seized bb in a steel frame

I'll state the obvious and say grease is for bearings, anti seize is for threads.

Let that bb cup soak for a while before attempting the threads.

All of this failing, press out the bearing and cut the cup out of the frame

The vice trick always works. Scary procedure though…I always triple quadruple check I'm turning the correct way.

And PFBB92 FTW. PFBB30 for MTB is just weird.

All BBs have creaking issues. PF is not the pinnacle of BB design, but neither was BSA.

Do what I do in these sorts of situations. Give up and take it to the lbs.
:pizza:

I'll state the obvious and say grease is for bearings, anti seize is for threads.

Let that bb cup soak for a while before attempting the threads.

All of this failing, press out the bearing and cut the cup out of the frame

second this. I never had a problem, ever. Steel frames, alu, TI… Good antiseize plus yearly maintenance and a good BB (Hope :thepimp:) and you are virtually guaranteed 0 issues.

I don't think it matters too much if you do the vice trick or not, but if you have the bike in the stand, you are losing a lot of energy in flexing for sure. To be honest I sometimes just pound the crap out of the BB tool with a metal hammer as the shock helps release the BB (possibly - it tends to work which is what matters! Just don't miss the tool…..).

convert it to a single speed and you will be changing BB's so often they wont have time to seize.

Clamp the BB cup in a vise and unscrew the frame from the BB cup. Ultimate cheat bar! :)

We have a winner!

convert it to a single speed and you will be changing BB's so often they wont have time to seize.

Best advice here!

Do the vice trick and then convert to SS.

penetrating oil +

you know, i was in the traditionalist 'threads r better' camp until i recently picked up a frame with pf; it's actually pretty slick. quickly pop in [HTML_REMOVED] out without special tools, and are super light (the cheap plastic shimano one i have, anyways). no more thread issues! solid [HTML_REMOVED] creak free so far; my tune might be different if this wasn't the case, but currently i'm totally on board.

Yep. Threading BB's seems as dumb as threading headset cups to me these days.

It's not the 'technology' behind press fit BBs that's the problem, it's companies cheaping out with shitty tolerances. Especially with BB30. Narrow bearings pressed into often poorly spec'ed shells is just asking for trouble. But hey, $5 was saved in the production process which is of course passed on to the customer LOL etc….

so i was pulling my chromag surface apart today to give it some tlc and i ran into a headscratcher

i'm going to pull the rest of the bike apart and get some liquid wrench in there. but the bb was out less than six months ago, can't really think of a reason it's stuck (yes, i'm turning it the right way)…

anyone heard of a seize external bb before - or any other helpful thoughts?

Those RF BBs had notoriously poorly and roughly cut threads. I had two that went in well but bound up when coming out because the aluminum would chunk off the threads under use and during removal. Luckily you have a steel frame because this can permanently bugger the threads of an aluminum frame.

A great tool to remove this type of mess is a small electric impact gun with a socket type BB tool:

https://www.boschtools.com/ca/en/boschtools-ocs/impact-wrenches-iwh181-01-27406-p/

http://www.parktool.com/product/bottom-bracket-tool-bbt-69?category=Crank%20[HTML_REMOVED]%20Bottom%20Bracket

Hit it with 24 hours of penetrating oil first though. If the fit of the BB tool is a bit loose you can put a paper towel between the BB and tool (good trick for keeping nice anodized BBs looking new too).

The vice trick works nicely too but can make removal tough on really stubborn jobs because you have to clamp the BB really tight which may deform the threads inside the frame.

^man, an impact gun will change your life. can also easily pop off cassettes without using a chainwhip. and spin off half a dozen rotor bolts in seconds. etc. love mine.

I used to have a problem with creaking BBs, now I use teflon tape as well as anti-seize. Doesn't do much good now, but a wrap or two might save this from happening in the future.