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| *Vultures Knob>>>Cycling |
Can someone tell me what is better, a sealed bottom bracket or unsealed, and please explain the difference? |
Can someone tell me what is better, a sealed bottom bracket or unsealed, and please explain the difference? I don't mind repacking, which I do regularly on my wheel bearings anyway, and I suppose there would be slightly less friction in an unsealed unit, but I would vote for sealed. its all about the bearings- no maintenance can be performed on a sealed bearing bottom bracket. Whereas a normal or unsealed can be taken apart and repacked w/ grease. One requires maintenance while the other needs no maintenance but may not last as long years ago, there were only unsealed bottom brackets. They would have to be overhauled, and repacked. its was laborious, time consuming and messy. these days, there are sealed BBs. if you need to replace, you throw the old unit away. its the age old question of old vs. new. what do you prefer? both sides of the coin can debate. in my personal opinion, sealed bb's are way better. The old style looks like a bunch of little bb's wrapped in a thing metal peace while the new ones look better, thicker metal and the bb's are held in place by a plastic/poly cover to stop them from getting out or getting wet/dirty. Repacking old ones involved LOTS of grease if you wanted them to stay smooth and constant cleaning after hard rides. The new ones can go months, even years, before having to be removed and cleaned. Also, in the past, there were about 15 different sizes that could be used as bb's but today, there is only about 2 different sizes used inside BB's. So, its faster to find replacements without having to measure out exact numbers. MOST moderns BB are using sealed bearings. Very few still used the old ball bearings. They realized that the same technology that made headsets better also make BB better. I have a 37 yr old Gitane. 35 years ago I replaced the Stronglight cranks with Dura-Ace. They are unsealed. I grease them once a year. It isn't the hassle mentioned by some. They show no wear on the bearing cones. That said, can you even get a new high quality bike with an unsealed bottom bracket? Buy quality and there is nothing better. Sealed is better unless you're a real purist who enjoys working on bikes and has the tools. For most bikers, go sealed, which is all you'll find on modern bikes anyway. You can still purchase either. My new Dura Ace BB is not sealed. My older Trek and Giant have sealed BB. Both work great. The sealed should stay cleaner longer. Both usually last a long time. On road bikes it's really not an issue but on mountain bikes theres a lot more dirt and water in the riding environment. Sealed can't be regreased and you would need to buy new bearings or the whole unit if it goes bad. Unsealed you can clean and repack and it it's easy to do. I used to repack once a year but on the road, riding in dry conditions most of the time it's not needed. Maybe after 5000 or more miles. For some people that'd be yearly, other 10 years. That being said, keep whatever you have if it works. If you have a Wally Mart type bike most would not have sealed bearings. |
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