Does anyone else go through press fit bottom brackets really fast? I’m talking 6-9 months before the they need to be repacked or replaced?
I have a weird theory that because I’m a heavy sweater, and the shape of most bottom bracket areas with flush press fit BBs channels the sweat almost directly into the area where the bottom bracket bearings sit.
When I have threaded bottom brackets, because the cups are a little bit outside of the BB and there are threads, the sweat instead runs along the side of the cups.
I ride my MTB in all sorts of terrible conditions, rarely wash it, and the cranks spin super freely, whereas it feels like my road bike bearings go bad super quickly.
Sure could be an issue. We know how corrosive sweat can be, so getting it right on the bearings and seals may lead to penetration and early death of the bearings inside.
Could be worth a bit of hack work to make a sweat diverter that acts as a dam to prevent the sweat from rolling over the side of the BB. Something as simple as a bead of silicone around the Outside Diameter of the widest part of the BB/Frame, could direct the sweat around the BB, roll to the underside and drop from there.
Might be tough to make given the space on your example, but could be worth a try.
I just had a problem with my rotor PF30 BB, one bearing has become rough after less then 5.000km. After some research I pressed in two NTN 6806 LLU bearings yesterday. These have a little more resistance, but are fully sealed. This was important to me, I drive it in the rain and snow.
