new bb feels "stiff" & noisy

[VeloVT]

Hello,
I had to have the bottom bracket on my road bike replaced. I just got it back from the shop, and took it for its first ride yesterday. I notice that the cranks now feel stiff, both riding and hand-pedalling, the drivetrain is generally noisier, and when I hand-pedal I feel, not grinding exactly (it doesn't feel dry, like metal scraping on metal), but I would say not smooth, it's as though I can feel the bearings movements more than I should be able to.

I called my LBS (haven't brought the bike in yet), and got a bit of a line about how a better quality bb will feel more solid...

Any ideas??? Is this usual with new bb's?

[DebW]

Sounds like it's not right. Is this a cartridge bottom bracket or loose balls and cup bottom bracket? If it's a traditional balls and cup bb, then it could be that your LBS overtightened it. You shouldn't feel the ball bearings and it should feel smooth and rotate very freely. If it's a cartridge then maybe you got a bad one. Definitely take it back to the LBS. If this is a cartridge, have them remove both crank arms and then feel the spindle by hand and compare it to other new cartridge they have in stock. There's nothing to adjust - if it's bad they should replace it. If it's balls and cups, insist that they adjust it and let you feel it before they put the crank arms back on (usually they'll have the left arm off, right arm on while adjusting). After the crank arms are back on, check for play.