Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
Post Reply
User avatar
NATURAL ANKLING
Posts: 13780
Joined: 24 Oct 2012, 10:43pm
Location: English Riviera

Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Cant remember when I last had a looksee.
Whats the solution to this :?:
I have repacked with underwater grease I think as the label has come off the tin.

But the design fault is a pocket thats left between the BB (unthreaded portion) and the straight BB frame tube :?:
Or is it comming in from other frame openings ? could be the seat tube......will have to check that over :?
No drain holes, would that be better than filling the gap with some plastic tube and packing with grease :?:
Attachments
DSC00861-a.jpg
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
freeflow
Posts: 1637
Joined: 29 Aug 2011, 1:54pm

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by freeflow »

Water gets in at the top of the seat tube and via any breather holes in the chain stays. Its why Hollowtech II BB and similar have a tube with rubber seals between the cups. The prevent ingress of the water you found into the BB cups.
Brucey
Posts: 44517
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by Brucey »

IME that amount of water is getting in somewhere else; frame breather holes or seatpost or unfilled braze-ons or unsealed rivnuts... there are plenty of possible places.

If you have an AHEAD stem it can get between the stem and the steerer, past the wedge piece, then pool between the head tube and the steerer, then run into the frame through the vent holes on the inside of the head tube. That could explain why it is rust-coloured water.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
User avatar
NATURAL ANKLING
Posts: 13780
Joined: 24 Oct 2012, 10:43pm
Location: English Riviera

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
This amount of water isnt getting past the threads in BB externaly, so it must be coming in from above, thought seat tube but not the headset.
Will have to check all that tomorrow, dont like leaks.
The Randonnuer seat pins so tight I dont get water in at all :)
But the skip trainer has a big slash in the tube and a sissy QR clamp (came with the bike, never liked QR's on any thing except wheel).
Thanks all.
Would'nt of thought of the head at all.....................

P.S. Has'nt rained for months but I did hose the bike in the week..........
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
tim-b
Posts: 2091
Joined: 10 Oct 2009, 8:20am

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by tim-b »

Hi
The BB on my alu Spesh has a hole drilled through it (by Spesh) about where the water has pooled in yours
Regards
tim-b
~~~~¯\(ツ)/¯~~~~
RonK
Posts: 190
Joined: 17 Sep 2011, 1:56pm

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by RonK »

Usually ingress is down the seat tube.

Simple solution is to stand the bike on the back wheel for a few moments after wet ride to drain the water out the chain stays.
The theory is simple: a) cycling is inherently fun, and b) the less weight you carry, the more fun it is.

Tour Journals, Articles and Blog: Whispering Wheels
Brucey
Posts: 44517
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by Brucey »

I think it is best if you can stop the water from getting in to start with, but this isn't always possible. To me, letting water in and then having a hole to drain it out again is more like damage limitation than a good plan.

If the water that gets into the frame in the wintertime is full of road salt, it can of course corrode the frame (Al or steel) from the inside out.

cheers
Last edited by Brucey on 15 Oct 2014, 10:10am, edited 1 time in total.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PDQ
Posts: 481
Joined: 6 Oct 2010, 11:54am

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by PDQ »

Solution is:-
insulating tape(or similar) at seatpost joint
Never use a hose (it will get into worse places as well)
Store bike in centrally heated accomodation!!
User avatar
db8000
Posts: 22
Joined: 9 Sep 2013, 7:20pm
Location: Bristol

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by db8000 »

The problem with storing the bike in heated areas is that when u take it out into the cold as the air inside the frame, and hubs for that matter, cools, it can suck in damp air.
User avatar
Mick F
Spambuster
Posts: 56359
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by Mick F »

RonK wrote:Simple solution is to stand the bike on the back wheel for a few moments after wet ride to drain the water out the chain stays.
....... but only if you have holes in the chainstays. My bike has no holes anywhere.

Perhaps it's possible to get water in past the seatpost lug, but that's the only way in or out.
Mick F. Cornwall
User avatar
breakwellmz
Posts: 1982
Joined: 8 May 2012, 9:33pm

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by breakwellmz »

I was surprised to see how much water was in your BB shell, how did you manage to retain so much of it for the photo if you didn`t suspect it was in there,how did you take the BB out?
User avatar
NATURAL ANKLING
Posts: 13780
Joined: 24 Oct 2012, 10:43pm
Location: English Riviera

Re: Bottom Bracket Swimming...Alu Frame.

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
No fix honest.

I hosed the bike down day before / same day.
Mounted it on the bike stand upright.
Took out the BB and there it was a puddle.

Remember that the BB threaded portion has grease on the threads and the threads would be a barrier against the water migrating away.
If yopu remove BBthen the BB does not touch the unthreaded shell when you unscrew it, unless you want it too, lot of water though, normally just rusty BB.

The BB was acheapy so it had rusted too.

Still to locate the leak, but will find it.

There is also holes in the BB shell from every tube frame so possible it was sitting in there till I swayed the bike on to stand.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
Post Reply