# Wheels Manufacturing BB30/PF30 eccentric



## frank daleview (Jan 23, 2004)

I just got my hands on one of the Wheels Manufacturing Eccentric bottom bracket conversions for my wife's Specialized Carbon Stump Jumper. It is very similar in design to the Niner Biocentric 2. They say it is safe for most carbon frames and after inspecting the BB of the Stump Jumper I think it will work without a problem. The BB shell is one solid carbon tube. Here are some pre-install pics.


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## DualRollers (Apr 24, 2014)

Mine will be here the middle of this week. Converting my new Fatboy... Ive read good things about them so hopefully it delivers!


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## frank daleview (Jan 23, 2004)

The machining is beautiful and it fits pretty snuggly in the specialized shell.


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## DualRollers (Apr 24, 2014)

Im not a huge fan of the red, it's going to clash terribly with my orange frame. They seem very quality and I'm always happy to buy stuff that's made in the US.


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## GraemeTee (Jan 24, 2013)

I've been using one on My Niner Air9 for a while now and it's working well. 
The only downside is that the bearings don't seem the greatest quality. Mine are noisy and feeing pretty rough after a couple of months' use in the winter here in the UK. Other than that it's had no problems with creaking or slipping at all. 


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## frank daleview (Jan 23, 2004)

I'm assuming you got the angular contact bearings and are using the supplied shields? Enduro bearings are regarded as some of the highest quality bearings available.


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## frank daleview (Jan 23, 2004)

Here are some pics of the install. I'm going to use a Shimano XT crank. I fill the unused chainring threads with paraffin.



























The BB shell is a solid carbon tube, so I feel pretty good about it withstanding the forces applied. The non drive has no detectable play within the shell prior to tightening. The non drive has a very very slight bit of play. I can't even fit a single layer of teflon tape in it. I presume it will not be an issue. I applied a very thin layer of Phill wood grease. This is one place I'm not a fan of carbo-grip etc. as it can basically serve as grinding paste.

I tightened the bolts down to 8nm without any drama. The bearings fit the XT crank spindle very snugly.


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## frank daleview (Jan 23, 2004)

Finished converting the wife's SJ carbon to SS. Final drive ratio is 30/18=1.67 for a 48.34 gear/inch ratio. Tightened it down to 7nm with a torque wrench without any issues. I also finally repaired her avid brakes by switching out the calipers to SLX, silent as can be, even with the Avid rotors. The enduro angular contact bearings are SUPER smooth. I can't see myself using anything else from here on out.





















So basically, if you have BB30 or PF30 frame, I think this is a very viable option to go single speed with relative ease.:thumbsup:


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## saki (Oct 19, 2008)

looks great. can you adjust tension easy or is it a pain. write a review after some miles tia


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## frank daleview (Jan 23, 2004)

About as easy to adjust as the niner biocentric 2. The trails here in MN are still thawing out so it will be a a month or so before she can deliver an opinion.


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## frank daleview (Jan 23, 2004)

Update: So far about 50-60 miles on the setup and there has been no slippage and it is silent. Bearings are great. I'f you're thinking about it, go for it!


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## KgB (Jan 13, 2004)

I finally installed mine last week in carbon Devinci Frame, heard some crackling and only tightened mine to 5nm. Three rides and all seems well, lots of room for adjustment and it's actually kind of nice to be able to tweak geometry a bit in the process(BTW, my BB shell looks nothing like the one above, it looked very frail in fact)


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## Ben_Im (Mar 3, 2012)

I wanted to contribute to this thread because of a problem I had with the sram gxp version of the wheels manufacturing EBB.

I'll start off by saying that I'm now running a shimano crankset with the Wheels Manufacturing EBB and I could not be happier. The EBB itself fits like a glove, is easy to adjust, and has been flawless in almost every aspect. - Kudos! 

Now, moving onto my problem with this EBB when used with the sram gxp crankset...

If you have a sram gxp crankset and are in the market for an EBB, I highly suggest that you do NOT buy the Wheels Manufacturing EBB Here's why. The inner diameter of the bearing on the non driveside of this EBB does not fully accommodate the entire length of the spindle. If you look very closely at your sram GXP spindle, you'll see that it tapers at the very end, and is ever so slightly thicker in diameter along the majority of the spindle. So while the tapered end fits like a glove, the widest part of the spindle does not fully insert through the bearing. So what ends up happening is that you have a crankset + spindle that is about 95% inserted through the EBB and does not go any further. 

There's about a 5mm gap between the inside of the chain ring + spider (or entire chain ring if you have a direct mount like I do) and the drive side of the EBB. I've called Wheels Manufacturing about this problem, and they were incredibly helpful - their customer service was top notch, which is why I ended up buying their shimano mode - that's beside the point. 

The solution they've come up with for this problem is far from ideal. The sram gxp model of the EBB comes with outboard spacers that are supposed to go between the EBB and the frame itself on the non driveside - I was confused when I saw these spacers as the installation instructions on their website for the SRAM model does not include these spacers in their installation diagram. These outboard spacers go between the non drive side of the EBB and the frame. That way, the 3-5mm gap on the drive side is thereby offset by moving the non drive side further away from the frame - make sense? Keep in mind I have a 73mm bottom bracket shell. 

