Canyon Grizl CF SL 6 Creak (Bottom Bracket Self-Install Experience)

https://preview.redd.it/yrzz6hnkrn7e1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8f6d32bc27321d4dc23196fd48da0a8265c20844

I've had my Grizl CF SL 6 for about two years now (daily 45 minute rides mainly for fitness), and started noticing occasional creaks from the bottom of the frame. I checked the usual culprits but could never figure it out. Over the past month, the creaks got noticeably worse, and I could now feel more friction/grinding with the cranks. When I inspected them, I saw a warped spacer/washer, and once I removed the left crank arm, all of the ball bearings poured out including the outer bearing ring.

I have zero experience with bike repair other than standard maintenance (tires replacements, etc), but I wanted to give the ol' DIY a shot. Fortunately, I had bookmarked my Grizl's webpage (linked above) so I was able to easily find the specs of my bottom bracket:

• Bottom bracket
  • Token Ninja Lite BB4124
  • Bottom bracket standard: PF 86,5
  • Weight: 85 g

What I didn't realize were the rather idiosyncratic tools required to remove/install the bottom bracket.

• 16 core 44 mm bicycle bottom bracket tool (I cheaped out on this one and it worked fine). If I planned on doing this more times across more bikes, I would've upgraded.
• Crank / cap removal tool (This one worked great)
• Grease (I'm loyal to Muc-Off, but honestly had no idea grease was required in 5-6 different areas)

Despite the history of creaks and crapping out after 2 years, ended up buying the same Token Ninja Lite bottom bracket just to keep things simple. I'm a novice mechanic at best, so I didn't want more unknowns than I could already handle.

Overall, the removal and installation was pretty dead simple, with a few caveats:

• The old Token bottom bracket's bearing ring was immovably stuck on my crank spindle. I first tried pulling it off with a wrench, to no avail. Then to a bike shop where a bearing puller also failed to remove it. So they ended up having to carefully saw the ring until it finally released itself. This whole process was infuriating and again, I'm kind of insane for buying the exact same bottom bracket.
• I can't say enough about how legendary the Park Tool Youtube videos are. This video was insanely helpful.
• This video was also very helpful to calibrate the torque required for installation, which is WAY lower than you'd think.

The research behind this process took 10x longer than the actual installation, but I'm glad I went through with it. Hopefully this post helps future n00b DIYers. I was pretty proud of myself after getting back on my Grizl today and having a smooth ride.