Hi everyone, Any advice on how I can avoid messing up the bottom bracket of my hybrid bike? I think I messed it up by laying it on the floor of my van for too long-I forgot to take it out one night! Anyway, I'm going to the dealer to get it fixed but I was hoping someone here could give me some advice too. That clicking is annoying and plus I don't want the ball bearings to wear down. I'm going to get a bike rack now. Any advice is appreciated. -George
i've never heard of a bottom bracket breaking after being laid inside of a van unless something really heavy fell on it. looking at the possible causes- you may just have a very cheap bottom bracket on your bike from the get-go. I damaged one by doing too many jumps on my mountain bike about 10 years ago. I replaced it with a quality BB and it has been good since. have you crashed the bike? this may have been the culprit. todays bottom brackets are sealed, so its an easy tradeout when you need a new one. back in the day, it was a cumbersome pain to overhaul. If you are paying more than $75 for parts and labor, go see someone else.
I had the same BB problem once. I had a broken bearing holder. Replaced the bearings and noise was gone. This was on an old English cruiser converted to fixed gear.
As to messing up your BB by laying it on its side, I've never heard of that. I used to carry my bike in the back of my truck and leave it there for several days on its side, and never had that problem with the BB messing up. Sounds like you may have had a faulty BB or just a cheap one. If you are having it fixed now, you shouldn't have any more trouble with it. Happy riding.