My big issue with this: nowhere in the installation instructions does it show the use of an outboard spacer, which not only reduces the amount of contact between the EBB and the frame, but also looks plain janky and seems like a complete after thought. I expressed some concern that this decreased contact between the EBB and the frame may cause slippage since other EBBs that have ful contact with the frame occasionally slip after some miles - and I was told that I could use a spray like carbo grip to prevent slipping if it were to occur. Talk about a band aid to fix a band aid. I would not have ordered it if I knew this would be the case. I ended up returning this EBB and going back to my BEER components EBB which works marvelously with the sram gxp system.

So far my conclusion on this EBB is that if you have a SRAM GXP crankset, you're better off going with a different EBB that does not require the use of outboard spacers to fix what seems to be a design flaw. I think Wheels Manufacturing should also make it very clear in their instructions that you may need to install outboard spacers for your gxp crankset because I know it would make a lot of people rethink purchasing this EBB.

And Wheels Manufacturing, if you're reading this post, I love you guys, your service rules and I love almost everything that you make, but the sram model of the EBB has got to go back to the drawing board.


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## Ciclistagonzo (Dec 10, 2001)

Except that SRAM GXP is supposed to have that 5mm of spacing on the driveside as the bearings are not sideloaded like Shimano's. That taper you speak of on the non-driveside is a dead stop that keeps the spindle from sliding sideways. It's also why you can torque down the non driveside crankarm bolt to 40in/lbs. This traps the spindle against the non-driveside bearing and lets the driveside bearing and spindle float without any sideloads.


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## DualRollers (Apr 24, 2014)

As stated above, I believe the GXP is supposed to have that gap. I agree that its a bit annoying, I hated seeing that gap in there. I just put an extra spacer or 2 to appease my brain and stop any gunk from making its way in there. 

Quite honestly, I am using my Wheels EBB in a way that they recommend NOT doing (running it on a 100mm bb fat bike) and its performed flawlessly. I can only imagine how great these things work on a bike with the proper bb shell width.


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## ScaryJerry (Jan 12, 2004)

Sounds like a pretty standard GXP installation case to me.


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## Ben_Im (Mar 3, 2012)

Guys, I'm very familiar with how to install a sram gxp crankset - it's not my first time. I know that the drive side bearings are angular contact and do not require preloading, but 5mm of gap is huge - almost a quarter inch. Even with every spacer and wave washer provided placed on the drive side installed there was so much gap that the bearing dust seal would not stay in place and cover the bearing.

Anyway, I know it's hard to imagine such a huge fault in their design, and it's easier to blame on user (or in this case installer error), but I just hope this helps someone out. 

Unless you've actually been in my position and tried installing one of these on a 73mm shell with a sram gxp crankset, don't bother arguing. I'm just stating my experience with this product and what I was told over the phone by Wheels Manufacturing. No EBB should require the need for outboard spacers - it severely limits the amount of contact between the frame and the EBB.

Keep on keepin' on!


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## Ciclistagonzo (Dec 10, 2001)

Ben_Im said:


> Anyway, I know it's hard to imagine such a huge fault in their design, and it's easier to blame on user (or in this case installer error), but I just hope this helps someone out.
> 
> Unless you've actually been in my position and tried installing one of these on a 73mm shell with a sram gxp crankset, don't bother arguing. I'm just stating my experience with this product and what I was told over the phone by Wheels Manufacturing. No EBB should require the need for outboard spacers - it severely limits the amount of contact between the frame and the EBB.
> 
> Keep on keepin' on!


LOL! We can argue all we want, that's what the interwebs are FOR!! (Sarcasm). The fact that the dust shield is not staying in place makes it sound like the wave washer isn't making contact with the shield to hold it in place, were the the smaller spacers "Crank spacers" as they call them in step 6 used to take up the any play?


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## Stevob (Feb 27, 2009)

I had the drive side dust shield creep out on my GXP fitted fat bike. There was about 5mm gap. I removed the crank and slid a couple of O rings onto the spindle. Problem solvered.


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## hardmtnbiker (Feb 22, 2005)

Has anyone used these EBB with RF BSA Cinch cranks?


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## joshhan (Apr 1, 2011)

KgB said:


> I finally installed mine last week in carbon Devinci Frame, heard some crackling and only tightened mine to 5nm. Three rides and all seems well, lots of room for adjustment and it's actually kind of nice to be able to tweak geometry a bit in the process(BTW, my BB shell looks nothing like the one above, it looked very frail in fact)
> View attachment 987050


Sorry, don't mean to revive an old thread but I'd avoid that setup based on their instruction sheet.


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## KgB (Jan 13, 2004)

I wonder why, it's been fine

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## joshhan (Apr 1, 2011)

http://wheelsmfg.com/tech/PDF/BB30-EBB-SHIMANO-AC-INSTRUCTIONS.pdf

"Warning: Do not install bottom bracket with the two bolts positioned
above the bearing. Some carbon frames do not have proper internal
support for the bolts to properly tighten to spec. As a result, the cups
will not stay tight in the frame, and at worst, your frame may crack."

Maybe that's why you could only tighten to 5nm. Might be worth double checking.


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## CoryBike (Jan 20, 2008)

Aren't all the Cinch crank spindles 30mm? These are for 24 and 24/22 only.









And to add to the general conversation, this product rocks! I have about 3500 of miles of use on an S-Works Stumpy HT with zero noise, slippage, or other issues. I recently changed to a Norco Revolver HT and have 600 miles and counting on that. The Norco doesn't have the continuous tube through the frame like in the OP, but it does have a rib at the bottom that seems to brace the 2 sides. I am guessing that is somewhat standard and is no doubt why they say to orient the bolts at the bottom.


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