How To Install / Replace A SRAM GXP Bottom Bracket - Fix That Creaking

[@Destide]

My father in law lent me his 80's Raleigh road bike. The one day I felt really good having smoked some established cycley boyz on the commute home bam pedal floops into the road. I felt so bad about it I had to quickly learn how to replace a BB and source a replacement I ended up upgrading it with a shimano cart. He really didn't mind at all and it turns out my wife's younger brother used to jump it off jumps. Without videos like this I would have been so lost.

[@keacoq]

I have had SRAM GXP bottom brackets on this bike for 12 years plus. Replaced once by a bike shop. I replaced it the second and third times but have had difficulties eliminating creaking. This video has given me the idea of removing a spacer - thanks also to Pl D below. Now I have just the drive side spacer. It seems better, but my ride tomorrow will tell me more..... Update a month later: Removing the non-drive side spacer moved the entire crankset to the right so I had to adjust the front derailleur so it was at its limits. And there was still some creaking, altough less. So I moved the one spacer to the left, leaving the right with no spacer, and readujsted the front derailleur. It all seems good now. Conclusion: it is the left spacer that controls the horizontal position of the crank. Leaving out the right spacer can be done without moving the crank sideways, and doing so may help eliminate creaking. Happy days, I think I have finally solved the problem!

[@cosinus_square]

You can use Shimano BSA BB's with an adaptor on the NDS, this way you save GXP cranks from steel on steel action.

[@janeblogs324]

2:03 water comes off your tyre, onto your seat post and into the BB. looks like your frame is missing the cable guide threaded holes in the BB shell. They are drainage ports. Grease the crap out of your BB bearings, in them and the outside of the seals

[@rhysmanley3217]

Kudos for showing the learning experience as you teach! Sometimes we get things like spacers wrong and then need to go back. I think much more instructional than saying "you might need the spacers, check the website" or something

[@janneboman8573]

Yeah the spacers go in if you have a 68mm shell and a longer MTB axle, for example a NX crankset. If you have the wider shell, 70-something? can't remember the measurement, but then no spacers and only a longer axle.

[@MonkeyShred]

73mm. 68/73mm are generally the two standards but I think there's now something like a "super boost" that's 83mm. That's a whole other kettle of fish.

[@AnotherMrLizard]

@@MonkeyShred chain line for hub spacing is set at the cranks or the chainring not at the bb.

[@MonkeyShred]

@@AnotherMrLizard who’s mentioned chain line? But seeing as you did mention it. Yes chain line is generally adjusted with a different crankset or by moving the chainring but you can adjust it at the BB too. It’s not the best because you’ll be moving the whole thing on these cranks so one arm will sit closer to the frame than the other but it is possible.

[@AnotherMrLizard]

@@MonkeyShred super boost refers to the chain line..

[@mutos82]

Hi. Did you use copper paste on the thread? That's a technical error! Copper and aluminum are not a good combination.

[@dennismicallef9350]

Had the same problem with a spacer installed on either side of a 68mm shell. Omw to go pull the spacers out. Thanks!

[@guerriclc7659]

Thank you very much for pointing this out ! I remove those spacers and then I was able to torque my crank correctly !

[@Ricobass0]

Which part of that operation sets the bearing preload?

[@iulian2548]

Tightening the spindle nut. I use the least amount of torque possible to protect the bearing.

[@dperreno]

The bearings are just standard ball bearings, not angular contact bearings, and therefore don't require a preload. SRAM uses either washers/spacers or a wave washer to prevent the axle from having any side-to-side play. They are basically counting on your BB width to be precise.

[@JamesBond-hy4kv]

On the press fit there is a preload adjuster. So you don’t use this on the bsa?

[@MonkeyShred]

Nope. Doesn't look like it.

[@grindeyyyyy]

Thank you for telling me which bb tool I need

[@pedalpukus]

Hey! Can you give me info on what bottom bracket you used?

[@MonkeyShred]

SRAM GXP..

[@oheso]

How many kms on the previous BB before you needed to replace?

[@parks.]

Thanks for this

[@MonkeyShred]

No problem

[@CyclingAround]

really helful! I was looking for this type of video to make sure I don't screw up XD

[@MonkeyShred]

You’re welcome. Hope it helped.

