service your square taper BB properly. Ride it a hundred miles, then readjust it. Ride it loaded a couple of times and recheck that everything is still working properly and torqued up. Take your trip, but don't bother packing all those tools. The odds of having any issue with your BB for the next 4,000 miles are minuscule, so carrying them is unnecessary. You're more likely to experience a broken fork or a taco'd wheel, and you're not carrying spares of those.
I had one square taper BB on my 90's Giant mountain bike that became squeaky and ticky after some twenty years of service and many thousands of miles of use. I just bought another one exactly the same size and replaced it myself with no problems. Upon inspecting the old one, I noticed that there was some play in the central shaft so it meant that the bearings were done.
New square taper BB are not like the old ones, I found. Mine started ticking after a year and a bot of moderate use. Seriously considering switching the entire system to hollowtech to simplify the process for my next BB replacement.
Check out Peak Torque, and Leucher Technic sites. Aside from 105 and lower, the hollow tech crankset sometimes fails at the epoxy seams that run down the arms and on the spider! SRAM GXP no go per Peak Torque, Hambini, et-all due to a major design flaw with a non drive side bearing mismatch with the spindle. Campagnolo is just too expensive with its ultra torque system. Safety and durability are the reason for square taper. Or 105 Hollow Forged.
@RollinRat I would use 105 cranks if I ever rode anything but fixed. There doesn't seem to be any track cranks in hollow forged. 1x mountain comes in 30,32, maybe 36. Small chainrings look silly on a track bike. Gimmie the 48×17 in1/8" and I"m happy. A heavy rider, I"d be the one to break a hollow tech in Japip!
i never had any issues while riding the bike on square taper but trying to get them off was impossible for me.i had eventually after spending money on tools simply to drill hole and cut off the crank arms.i swore id never use them again.all I wanted to do was to change my chain ring!!
Other than spendy boutique parts. Mass produced square taper BB's are all made to be cheap, and disposable for low end bikes. So there is a lack of options for better square taper BB's without getting something super spendy.. Your stuck using a cheap one that still costs just as much as a higher tier Hollowtech BB. I have seen square taper cartridge BB's go bad after a few years from being left outside, or bike frames that were laying on the ground. They are not exactly indestructible.
Two weeks before a long trip, service your square taper BB properly. Ride it a hundred miles, then readjust it. Ride it loaded a couple of times and recheck that everything is still working properly and torqued up. Take your trip, but don't bother packing all those tools. The odds of having any issue with your BB for the next 4,000 miles are minuscule, so carrying them is unnecessary. You're more likely to experience a broken fork or a taco'd wheel, and you're not carrying spares of those.
I'm 55 and never go to a shop, it's all too easy especially with you tube how to vids 👍
I have never in 30 years had a problem with square taper cartridge bottom brackets.
I had one square taper BB on my 90's Giant mountain bike that became squeaky and ticky after some twenty years of service and many thousands of miles of use. I just bought another one exactly the same size and replaced it myself with no problems. Upon inspecting the old one, I noticed that there was some play in the central shaft so it meant that the bearings were done.
New square taper BB are not like the old ones, I found. Mine started ticking after a year and a bot of moderate use. Seriously considering switching the entire system to hollowtech to simplify the process for my next BB replacement.
Check out Peak Torque, and Leucher Technic sites. Aside from 105 and lower, the hollow tech crankset sometimes fails at the epoxy seams that run down the arms and on the spider! SRAM GXP no go per Peak Torque, Hambini, et-all due to a major design flaw with a non drive side bearing mismatch with the spindle. Campagnolo is just too expensive with its ultra torque system. Safety and durability are the reason for square taper. Or 105 Hollow Forged.
@RollinRat I would use 105 cranks if I ever rode anything but fixed. There doesn't seem to be any track cranks in hollow forged. 1x mountain comes in 30,32, maybe 36. Small chainrings look silly on a track bike. Gimmie the 48×17 in1/8" and I"m happy. A heavy rider, I"d be the one to break a hollow tech in Japip!
nice points. i never thought of re-greasing hollowtech bearings... much easier to maintain and fix that's for sure
i never had any issues while riding the bike on square taper but trying to get them off was impossible for me.i had eventually after spending money on tools simply to drill hole and cut off the crank arms.i swore id never use them again.all I wanted to do was to change my chain ring!!
once you upgraded from square taper what noticeable differences did you see?
Which one has lees peadling friction?
Neither, inherently. Both can develop issues that increase friction, and both can be free of such issues.
Other than spendy boutique parts. Mass produced square taper BB's are all made to be cheap, and disposable for low end bikes. So there is a lack of options for better square taper BB's without getting something super spendy.. Your stuck using a cheap one that still costs just as much as a higher tier Hollowtech BB. I have seen square taper cartridge BB's go bad after a few years from being left outside, or bike frames that were laying on the ground. They are not exactly indestructible.
I use blue loctite, also my bike shop removes anything for free
Neither is "better" the hollow BBs are just lighter. Unless you have an other reason to change the BB leave it be.
You forgot to mention that pedaling is much nicer with hollow tech bearings.
Not really.