wrote:
Hello

I just bought a new Phil Wood BB to go with a set of Sugino AT triple
cranks I found on eBay. I have had this set-up on another bike for many
years and like the narrow Q factor (146mm). The new Phil retaining
rings (I bought both the stainless and alloy sets to try) will not fit
over the shoulders of the cartridge bearings. The inside of the rings
measures about 0.001 inch smaller than the outside of the bearing
shoulder. Since the bike I'm installing on has aluminum threads, I am
very concerned that going forward with the installation will just ruin
the threads. On my older BB, the rings have always slipped easily over
the BB cartridge. I'm posting here because this group has such depth of
experience, yet also because I have found the Phil Wood company to take
between 1 and 2 weeks to respond to e-mail or phone inquiries (you
never get a person when you call, it's a message machine.)

The old Phil BB I have is a 125mm with a +5mm right side offset, and I
have it set up such that the left side ring is flush with the frame and
the right side ring protrudes about 2.5mm. The new one is the same
size. The new frame I'm building up is the same model frame. The bike
is a RANS Zenetik crank forward, so the extremely long chainstays make
chainline not critical, but I need the right side offset or the front
derailleur will hit the fat seat tube.

- Is this a quality control problem or has something changed?
- What other sealed bearing cartridge-style square taper bottom
brackets are available that will fit these cranks and put them out far
enough that the front derailleur can shift down to the small ring
without hitting the seat tube?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Grease the inside of the cup, tap the right one on(becareful to NOT tap
the spindle end as it WILL move in the bearings), it IS a tight fit.
Install into frame, screw left side cup and ideally, use 2 tools to
tighten, grease into left side cup as well. Tolerances are small, tight
fit of cups, they do not just slide onto the bearings of the BB.