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Octalink BB costs how much?!?!

2K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  Puchnuts 
#1 ·
So here I was thinking I had scored on a new Shimano 105 175mm crankset for my bike I am refurbing, got it cheap with free shipping off ebay. Then I start looking for the Octalink BB, holy cow $30 - $40 for outdated technology. That's what I get for thinking I got a steel. :mad2:
 
#2 ·
?

Not sure I understand the complaint. Let's say you paid about $50 for the crank, $40 for the BB and $20 for shipping. So for about $110 you get a new crank and a new BB that'll last you at least 5 years—a good deal in my book. The fact that it's not the latest and greatest may weigh heavily on your mind, but it's not going to slow you down whatsoever. :)
 
#7 ·
the deals are there

jupiterrn said:
I know guys, I am just being cheap for this bike. I was expecting maybe 10 to 20 bucks for the bottom bracket. There are those deals out there but not in my size. I am just whining.
I bought an Octalink for $20.00 from Jenson a while back. it may have een on special, I don't remember but the deals are out there.
 
#9 ·
Lower-end Octalink, made in Singapore, should be avoided due to lack of quality-control at the Singapore plant. Ultegra and even Dura Ace only cost a little more - but they are made in Japan to tight technical specifications.
 
#10 ·
Puchnuts said:
Lower-end Octalink, made in Singapore, should be avoided due to lack of quality-control at the Singapore plant. Ultegra and even Dura Ace only cost a little more - but they are made in Japan to tight technical specifications.
Ultegra Octalink English is all gone. Tell us more about the "lack of quality control" in Singapore, you work there?
 
#11 ·
I would guess the Ultegra and Dura-Ace are better, even though they are more expensive. An LBS tried to sell me the ultegra for $60, but I took the 105 for $40... and two weeks later, after their install, it was clicking like a madman. Just sucked it up and clicked forward until a car stopped me several months later.
 
#12 ·
wim said:
Ultegra Octalink English is all gone. Tell us more about the "lack of quality control" in Singapore, you work there?
That the bottom-brackets - Octalink - coming out from Singapore - are not very good and sometimes terrible, is a well-known fact in the bike business. Shimano is aware of this and hasn't taken steps to fix the problem. Speculation is they don't care as they want everyone to switch to Hollowtech II.
 
#13 ·
Puchnuts said:
That the bottom-brackets - Octalink - coming out from Singapore - are not very good and sometimes terrible, is a well-known fact in the bike business. Shimano is aware of this and hasn't taken steps to fix the problem. Speculation is they don't care as they want everyone to switch to Hollowtech II.
Not sure about the well-known fact—sounds more like unsubstantiated bike-shop gossip to me. I thought you had inside information.

On the other hand, companies wanting customers to switch to a new version of the product is not just speculation. If you sell a quality durable product, the only way for you to stay in business is to convince your customers that their still-functioning product is "outdated" or "uncool" and needs to be replaced with the new version. Campagnolo almost bit the dust in the 1980s because they didn't follow this business practice.
 
#14 ·
The Octalink bottom brackets came in two varieties -- the Dura Ace, which disassembled in parts, and then all the cartridge bottom brackets. The Dura Ace offered beautiful performance with extremely high quality bearing designs, but it needed incessant cleaning for road use. Some trackies love it for clean use at the velodrome. The cartridge bottom brackets ranged from the Dura Ace Track 7710 cartridge, the 6500 Ultegra, and then the lower-grade ones (Sora, 105, etc.). Internally the track 7710 and the 6500 Ultegra cartridges are identical -- the only difference is a steel locking cup on the track one versus the alloy one on the Ultegra. They are both supremely reliable. I've heard lots of stories that the track one has different seals but we cut a pair of them apart and couldn't find a difference. The lower-grade ones have a much simpler and less reliable bearing design. They are sealed and last pretty well for the price, but aren't as smooth or quite as durable as the Ultegra and the 7710 track.
 
#16 ·
PeanutButterBreath said:
Never heard that. It doesn't make sense either. If they wanted to encourage people to upgrade they would simply stop making the BBs. Putting out crappy product is a lousy way to encourage people to spend more money on your brand.
Absolutely—you don't put out crap to make customers "upgrade." You crank up the marketing to make people believe that the new stuff is "better" than what they have.
 
#17 ·
They make the top-end Octalinks (from Japan), such as Ultegra and Dura Ace, to the top-end specs, the complaints have been focused on the cheap ones coming from Singapore. I'm surprised you haven't caught wind of this yet. On the positive side of the coin, the Dura Ace BB's don't cost that much more than the lower-end models. So the going trend is to buy the Dura Ace, etc, and be done with it.

Oh by the by - I picked up an Ultegra triple 52-39-30 for $160 at Jensen (don't bother, they're out) - and they had the Hollowtech II BB for $30.
 
#18 ·
Puchnuts said:
On the positive side of the coin, the Dura Ace BB's don't cost that much more than the lower-end models. So the going trend is to buy the Dura Ace, etc, and be done with it.
So you are saying that they are intentionally manufacturing an inferior BB with the intention of convincing people to spend more money on their products, but they are also making high quality BBs that allow people to avoid upgrading for a relatively small upcharge? :skep:

If there is a QC problem with the lower end BBs, I doubt it is part of a marketing conspiracy.
 
#19 ·
wim said:
Absolutely—you don't put out crap to make customers "upgrade." You crank up the marketing to make people believe that the new stuff is "better" than what they have.
And besides, that is an awful way to make people upgrade into a different component.
 
#20 ·
PeanutButterBreath said:
So you are saying that they are intentionally manufacturing an inferior BB with the intention of convincing people to spend more money on their products, but they are also making high quality BBs that allow people to avoid upgrading for a relatively small upcharge? :skep:

If there is a QC problem with the lower end BBs, I doubt it is part of a marketing conspiracy.
I didn't say any such thing! Geesh! I said they have a problem. And here is the speculation. Get it straight!

Go buy a truckload of cheap Octalinks for all I care.
 
#23 ·
Hmm...

I think the $14 BBs are ES-types with the V2 splines (long) for mountain bike cranks. For your 105 crank you need the 105 or Dura-Ace BB with the V1 splines (short). Recommend the 105—I've got one running for two years now with zero problems. But Jenson's $60 seems like a typo, they should be more like $40.

Looks like this whole Singapore debate was about cheap mountain/hybrid crank BBs, oh well. :D
 
#24 ·
wim said:
I think the $14 BBs are ES-types with the V2 splines (long) for mountain bike cranks. For your 105 crank you need the 105 or Dura-Ace BB with the V1 splines (short). Recommend the 105—I've got one running for two years now with zero problems. But Jenson's $60 seems like a typo, they should be more like $40.

Looks like this whole Singapore debate was about cheap mountain/hybrid crank BBs, oh well. :D
Thanks for the help wim. I will go with the 105.
 
#26 ·
Puchnuts said:
They make the top-end Octalinks (from Japan), such as Ultegra and Dura Ace, to the top-end specs, the complaints have been focused on the cheap ones coming from Singapore. I'm surprised you haven't caught wind of this yet. On the positive side of the coin, the Dura Ace BB's don't cost that much more than the lower-end models. So the going trend is to buy the Dura Ace, etc, and be done with it.
The 105's are fine by all accounts. Stick with the upper-tiers is the message.
Good to see you added 105 to your definition of "top-end" BBs. A little late, but thanks for the message anyway.
 
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