What lurks beneath...

Firstly, happy birthday Winny...

And back to our usual programming -

I've got a shipment of bearings (clicky for great info and specs) coming shortly that include some Ceramic and ABEC 5 bearings from DIYMTB for some assorted bikes of mine. In preparation for some surgery , I pulled out the bottom bracket of the new Virtue 1 after the wetness that was Epix 1 and noticed that we had a bit of an issue there.



The water that was sitting in the bottom of the frame is not a good thing... This is whats left after some more flowed onto the floor. Now this is what I do to get around the problem. I don't recommend you do this unless you are very sure about things like your warranty, as doing this may void it, so think carefully.

With the bike on level ground, mark with a texta, the lowest point of the BB. Roughly in the centre of the shell, make a cross where those two points intersect and thats where you will drill a 3-4mm hole. Smaller and the water won't drain, larger and well.... Make sure you remove the BB, ensure that the metal filings can't travel up the seat tube or into other parts of the frame, and ensure that you catch the swarf so it can't damage the thread of the BB when its reinstalled.

So thats that. File any sharp edges that you can get at, paint the hole if its a steel frame and reinstall everything with plenty of grease. Ceramic bearings are currently the ultimate bearings to re-use, but the ABEC 5 that I'll be using are a happy middle ground between price, durability and performance. We'll see how they go!

We'll have some more news on the next Epix that scheduled later this week, as well as a review of some new toys that we have for the job! So check back soon for more of the latest!