Fairly sure I know the answer to this one but thought I'd double check before potentially throwing my money away.....

Surely the only difference between bottom brackets of the same brand/type but differing widths is the plastic central gunk protector thingy?

So if I already have that piece for any given model of BB then I can buy the cheapest incarnation of that BB I can find and it'll work, no?

AFAIK yes to both. I know the Hope BBs come with a couple of spacer washers for adjustment between BB shell and the bearing casings but apart from that road, MTB and fat bike HTII type bottom brackets are all the same*.

*Apart from the newer smaller shell on some Shimano BBs that require a different tool or an adaptor to fit them. The interfaces to the frame and crank spindle are the same though.

Yes, for fatbikes, I bought the original B.B. for a fat bike width and then bought the basic (narrower) ones after and used the existing plastic insert from the original (if that makes sense?!).

Not sure if they’ll swap between brands

Nice one, thanks for the clarification.

The BB on my fatty has finally died (lasted over two years!).

Raceface but should be the same as for Shimano or Hope.

Yeah just to double confirm it, I have a Saint BB on my fat bike running with RF Aeffect cranks (and previously Middleburns until they self destructed in the middle of nowhere). I made my own plastic sleeve from a Berocca tube which seems to work okay (obviously Shimano don't make a fat bike specific BB).

If it's a raceface gairy can't you just change the bearing. I've done it a few times ,they are 7mm deep instead of 6mm like shimano and are a standard size.

Hux - what do you use for removing the plastic "top hat"?

Colin use a thin sharp knife under the edge to start if off then be gentle and go round it to ease it out. They are quite brittle so be careful.spares used to be available. Tap the bearing out from behind, cheap replacements repacked with a decent grease last ages.

I know how brittle they are

Spares 99p from CRC

HUX wrote:Spares 99p from CRC

You got a link as the only ones I can see are £6.49?

And good idea, I didn't think of that.

Aaaah, I thought you meant it was a quid for the bearings, thought it was cheap

Anyone know where I can get decent bearings from?

gairym wrote:Anyone know where I can get decent bearings from?

https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/Beari ... index.html
Enduro bearings - cheap and nasty but OK if you pop one of the seals and pump full of grease.

Sorry to jump in with anothe BB question

Are the crank spindles all the same diameter
from memory I think the older HT2 ones are 24mm but is this the same for the newer ones also
I was pondering buying a newer shimano BB but couldn’t find any info on spindle size

Anyone know?

Mart wrote:Sorry to jump in with anothe BB question

Are the crank spindles all the same diameter
from memory I think the older HT2 ones are 24mm but is this the same for the newer ones also
I was pondering buying a newer shimano BB but couldn’t find any info on spindle size

Anyone know?

You either get 24 or 30. Shimano have stuck with 24 so you should be fine

Thanks mate