Cervelo Owners: BB question

[IJWS]

Hello everyone,

I am picking up a NOS 2013 Cervelo R3 this weekend and I'm pretty excited. I am a little concerned about the BBRight bottom bracket standard that Cervelo was using back then as nobody has said anything nice about it. I am a bigger guy and I'm not into the prospect of creaky bottom brackets even though I'm pretty easy on my gear.

Anyway, some quick interneting has lead me to believe that I can

1. Locktite the Snot out of a BBRight bb.
2. Order a $150 BBInfinite bb (comes with locktite imagine that!)
3. Order a $50-100 Wheels MFG bb which may or may not be as effective as the BBInfinite.

Does anyone out there have any experience with the BBRight, BBInfinite, or the Wheels MFG?

Or, even better, can anyone suggest a better fix?

Thank you and much appreciated!!

:hello:

[Uncle Jam's Army]

BBInfinite has worked outstanding for me on my S3.

[stien]

My wife has 6k miles this year on her wheels mfg bbright in her new R3. No issues and no loctite.

[thunderworks]

I had an R5 for three years and installed a BBinfinite BB in it. It was easy to install and worked flawlessly.

A friend of mine installed a Wheels BB in his Moots pressfit bb and we could never get it to quit creaking. Hated it. Recently replaced it with a Chris King bb and so far, so good.

Based on my experience, I'd recommend the BBinfinite unit.

[Mark McM]

I've got two Cervelos with BBright BB shells (they are still using BBright). My experience might bit a little different, because both my Cervelos have Campagnolo Ultra-Torque BBs/Cranks. In any case, I followed the Cervelo instructions to install the Ultra-Torque press-fit BB cups with Loctite 641 retaining compound. Applying the Loctite during assembly was barely any addition effort. They have been silent and creak free for several years now.

[dddd]

I installed the Wheels Mfg adaptor kit to a Cervelo R5 a couple of months back, and ended up using no extra spacers to mount a 9100 crankset, other than one shim to keep the left arm from making contact with the frame.

The chainline checked out perfect, dead-centered, but the left arm did then sit 4mm further out from the rear tire than the right arm, which I attribute mainly to the 9100 crankset having extra width incorporated for use with 135mm (disc-brake) frames.
The BB-right offset seems to have determined that the current build's crankset positioning favors the chainline at some slight expense to crankarm symmetry, but I suspect that an older model of crankset might have been more nearly symmetrical on this frame from the get-go.
I note that Campagnolo now offers disc-specific cranksets and even rear derailers(!) to give a more-perfect fit and function on bikes with both rear dropout spacing standards, but it appears to me that Shimano perhaps now somewhat favors the disc-equipped bikes with their one-size-fits-all 9100 crankset.
It may also be that Shimano favors a slightly (2mm) offset chainline (WRT the cassette centerline) on their current (more widely-spaced) chainring setup, and yet on another recent (Argon18 with 9100) build I had to add a 2.5mm spacer under the threaded driveside bb cup to allow the front derailer to reliably pull the chain to the small chainring. The touted asymmetry of the Cervelo BB-Right bb shell must then be only on the order of 2mm or so, as evidenced by my experience with this R5 build.

I had no difficulty with installation, used SRAM "Jonnisnot" (GripShift) lube to all mating surfaces, and noted no creaking during an extended test ride. The owner has had no problems as of yet, but weighs only 160lbs or so.

I still have the leftover 172.5mm ROTOR 3D crankset in brand new condition and with BB-Right-spaced 52-36t spider/ring assembly, if anyone needs it and wants to make an offer. It's all-black and the No-Q chainrings are round.

[IJWS]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. It seems like I would have good luck carefully installing the Wheels MFG bb and it seems like I wouldn't need luck installing the BBInfinite. I am on the fence. I might try the abec 3 Wheels Mfg for $60 and see if there are any issues. The BBInifinite seems like a rock-solid option, but it is a little pricey.

Thanks again!

Also, dddd, too bad I need a 175 (6'3) otherwise I would snatch that Rotor crankset just for the period correct-ness value :)

[Kontact]

I was the service manager at a Cervelo dealer. BB squeak was not really an issue. Install the cups with 641 or 609 if you are concerned.

Warranty the frame if nothing works. Spending $150 on a PF30 replacement is poor economics.

[tbike4]

Congrats on picking up the R3. I too have the 2013 model. 6 months now and I love it. I took mine to the Cervelo dealer, told them I was using a Shimano crank. They installed a FSA BBright BB. It was like $40 for the part plus labor. Not a single sound out of it so far.

I know, not much help for you as far as specific info but there is a relatively inexpensive way to go. I guess the shop knows what they are doing.

[IJWS]

tbike4,

Was Incycle your local shop? Anyway, I think I will happily pay a shop to install the BB if they are going to do it carefully. I Just ordered the Wheels Mfg bb.We will see how that goes.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback!

[soulspinner]

I've got two Cervelos with BBright BB shells (they are still using BBright). My experience might bit a little different, because both my Cervelos have Campagnolo Ultra-Torque BBs/Cranks. In any case, I followed the Cervelo instructions to install the Ultra-Torque press-fit BB cups with Loctite 641 retaining compound. Applying the Loctite during assembly was barely any addition effort. They have been silent and creak free for several years now.

experience with Campy bb in mine as well.

[Zhf04001]

I've had good experience with loctite and the wheels manufacturing press fit bb on my 2015 Cervelo s2. Fixed the creak for several thousand miles now. A significant upgrade over the original Cervelo/FSA plastic sleeve and bearings. At the time, the thread together Wheels Mfg option was not available.

Subsequently, I've installed the thread together wheels BB in my 2016 Giant TCR. I installed it myself and it was super simple and definitely an upgrade. Very well made piece. Note - The old dura ace BB86 derlin cups were certainly shot, but i didn't have any major complaints with them. Again, a few thousand miles of creak free riding with the Wheels BB in the TCR.

I would suggest the bbright Wheels Mfg thread together BB (link for shimano crankset). No affiliations, just personal experience.

http://wheelsmfg.com/bottom-brackets/bbright/bbright-out-bottom-brackets/bbrighttm-outboard-abec-3-bb-for-24mm-shimano-cranks-black.html

Best,
Z

[nobuseri]

I would suggest the bbright Wheels Mfg thread together BB (link for shimano crankset). No affiliations, just personal experience.

http://wheelsmfg.com/bottom-brackets/bbright/bbright-out-bottom-brackets/bbrighttm-outboard-abec-3-bb-for-24mm-shimano-cranks-black.html

Best,
Z

+1

I have a couple Cervelo bikes (R3, R5). Those, and any of my other PF30 setups, the Wheels Mfg threaded setup works very well.

[weisan]

I hate having all these different standards.

This frameset came in yesterday and the only thing stopping me from riding it now is missing the bb adapter for my 24mm spindle crankset, I hate that!

[IJWS]

Just to follow up, I went for the Wheels MFG Abec 3 bb. Had it installed at Incycle in Pasadena two years ago and have had no BB issues. Just don't ask me about the cracked rear dropout...