Bottom bracket getting loose on Ridgeback Speed

The bottom bracket on my Ridgeback Speed keeps working itself loose very
quickly, say after 50 or so miles.

Some history - the bike was bought, due to adminastritive error, from
Evans back in May. On a test ride before buying I realised that one of the
pedals had not been fitted properly, stripping the threads during the
ride. This was the only bike they had in my size so they agreed to replace
the crank and pedal in time for me to collect the bike the same afternoon.
In fact, as I understand it, they swapped the entire drive chain, both
pedals, cranks and chainring.

Over the first month the bottom bracket had worked itself loose but it was
OK because the bike was going back for its 'running in' service and I made
mention of it when it went in. Collecting it from the service the bottom
bracket seemed to have some play but I put guessed this to be an
acceptable amount, seeing as it had just come out of their workshop. Over
the next week it loosened yet more so I brought it back and they did
tighten it so that there was no play when I collected it. This wasn't to
last though, with the problem re-occuring 3-4 weeks down the line, some
200 miles.

At this point I was able to get a Dr Bike person to tighten it up while I
was at some bike fair which lasted about a month, and then again in bike
shop, admittedly done only to get me home that night so I'm not too
suprised that this last fix only lasted about a week.

Now, I'm no expert, but I beginning to suspect that there is something
wrong with the bottom bracket!

I have been planning on bringing the bike to a shop I trust this Saturday,
Evans having had three attempts in my book no longer have my trust.
Unfortunately I've been cycling through some poor weather this week and I
suspect that what little grease was left in the ball race has been washed
away, judging by the strange sounds it was making on the way home tonight.

Now I'm in a bit of a quandry, some damage must have been done by now, to
the barring if not to the axle itself, meaning an extra cost to the
repair. I don't mind paying my favoured bike shop for this but I do
begrudge letting Evans get away with selling something that I now think to
be 'a bit shoddy'. I am no expert though so I thought I would canvas other
views, what would you do in my situation?

Should I be expecting more from the bottom bracket I have or is this the
justice I get for buying something that doesn't have a cartridge fitted?

Is there a known problem with bottom brackets on Ridgeback Speeds. If so,
then I really should bring it back to Evans.

Does my commuting style of cycling warrent the need for a cartridge type
of bottom bracket - I have been told that they are better but this was by
the bike shop that would want to charge me for the cartridge a fitting
costs. That said, if I were to get a cartridge fitted it would only be of
the cheapest offered. Will cheap cartridge be noticably better that ball
and cup?

Thanks

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 01:35:00 GMT, Colin Murphy
wrote:

Does my commuting style of cycling warrent the need for a cartridge type
of bottom bracket - I have been told that they are better but this was by
the bike shop that would want to charge me for the cartridge a fitting
costs. That said, if I were to get a cartridge fitted it would only be of
the cheapest offered. Will cheap cartridge be noticably better that ball
and cup?

Cartridges aren't really any better than cup and cone type BB's, they
are just different. You can buy excellent, and crap, BB's of each
type.

Where a cartridge wins out is ease of installation and lack of
maintenance. You basically just screw them in, tighten to appropriate
torque then forget about it till several thousand miles later when it
turns up it's toes. At that point you throw it away and start over
with a new one.

There is no regular servicing required and you don't have to adjust
for bearing load as you do when installing a cup and cone type BB.

They are also cheap, 15 - 20 quid will buy you a perfectly good
Shimano cartridge BB. Spend more if you want for a lighter unit.

Given what you describe I'd take the bike back to Evans and set a
rocket under the managers arse. As you say they've had three attempts
to fix this problem and still haven't got it right. You've paid your
money and you are entitled to better.

Presumably the bike is still under warranty? I'd *insist* that they
replace the current BB with a new (and decent quality) cartridge.

If you don't want the agro then you could always just give up on
Evans, buy a new cartridge BB and fit it yourself. It's not difficult
and that'll be a another job on the bike you'll always then be able to
DIY.

Instructions for the job can be found he

http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQcartdg.shtml


Sheldon will also no doubt have instructions at his site, and if you
need any questions answered just shout up here and I'm sure we can get
you through
--

"Bob"

'The people have spoken, the *******s'

Email address is spam trapped.
To reply directly remove the beverage.

