Well are they? And (more importantly) will they outlast the big S. Real experience only please...not anti-shimano/RF rants!

Yes, RF and Shimano are interchangeable. Truvativ and Bontrager use a slightly different axel diameter, so they are interchangeable with each other, but not with Shimano or RF.

Personally, based on previous ISIS RF bottom brackets, I doubt they'd be better than Shimano. But then I seem to be the only person not to have problems with Shimano.

Yes. Ive had HTII fitted since May last year and have just found a load of play and graunching in the BB. Mind you I did ride Mountain Mayhem and have ridden through the winter. I just think that 10 months is not a reasonable amount of time for a premium product to last. Do they not realise we sometimes take these bikes offroad?

If they weren't so obssesed trying to keep the weights to a Min, to not scare away sales from Weight Wennies, the odds are they'd last alot longer.

Been getting 10months of hard use, from FSA Platinium Pro's the None Pro's seem stronger, but less sealing, I've been packing the BB enterance out with Grease, to try to improve sealing, so far so good :)

I think 10 months is a satisfactory amount of time for a bottom bracket to last, they're not all that expensive anyway, £20 per cup for XTR is hardly extortion IMO.

No...but £35 (at CRC prices!) is getting a bit steep!

stock up, on spares when your feeling rich, cause these things always fail when your skint, which is most of the time.

Sorry Dylan, but what is it with you and gratuitious use of commas, you always seem to put them in completely useless and random places?!

As it's generally the LH cup that goes, why not buy XTR ones individually, rather than having to buy a pair of XT ones? They're identical, just black and a tiny bit lighter.

92 XT - still going strong
99 Octalink XTR on D-Ace BB - 2 seasons
04 XT - 10 months if above is representative.

There's progress

My HT2 XTs lasted about nine months or so, including Mountain Mayhem, a fair bit of Peak riding and a couple of trips to southern Spain, I fitted the Raceface bearings as replacements a month or so back and so far they're fine. The Peak grit bypassed the stock XT seals eventually. It's still too early for me to say whether the X-Type bearings are better.

I gather from references on the mtbr.com forum that Phil Wood makes a replacement which may turn out to be a better option, though whether they exist and are available in the UK is another matter. I know Sideways stocks some Phil Wood stuff, so I'll drop them an e-mail.

Moonglu in Ripon apparently will replace the bearings in your Shimano housings for about a tenner less than the cost of new, so that might be another option.

Living and riding in the Peak, I'm a bit cynical about longevity. Nothing really lasts here, anything which rotates eventually flexes the seals and the grit gets in and kills it dead. The non-driveside bearing went first btw, totally seized solid...

Thanks chaps. Juan, I'm approx 250 miles from Ripon so it may cost more in fuel than the saving ;-)

Looks like the Raceface set will be worth a go. Will try to remember to post a review.

They do it by post. If you google 'Moonglu' or do a search on the (ahem, it's not working right now) STW forum, it should come up.

Cheers Juan...will give it a try.