[@bikepackingadventure7913]

The best way to make a GXP system (bearings) last is to install a Hope GXP converter adapter to the drive side and then you can use a Hope BSA bottom bracket. The GXP bearing design is flawed and has unequal load and the wavey washer does not help. Using a Hope system it enables equal bearing load on each bearing, the bearings are now the same size and standard on each side and you can also get rid of the wavey washer. I’ve done this to all my GXP systems and the BB now lasts for ages. In the end I’ve save money and maintence is far far less. 🙂🙂👍

[@BakerK-p6f]

whats a cheaper alternative to buying the $100+ bb

[@mpl1700]

Haven't you forgotten to put the seal from the drive side on again when you installed the crakset ?

[@jedthorp7572]

What do you mean by seal? There's no "cap" for over the open/interior of the crank spindle on the drive side. (Although, perhaps there should be.)

[@shaknit]

I have an old trek navigator and the bottom bracket measures out to be 73x116mm cant seem to find any that size. Any suggestions.

[@MonkeyShred]

That’s square taper then is it? If it is you can usually just go to the next closest size. 3mm longer (or shorter) will only mean a change of 1.5mm per side. As long as the crank arms and chainrings have enough clearance for that - it should be good

[@pld468]

The gxp bb's don't have a preload system. The way it works is that it stabilize laterally by pinching the inner rail of the non-drive side bearing. That's why it's better to have less spacers than too much. I just use one on the drive side myself

[@Mikey2tt]

1:45 it always baffles me why people won't just say, that you screw it in backwards, on both the drive and non-drive side. Easier than the whole clockwise advice :⁠-⁠) nice vid

[@janeblogs324]

Clockwise advice is sound. Lefty loosey is not

[@shhhdontshout]

My gxp crank always kept loosing. And whats the purpose for the bolt that cover the crank bolt on the left side? I meant the outer one

[@MonkeyShred]

The crank bolt is self extracting so it has the inner part that is basically just a bolt and an outer that acts as a stopper so when you undo the bolt it pulls the crank arm off.

[@shhhdontshout]

@@MonkeyShred tighten both, but kept loosing. Now loctite it, no more issue

[@worldofameiso5491]

Sometimes you can think a creak is coming from somewhere, only for it to be something else. I once had a creak which I was convinced was coming from the bottom bracket, but it was actually the seatpost - took me ages to figure it out.

[@duringthemeanwhilst]

so much better than those pesky press fit BB86, etc bottom brackets.

[@TheQuietBeast]

"All you need is a 8mm allen key and it will do the extraction for you". Haha, not mine. I tried hammering it and everything, until I figured out an old-style crank removal tool actually worked perfect! :)

[@artoutlawphoto]

Sram has or use to have long and short spindle at least on bb30, but as I see there was on gxp also. I say used to because sram merge bb30 and gxp in dub standard (standard for sram no others) and they only have one spindle lenght. Also on higher models (rival, force, red, gx, Xo and xx1) with bb30 the spindle can be replace with long and short spindle. On s series the bb30 spindle its press on one side like gxp and its not removable.

[@6295607]

My Bottom Bracket is stuck! Cant remove it for the life of me.. the tool is bending (cheap chinese tool ZTTO)... used some loosening spray (probably not enough) and then boiling water ... going to get a proper heat gun next.

[@DmitryDruzhinin]

What is "rightey loosey"? What language is this?

[@bryanwong1625]

means reversed thread

[@tehw000000t]

In my opinion the best fix for gxp creaking is to replace it with shimano!

[@campagnol1]

What shimano BB would fit? Hollowtech ?

[@AmalKrabel-o3p]

Juston Lodge

[@AndrewJohnson-b8l]

Orn Cape

[@joshuabuilds3051]

Haha I dont think anyone is actually listening to these videos. Mate theres overlapping audio starting around 1:30 and its kinda funny

[@42wasatch]

Surely you could bear to ride home with that creak, so that you could give the bike a proper washing first. I wouldn't be opening up my bottom bracket with all of that dirt around

[@tehw000000t]

In my opinion the best fix for gxp creaking is to replace it with shimano!