I have a square taper bottom bracket brand new and I can’t get it threaded in smoothly by hand. It is a bsa shell and it seems like on every video people are able to just get it all the way in smoothly by hand. I have plenty of grease. Is there any thing you guys can think of besides driving an hour to the bike shop? I am scared to use a wrench because I don’t want to bork the bb shell threads.
by gobullz
8 Comments
Yeah, that’s gonna be a problem.
Can you get the other side in? It can help to install the non-drive side cup to help align the drive side if you are struggling to pick up the thread. Often they will not be buttery smooth and require tools to get run in all the way. To be honest, I can’t tell if it’s straight and if you aren’t sure you picked the thread right it’s probably worth the drive so you don’t inadvertently cross thread it and end up with a bigger headache.
They should thread in pretty easily. I’d start out by cleaning the threads both on the BB and the shell and trying again to see if they’re just gunked up. Does the BB have any thread locker pre applied to it? That can make it a bit tight sometimes. If it’s still having issues I’d say just do the drive and see if the threads need to be chased and confirm it’s the proper BB
If you have a wire brush, clean the threads thoroughly and try again. If cleaning and greasing doesn’t do the trick, you might have to have the lbs chase the threads.
I recently installed one where it just needed to be cranked in to fit. It wasn’t damaging threads but was a very snug fit. When in doubt go to a shop!
Are you certain that is the correct side? All BB’s have one reverse threaded side to account for pedal forces not unscrewing them while riding.
Did you have a bb in there before or is this a new frame?
New frames sometimes need the threads chased. I can tell from the photo it wasn’t faced so maybe not chased. Square taper doesn’t require facing, to be clear.
Are you turning counter clockwise? Drive side is reverse threaded.
Thanks for the help everyone i actually finally got it just after unthreading and redoing it over and over again. I think it was just very difficult to line the threads up properly. Appreciate all the comments though, love this community!