Not Superstar basic one as i have had 2 fail in the last 6 months so lost faith in them dispite being blissfully smooth when new. not sure i want the SKF ones either as i have a feeling they will go the same way. they just seem to stop working all of a sudden, no grinding and getting worse, they just stop rotating. bizare.

So which other ones should i look at? The original LX one lasted over a year so thinking bout going back to that but what others are there and do they last well or not? How do the Shimano Roadie ones compare to the MTB ones? They are cheaper but are the seals as good etc? How about Acros ones? Its for an LX chainset, will FSA ones fit or are the axle diameters different?

Please help me.

Regards,

Disappointed of England.

Shimano road ones are a different width. They work but will affect chainline. I've used one when it was either that or no ride but I swapped it out again afterwards for a MTB one.

If its an external bearing BB, then the axle diameter is standard and you'll be able to fit Shimano, Race Face and FSA to Shimano cranks.  Truvativ run wider bearings though, so they are the exception however.

Hope are marketing two external BBs, one with steel bearings, the other with ceramic bearings.  Might be worth a try?

Otherwise, I've managed to get eighteen months out of my XT BB, as opposed to the paltry six months my Race Face X-Type BB lasted before it sounded like the innards of a cement mixer.

Its an arse that we are having this discussion at all.

The industry needs to sort itself out and come up with a bigger BB shell to fit decently sealed bearings inside the frame.

Though the good thing about HTII is it is so darn stiff...

BMX Euro BB's don't seem to suffer the same problems though, and they use a 19mm axle with a 3 piece setup and are subjected to similar levels of abuse as MTB parts.

Go figure?