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Kogel pushes pressfit BB bearings wider, spins up lightweight alloy pulleys

Written by Steve Fisher
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Kogel BB30-24 pressfit bottom bracket for using 24mm Shimano spindles on Cannondale Synapse BB30A frames

Anytime someone says they can improve a pressfit bottom bracket situation, we’re all ears. Sometimes it’s by increasing compatibility between otherwise oil-and-water parts, and sometimes it’s by taking a fresh look at the design and doing things a bit differently.

For the former, Kogel’s new ceramic bearing Shimano/GXP BB30A adapter kit allows owners of the new Cannondale Synapse endurance road bike to retrofit cranks with 24mm spindles. The Synapse’s proprietary BB30A bottom bracket (a wider 73mm version of the BB30) currently only works with Cannondale’s SiSL crank or custom made FSA’s. Thanks to Kogel’s new BB the Synapse’s BB30A will accept Shimano or Rotor 24mm spindles without any adapters, and SRAM 24mm GXP cranks with the addition of a reducer.

For the latter, get a fresh look at outboard bearings below…

Kogel's external bearing PF30 bottom bracket

The PF30-386 bottom bracket provides an upgrade for PF30 cranksets like the Race Face Cinch cranks, Rotor, Campagnolo Over-Torque and FSA 386 Evo cranks that use a longer than normal spindle. The BB presses into the frame like normal, but moves the bearings outside of the bottom bracket shell to provide the stiffest possible connection between the frame and crank. The wider stance also distributes load better, and should reduce wear and tear on the bearings themselves.

Kogel's aluminum, ceramic bearing derailleur pulley wheels

Last up is their new aluminum derailleur pulley wheels, which spin on Kogel’s sealed ceramic road bearings. The bearings are protected by labyrinth seal dust covers making them suitable for daily use, not just on race day. The pulley wheels are compatible with 11-speed Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo derailleurs, but also work for Shimano and SRAM 10-speed setups by adding the supplied washers. Kogels’ first batch sold out quickly, but they expect more to be available by early April.

The company says they’ve seen promising results testing their bearings with professional riders. After a full season of World Cups, Superprestige and Bpost Bank Trofee races on Kogel’s bottom bracket, 9 time British Cyclocross Champion Helen Wyman only had to replace one bearing between all four of her race bikes. Prior to this, Kogel says Wyman was replacing generic BB’s almost weekly.

For more information and pricing, check out Kogel Bearings’ website.

kogel.cc

Steve Fisher
Steve Fisher
780 articles

Steve Fisher is a staff contributor for Bikerumor. Steve has been writing about trail, enduro and downhill mountain biking (plus a few commuter bikes) for seven years. Prior to that, Steve wrote for Whistler Traveller Magazine and Mountain Life Magazine. Steve is based in Pemberton, British Columbia, an area that offers plenty of challenging world-class singletrack and makes for great photos!

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Darryl
Darryl
9 years ago

Well, first of all I made a mistake and bought a Cannondale.
Cannondale bikes are designed with BB30,PF30 bottom bracket. I absolutely have no idea earlier, the sales person told me “BB30=stiff” and “Shimano=flex”. He told me things have changed , it would be a downgrade if I want a bike comes with Shimano crank instead of getting BB30,PF30.

I now live with creaking sound when riding and the bike is pretty expensive.

Beginner, new comer who are looking for new bike, avoid the “BB30” , “PF30”. They are designed for elite athletic with dedicated technical team.

Cheers!

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Sam
Sam
9 years ago

@Darryl, kind of an inappropriate place to give out unsolicited opinions, maybe you should take your bike back to the shop and have them adjust it? After years of Cannondale ownership I have never seen a bottom bracket creak from anything other than something being loose.

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blitheclyde
blitheclyde
9 years ago

@Darryl

I too have a cannondale, but my creaking was remedied by purchasing a $299 Praxis works crankset with the M30 bottom bracket, which fits into the bike differently than a BB30 or PF30. Now I ride in silence.

Its not great to have to upgrade your bike immediately after you get it, but I’m a heavier rider and I could immediately tell the difference between the stiffness in the Praxis works crankset and the FSA SL-K that came on the bike, so I see it as the sort of upgrade I would have been interested in making anyway.

Cheers

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Remi
Remi
9 years ago

@Darryl – Most systems are press-fit for any bike over 1500$. It sounds like it’s a maintenance issue. Side note: You would have the same problem with any bike or bottom bracket (BB86/92, BB90/95, PF30, BBright… the list goes on). Whoever sold you that bike may have lied. Shimano cranks (24mm spindles) don’t seem to hold anyone back. But thankfully with Kogel’s BB adapters, or some from Wheels Manufacturing, you can use whatever crankset you want!

I agree with @Sam in the sense that there may be something wrong with your set up. Cannondale’s BB30 was introduced in 2000. It’s also been working exceptionally since the 00s.

As for Kogel’s pulleys and BBs, I’ll have to give them a try since I’ve been burning through both like a case of Natty Light at a frat party.

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randall
randall
9 years ago

@Sam – Without commenting on Remi’s issue with Cannondale, I think his later comment about BB’s is certainly valid. For a new-to-cycling person who likes to fix their own gear, getting a threaded BB does make things easier, as replacing a threaded BB in a properly faced shell is as easy as screwing in a light bulb. With my PF86, it isn’t nearly as easy, and like the other two posters, I also swapped in an aftermarket part (Wheels Manufacturing, p.s. buy American).

I think many more people consider upgradings a necessity with press-fit systems. I’d agree that it’s often a manufacturing tolerance or assembly issue, but still…

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Peter R
Peter R
9 years ago

I just read the concept of pushing the bearings outside the frame for longer life and more stiffness as…..hey what do you know….shimano, FSA, Sram threaded bottom brackets were right all along……………

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Velotronix
Velotronix
9 years ago

Kogel is awesome! We work with and support their product very frequently at my shop. Ard is a rad dude and I love the fact that the BB cups are all metal. Quality product. Installation requires nothing more than grease (as opposed to Locktite, ie: BB30 creak fix) and you get the option of Road or Off Road seals (YAY Cyclocross!!!). BB’s are always a hairy subject, especially to customers who, in trying to get information on forums etc, just become more confused about what will/will not work on their bike. Their system takes a ton of the guesswork out of it. PS, Cannondale, plz stop adding new ‘standards’ we have enough already.

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lmason
lmason
9 years ago

Nothing new, maybe Kogel could only follow. Have been using c-bear.com for almost a year, no-thinking necessary bottom bracket. Have been using their osbb-campagnolo bottom bracket since 2012, solid as a rock. Has it been that long, wow!

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