So tell me about bottom brackets...
This forum is so great...
So back in the fall/early winter (last time I put significant miles on my road bike) I was beginning to notice that there was some play in the cranks. Mostly I'd notice when clipping in (especially when I was getting off to a "running start") or when sprinting -- and it was subtle, at first I wondered if it was actually an issue with the pedal bearings -- basically, when apply significant torque, there would be a little um, catch or slide -- probably just millimeters, but there...
So I took my bike in for miscellaneous things last week and asked them to look at this problem. This afternoon I went down to the bike shop and talked with the mechanic who checked out my bike -- and he told me that my bottom bracket is going. To put this in context -- I have 400 miles on the bike. Ridden in the rain once or twice, but it lives in my apartment and I've never **left it** outside when I have ridden in the rain. I wouldn't say I've ridden it in especially sandy or grimy conditions either. I asked him what the average lifespan of a bb was, and he wouldn't commit ("there are so many factors, what kind of riding you do, what kind of conditions you ride in").
On the one hand, it's not a huge expenditure, but on the other hand, it seems like I should get more than 400 miles out of such a basic, integral part of the bike. Can anyone with more experience give me an idea of what I should expect out of a bottom bracket, and also what I might have done to wear one out so quickly? (I'm not super small, but not big either -- 5'6" and 120).
BTW, the mechanic said, "the movement is so slight, I'm really surprised you could notice it at all. If it were my bike or my wife's bike, I'd ride it for a while longer -- you've probably got another couple of hundred miles in it. I've ridden bikes much farther gone than this." Any opinions on this -- on the one hand, it's tempting, but on the other hand, I feel like shortly it will come to really bother me -- there just shouldn't be play in the cranks, you know, it feels really wrong, even though it is subtle right now. I like to push myself sometimes when I ride, and if my bike is off, I worry I"ll find it frustrating... Also, he said that as it got worse, the shifting would start to feel funny -- making me wonder, if I do let it go a little while, do I risk untimely wear on other components?
And one last thing... mechanic told me that the bottom bracket that came stock on my bike (Felt F50) was low end and I could probably get more life out of a better one. This sounds fair -- any tips on what I should avoid and what I should look for when I do replace it (whether now or later)?
Any advice from the more mechanically experienced is appreciated!
