After weeks of relatively trouble free riding I hopped on my bike last night to be greeted by a terrible creaking from the BB area! On closer inspection I found that there is the beginnings of play in my cranks and the BB (even without the chain on it) is running less than smoothly with a slight knocking/clicking. I have had bb trouble before but I finally think the BB is starting to give up!

Its a Truvativ Team Ti isis one so its pretty expensive to replace. What are my options? I take it the BB isn't rebuildable?
I could buy a new isis BB (are they different brands compatable)?, who makes the most sturdy or reliable?

Or if this problem is going to continually occur, as I read a lot about isis BB failures, do I bite the bullet and go down the XT integrated ro or the seemingly more reliable Raceface Atlas route?

From experience I hate the isis BB's, I had a truvative that went very quickly, wanted to replace whole crankset but couldn't really afford to so just bought a cheapish (£30) FSA platinum isis BB, haven't had this long though so can't really coment on it's reliability

Mines lasted since April and only went after riding on Friday. I think I want to replace the whole chainset but it is expensive. The Truvativ chainset I have is ok so I could use the rings from it and buy just the Raceface Atlas arms and bb. Is the XT hollowtech crankset worth going for as it is slightly cheaper?

If your chainset's worn, (dunno yer din't say)then its cheaper to order a LX Hollowtech 2 for £69.95 from chainreaction. If you add together the cost of a chainset and BB. it'll cost a lot more. So will buying a new BB. every few weeks.
The hollowtech bearing cups are cheaper than a BB. anyway and you can replace with Raceface for the same price.

My chainset is good at the minute, if I was going for a shimano chainset I reckon I'd go for the XT which is not much more than a LX one at the moment.
I know you can buy the Raceface crank arms seperately so it would save a bit of cash, and the bearings seem to last longer (apparently).

I have a set of RaceFace X-type and they are awesome, no problems, easy to set up and super simple to remove cranks etc.

People give ISIS a hard time but truth is it is no different to bottom brackets through the ages. Buy a cheap one and you'll be buying another one. You can mix n match ISIS no problem. Your Truvativ may be able to have new bearings fitted if you send it back via your local store. Otherwise buy a new ISIS, I could recommend a RaceFace Signature, they are sweet and bearings can be replaced if needs be.

Likely that if you aren't getting out on your bike as regularly as you like then your bearings will start to corrode etc.

We all have BB trouble but unless you have got a huge wad of cash I would stick with the ISIS and sack off the idea of switching to Shimano, once you go down that route it will be total integration all the way to the Shimano bank...

I was thinking of getting the Raceface X type as all I have heard about them has been positive.
I don't want to be replacing BBs every few months so I don't mind getting a new crank set and BB with larger bearing to withstand the beatings my bike gets! I want something reliable on my bike, not something I'll be second guessing everytime my wheels leave the ground!

Steve. Can't say I entirely agree with your point

More expensive ISIS BBs do last longer than cheaper ones in general agreed but none, not even the top of the range ones, last anywhere near as long as XT square taper BBs. The design is basically crap IMO and I would reccomend that people avoid buying chainsets that require ISIS BBs

If your bike is within the warranty period you could do worse than ask for a price to change the whole set.

I asked after they had replaced my second bb in 6 months and they fitted me a LX crankset for £50 extra which i was happy with. I know you get they for £70 of crc but i now have 12 months extra warranty on this one and its fitted properly.

Worth asking.

Go back to square taper;there was never anything wrong with it,and now it's dirt cheap to replace.I bitterly regret being sucked in to buying ISIS,as I don't have cash to burn unlike some.

My Truvativ Gigapipe DH lasted less than 12 months and now i`m told there is shortage of them until 2006 but i`m loathed to buy a different type after spending money on the tool to remove it, so i`m riding on a slightly wobly crank at the moment.

I did ask about warranty but since the bike was a custom build the warrent on the BB is with the shop not an overall bike manufacturer! The shop said thay will try their best to sort it out but not to be too hopeful! Even if I did get a replacement I'd still have to suffer the problems that are associated with Isis BB. Ideally I'd get a replacement and put it towards a diffrent system! Hopefully anyway!!

I just got a new XT hollowII for my epic, and it is worth every penny! I know cus I got them on my 2 other bikes and they are trouble free after 6 months, not even the slightest sign of wear. I was getting through isis bb's in weeks through out the winter.If you can afford XT get them, the LX are heavier (slightly), and one of my buddies keeps having trouble with the non-drive crank. It keeps coming loose if he gets out of the saddle a lot, no matter how much he tightens it back up.

I hate to say it but I've now had all the BB's mentioned above and the old XT square tapers last the longest and are the cheapest.
The Raceface and Shimano externals are stiff but still give out after less than a year. +- 50 rides.
Isis are the worst especially Truvative. Raceface & FSA's seem ok, I got about 20 rides out of them.
I'm currently trying rebearinged Raceface Atlas's although they do warn "Don't dissmantle".

If its a goog lbs they should warranty the bb and give you a credit towards the LX or XT setup.

Thats what my lbs did and i appreciated it. If they give you another ISIS just tell them you will see them again in a few months for them to fit another free of charge. They might see the sense in changing for you.

The cheaper FSA ISIS BBs actually have bigger bearings than the posh rebuildable stuff - they don't have to make room for extra races and stuff, so there's more and bigger balls in there. FSA's also now doing a retrofittable outboard-bearing ISIS BB which may, or may not, help ;-)

IME the expensive ISIS stuff doesn't last substantially longer than the cheap stuff, and the cheap stuff is cheaper.