Wheels Manufacturing Outboard BB86/92 Shimano Bottom Bracket Black Threaded Cups

This thing is absolutely bomber. I prefer threaded bb frames, but they are becoming more and more rare as press-fit frames take over the universe. No fear, Wheels Manufacturing to the rescue. The 2 sides of the bottom bracket thread together within the BB shell and create a system including the cranks that is so much more rigid and nearly on par with an old school threaded BB.

I thought I would need 2 BB tools to cinch these babies together, but that was not the case the 2 times I have installed these on metal frames. Simply press the one side in and it holds fine while you wrench the other side to thread them together - no slippage. This obviously depends on the tolerances of each frame, but I am 2 for 2. I use a fair amount of grease/antisieze as well.

Heads up...after ~250 miles of dirty gravel, it did develop the smallest of creak when standing up on hills on my singlespeed. I hit both sides with the tiniest bit of tightening with the wrench (a few degrees) and now all is good - I assume the system of cranks and bb together just needed to find their happy spot and settle in which results in a gazillionth of an inch of play which is enuf to cause a squeak with gravel dust mixed in. And to be fair, these were on singlespeeds which is a much tougher life for a BB - I'm not withholding any stars for that because I probably service the BB's on my gravel bikes every 300-500 miles anyway.;

Replaced a pressfit bottom bracket that lasted just about 800 miles before squeaking and creaking. This bottom bracket screws in securely, is very smooth, and no squeaks after 3000+ miles!;

Installed this unit this morning. It was quick and painless, less then a half hour. I installed on my carbon bike. I only had one bottom bracket tool, I needed two with my bike but I made do with what I had. I will order another tool to have on hand when I check for tightness while doing routine maintenance. The drive side press fit was not tight. I put my drive side in the freezer over night and then popped it in by hand, once warm it expanded but when I tightened the non-drive side I was able to turn it, this is where the second wrench would have been handy. LOL I needed no shims on my bike, this could change after I ride and everything seats itself. I don't think I will need them though. I will update after putting a few miles on the bike. The crank does spin much more free on the stand.
16 Sep 17
Went for 60 miler this morning. The bottom bracket worked fine. No noise, and I could tell it was spinning free.;

Excellent replacement for the stock plastic BB on my Giant Advanced Pro. Installation instructions were very good (both written and YouTube video). I did place a call to their Tech Line with a quick question about 10 minutes before their scheduled end of day. My call and question were both answered promptly.

Regarding the review that mentions needing two notched wrenches. I only needed one, in line with the following note from the Wheels Mfg web site: "Note: The BB86/92 Thread Together bottom bracket is designed and manufactured with the drive side cup at a press-fit tolerance, which must be pressed into the frame using a press*. The non-drive side cup outer diameter is slightly undersized so that it can turn in the frame, allowing for the threads to engage and the two cups to tighten together. When installing this bottom bracket, only one notched bottom bracket tool is required."

Regarding the review that mentions a remaining squeak. I've had multiple squeaks from various locations. This one was obviously coming from the drive train, and I thought from the BB. However, I was wrong - my squeak also remained. Given the tight tolerance and overall high quality, I was confident the new BB was not the source, and I was able to finally isolate it in the rear hub.

Bottom line, I'm happy I made this switch.;

The inner bearing diameter on the bottom bracket that I received measured a fraction of a mm under 24 mm. My Megaexo crank spindle is pretty much exactly 24 mm, so the spindle would not fit through the bearings. Bummer.

UPDATE: I emailed Wheels Manufacturing, and they explained that some Megaexo cranks need an over-sized bearing. I sent the BB to Colorado, and they replaced the standard bearing with the oversized one. Since then, the BB installed easily, and I've enjoyed several hundred creak-free miles.

UPDATE 2: the bottom bracket lasted less than two years before it started acting up. It made a hellacious grinding noise for ~15 miles, then quieted down for a couple weeks. Currently it’s clicking on every pedal stroke. I was hoping for a longer life from this thing.;