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Campag press fit BB query/issue

by scousegreg
Tue, Jun 14, 2016 23:10
8

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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scousegreg | 8 years ago
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Well a little update to this thread.

I completed the Liverpool - Chester - Liverpool ride the weekend before last.  I had planned to ride back to South Wales from Liverpool but I started hearing a click from my BB about 25 miles in.  After 50 miles it'd become to much to ignore and I found the cup had moved out of the frame again.  So I bailed and had to get the train home - really frustrating as I had a nice tailwind and was on course to do a decent time for the journey.

I contacted Ribble and they said they'd send a bike box out as soon as the could and would sort it out.  Now I've got the London 100 and the Newcastle - London due over the next 6 weeks or so and I couldn't keep waiting for a box to arrive, then collection etc..... so I took the opportunity to visit my brother in Preston yesterday and drop the bike off.  After a few hours I had a phone call saying they'd completed it.  When I picked it up the receipt said "New Cups".  

When I got out the bike out the car after arriving home I noticed some excess grease on my head tube and thought Ribble had just given the bike a mini service.  But after closer inspection two little imperfections in the decals had disappeared.  Sure enough Ribble had given my a frame swap!

Just thought it'd be nice to share this as Ribble seem to get a lot of unwarranted (IMO) jip on forums.

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scousegreg | 8 years ago
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Thanks.

 

I've just had the bike back from my LBS.  They said the cups were a bit loose and offered to "glue" them in.  So I've gone down that route.  I asked them for a note regarding the loose cups as if the epoxy fails I'll be going down the warranty route.

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700c | 8 years ago
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Not sure about power torque (I have ultra torque) but I imagine such a large bolt would keep the cranks together.

Cups should stay in place irrespective of the cranks being in, but conceivably if that bolt is loose and you ride it, it could unseat the cups themselves and/ or cause damage.

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srchar replied to 700c | 8 years ago
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700c wrote:

Not sure about power torque (I have ultra torque) but I imagine such a large bolt would keep the cranks together. Cups should stay in place irrespective of the cranks being in, but conceivably if that bolt is loose and you ride it, it could unseat the cups themselves and/ or cause damage.

The bolt does indeed keep the cranks together, but they can still move under sideloads in both systems due to the wave washer on the non-drive side. The drive-side circlip limits the movement to 0.25mm, however if the cup moves, the circlip moves, which leads to more movement.

scousegreg wrote:

They said the cups were a bit loose and offered to "glue" them in.  So I've gone down that route.  I asked them for a note regarding the loose cups as if the epoxy fails I'll be going down the warranty route.

You might want to enquire as to how they propose to remove the BB when it wears out; depending on the type of epoxy used, it can be a difficult substance to break down, usually requiring lots of heat and solvent.

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scousegreg | 8 years ago
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Thanks for the replies folks.

I've completed nearly 3000 miles on the setup so I'd assume any issue with BB shell dimensions would have manifested itself earlier?

Is the system held together via the 14mm Allen Key on the L/H Crank?

 

 

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700c | 8 years ago
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Would have to counter that; my experience with press fit cups for campag UT has been positive. In the tcr they were very snug and haven't ever creaked (BB86).

Obviously it should be torqued correctly in the first place, but if that doesn't fix it then check if cups have damage of any kind before replacing.

Generally they're built to close tolerances so although it's possible to have a dodgy one, I suspect it's discrepancies / incompatibility in the BB shell dimensions that may be the cause

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srchar | 8 years ago
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Campag's press fit cups aren't up to the job in my experience. I had Campag BBRight cups on my Cervelo R5 with a Chorus UltraTorque crank, Loctite'd in at first with 641, then with stronger 638, both times with activator. The drive-side cup walked out of the frame, I think due to repeated momentary compression of the wave washer, which is also present in a PowerTorque system. Your issue sounds similar. If your BB shell is on the narrow side, the cranks will move towards the drive-side under sideloads that are large enough to compress the compensatory wave washer. The drive-side circlip limits this movement by transferring the sideload to the drive-side cup, which is then pushed out of the shell, effectively widening the BB, changing the chainline and messing up front shifting. Campag's short, plastic bottom bracket cups are the wrong solution for cranks that can move under sideload IMHO.

I ended up replacing the Campag cups with a Wishbone bottom bracket bought from Jedi Sports, which threads together in the centre of the shell. All my BB woes are now gone.

I sent the Campag cups back to Ribble for a refund, they're that bad.

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scousegreg | 8 years ago
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my current bike has Campag press fit cups. On the last 5 miles of my ride on Sunday my bike devloped a grating/clicking noise. Just checked it out now and my cranks have a little play in them and they rock from side to side - not a problem as that's just normally a bearing replacement/adjustment. However it also appears there's play on the right hand cup....ie it's moving a smidgen in the frame. Is this a major issue or is it just a case of new BB Cups? 

Or is all the above rectified by tightening the crank bolt on the left hand side of the system?

 

It's a Campag Veloce 2015 Power Torque chainset with genuine Campag cups.

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