Sunlite SL-26 Sealed Bottom Bracket Set

It would be perfect that has a dust cover over the bearing

SUNLITE SL-26 Sealed Bottom Bracket Set B00H649590 (68mm x 113.5mm)FIrst off, it was 2 days late. I purchased this because it stated steel cups and sleeve, which was accurate, but the drive side cup is lighter than solid steel and can flex slightly when I squeeze it and has the properties of a steel/aluminum alloy, most likely alnico as it still is magnetic, which is probably the best I am going to find right now. There's NO WAY I will ever buy a BB with nylon/plastic or 'whatever' type cups again. IN the meantime I purchased and installed another one that was reimbursed to me by bike manufacturer Eurobike. (29", customer service good, but the bike, not so much) BOTTOM BRACKETS should last more than 500 or 600 miles. The first bike I had was a target-special at about $160 about 25 or 30 years ago. I rode the heck out of that bike until the chain ring, chain and rear cogs were worn to stubs and had to be replaced, but the bottom bracket was still good. Probably put about 5000 miles more on it before it was stolen, not a peep out of the bottom bracket.(cable locks are useless, no matter how thick) Second bike was a Gary Fisher, $400 at the time 20+ years ago, piece of junk, had to replace BB cartridge twice a year, poorly manufactured BB shell in frame, it was out of proper alignment and caused bottom bracket cartridges to wear unevenly very fast. That was before I started doing ALL of my own bike repairs. It is not rocket science, and it has saved me a bundle of money over the years and paid for the specialized bike tools that were necessary many times over. And nowadays there are a ton of repair vids on the net too. Back then I cycled a minimum of 5,000 miles a year to about 7200. Ahhh, the good ol' days when my knees didn't sound like corn popping in the microwave every time I stood up. My original plan was to use this Sunlite as the replacement, and keep the other one hand as a backup (generic brand, as if they're all not made in the same place) given the short lifespan of most modern day BB cartridges. So when I realized it was going to be delivered late, I decided I would use the Sunlite as the backup and installed the other one. So when this Sunlite arrived the first thing I did was check the materials, steel cups and sleeve, as stated. However I noticed when turning this that I could hear the bearings clicking, and also sticking in 4 different places with every turn, it seemed to be on the non drive side, so I looked at it in more detail. And there it was, a very visible and uneven gap between the bearing race and sleeve. And I could visibly see that the sleeve and bearing race were not evenly lined up at all. Another problem waiting to happen just a few hundred miles or so down the road. It is on its way back as I write this.I don't know about y'all out there, but I am so tired of paying more and more for products whose quality is getting less and less.One star, only because I have to at least give one. I don't recommend and would not buy again from this seller or this brand. Sunlite just ain't what it used to be.Hope this helped you out. If so, let me know.

The install was easy and it works great so far. Seems to be well-made. Installed it on my vintage Schwinn clear creek mountain bike.

The package makes it sound like the shell and ends are all steel. This went into a steel frame bike, so that's a good thing to prevent corrosion between unlike metals. Be extremely careful not to cross-thread these as the threads are very fine. Be exceptionally careful in an aluminum frame bike as the threads on the bottom bracket set will easily chew up the threads in the aluminum frame if it isn't inserted correctly. Go slow and make sure. There should be little initial resistance. Use a torque wrench to finish the job, don't just guess. Use anti-seize compound or a mild thread locker. I used anti-seize.

As i noticed that my chainset seemed to be flopping around a bit, I tightened up the old-school bearing cup, and the lockring behind it... 2 days later, it was all loose again, with the chainset flopping even more......INTO THE SURGICAL SUITE WITH MY RIDE...I won't go into how I got it all apart, but IT WAS FRIKKIN UGLY!!! That was NOT a good time... I didn't own a crank extractor then, but I do now, after the fact...I discovered the bearing cages had disintegrated inside the bottom bracket, allowing the ball bearings to fly around any which way they saw fit...6 months ago, I was looking at these sealed bearing setups, and I said to myself "That's just for racing bikes"... NOPE... 6 months later, it was for my cheapy Kent Int'l mountain bike. I ordered this one, played hell trying to install it, and now the pedals spin like champs, and the whole bike rides better than ever...If you have the old-school screw-in cups with the caged bearings and the lockring, GET RID OF IT ALL, AND REPLACE IT WITH ONE OF THESE... YOU WON'T BE SORRY...DO NOT forget to buy the Park Tool spline socket... You MUST have it for installation...

Sealed bearings make me happy

Bought this to replace a stock unsealed bottom bracket that started grinding apart on a cheap city bike. Did the trick at a great price. I've worked on my bikes my entire life so install was a breeze. Unfortunately, the bike was stolen a week after installing it, so enjoy every smooth, solid pedal you take my friend in need!

Multiple Sunlite bottom brackets have been in use for five years on our road and cross training bikes. They all have been strong, dependable, and smooth. Since we frequently change drive train configurations, a supply of these brackets is always in our inventory. I greatly appreciate the steel shell cups, which are less likely to deform when removed. They work admirably.

I installed this cartridge on my 80’s Gary Fisher mountain bike which has a 73 x 127 mm BB. Right side threaded in perfectly, but left side bushing was very tight and continued to get more difficult as it threaded in. Finally left it with about 2 mm too much thread sticking out beyond the lock ring which I reused. Note that this cartridge uses the “new” splined cups, so you will need the splined tool to install it. Completed installation resulted in a smooth, frictionless crankset with no sideplay.The instructions are clear, and they even state that you may want to have your threads “chased” (re-threaded) to insure an easy installation. Good advice, but why was my old cup so easy to unscrew and the new cup so difficult to screw in?Overall, very pleased with the quality for the cost.