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 01:35:00 GMT, Colin Murphy
wrote:

The bottom bracket on my Ridgeback Speed keeps working itself loose very
quickly, say after 50 or so miles.

Some history - the bike was bought, due to adminastritive error, from
Evans back in May. On a test ride before buying I realised that one of
the
pedals had not been fitted properly, stripping the threads during the
ride. This was the only bike they had in my size so they agreed to
replace
the crank and pedal in time for me to collect the bike the same
afternoon.
In fact, as I understand it, they swapped the entire drive chain, both
pedals, cranks and chainring.

Over the first month the bottom bracket had worked itself loose but it
was
OK because the bike was going back for its 'running in' service and I
made
mention of it when it went in. Collecting it from the service the bottom
bracket seemed to have some play but I put guessed this to be an
acceptable amount, seeing as it had just come out of their workshop. Over
the next week it loosened yet more so I brought it back and they did
tighten it so that there was no play when I collected it. This wasn't to
last though, with the problem re-occuring 3-4 weeks down the line, some
200 miles.

At this point I was able to get a Dr Bike person to tighten it up while I
was at some bike fair which lasted about a month, and then again in bike
shop, admittedly done only to get me home that night so I'm not too
suprised that this last fix only lasted about a week.

Now, I'm no expert, but I beginning to suspect that there is something
wrong with the bottom bracket!

I have been planning on bringing the bike to a shop I trust this
Saturday,
Evans having had three attempts in my book no longer have my trust.
Unfortunately I've been cycling through some poor weather this week and I
suspect that what little grease was left in the ball race has been washed
away, judging by the strange sounds it was making on the way home
tonight.

Now I'm in a bit of a quandry, some damage must have been done by now, to
the barring if not to the axle itself, meaning an extra cost to the
repair. I don't mind paying my favoured bike shop for this but I do
begrudge letting Evans get away with selling something that I now think
to
be 'a bit shoddy'. I am no expert though so I thought I would canvas
other
views, what would you do in my situation?

Should I be expecting more from the bottom bracket I have or is this the
justice I get for buying something that doesn't have a cartridge fitted?

Is there a known problem with bottom brackets on Ridgeback Speeds. If so,
then I really should bring it back to Evans.

Does my commuting style of cycling warrent the need for a cartridge type
of bottom bracket - I have been told that they are better but this was by
the bike shop that would want to charge me for the cartridge a fitting
costs. That said, if I were to get a cartridge fitted it would only be of
the cheapest offered. Will cheap cartridge be noticably better that ball
and cup?

Thanks

It's weird that, both of my new Ridgebacks - one a 2002 MX95 (for sale,
plug plug), another a 2003 Cyclone (already gone and already regretting
it) had bottom bracket problems early on. They were from different shops,
both of which have decent mechanics. This suggests to me it's a problem
with the bottom brackets Ridgeback chooses.
Getting this sorted is not a job you should be paying Evans for. I would
want a cartridge bottom bracket for my trouble, personally. Go and talk to
someone in the shop, and every time a customer walks in say "FIX MY BIKE
OR I'M GOING DOWN THE COUNCIL" in a loud voice, don't go until it's fixed.
That'll **** them off... (:
BTW, cartridges are good, especially on a commuter bike like yours where
low maintenance is important. Even if you don't get any joy with Evans I
would still think about fitting one come replacement time.

Chris

--
|C|H|R|I|S|@|T|R|I|N|I|T|Y|W|I|L|L|S|.|C|O|M|
Remove the bars to contact me

Colin Murphy wrote in message .uklmn...

Does my commuting style of cycling warrent the need for a cartridge type
of bottom bracket - I have been told that they are better but this was by
the bike shop that would want to charge me for the cartridge a fitting
costs. That said, if I were to get a cartridge fitted it would only be of
the cheapest offered. Will cheap cartridge be noticably better that ball
and cup?


I'd go for a cartridge BB; less maintenance than a cup & ball type,
smoother, and usually better sealed against the elements. Would you be
able to buy a BB from elsewhere and get your bike shop to just do the
fitting? There are some good mail order deals around on stuff which is
well-priced but decent quality (e.g. Stronglight sealed cartridge BBs
from xpedia.co.uk at about ten quid inc. carriage costs), so it may
pay to look around first. Also, cartridge units lend themselves to
simple DIY fitting and replacement; often all you need is an
appropriate BB tool and a suitably sized spanner.

David E. Belcher