Hi. I have a Tucano Deluxe 36v folding bike on which the standard caged bearings /axle/cup bottom bracket arrangement is giving me trouble.
Mainly, the whole arrangement tends to work loose and the bearings get chewed-up. Doesn't seem to matter how many times I take it apart and put it together, with different tensions on the adjusters/lock nuts. Strangely, my wife's bike (same model) has not given her any trouble (yet), although it may still be early days yet. We have only had them about two months.
I have several options to service this.
Firstly, I could just let the supplier sort out the problem. However, my confidence in the whole arrangement is already at a low and I would like to improve on the situation. Also, I enjoy a little mechanical tinkering - treating it as a learning experience for future maintenance.
Secondly, I could just simply replace the chewed-up caged bearings (9 ball bearings in a flimsy cage) myself. I don't like this option since the previous cage was really badly chewed-up and there were bits of metal everywhere inside the BB.
Thirdly, I could lose the bearing cages and just fit loose bearings. In this case I would fit 12 x 6 mm ball bearings in each side/cup, since without the bearing cage there is more room. I have some grade 10 ball bearings that I have procured for this purpose. This is quite a tempting option and is probably my fallback.
Finally, I could replace the axle/cup/ball bearing system with a cartridge bottom bracket. Because the bike has a controller box mounted behind the BB and a non-standard (normal bike), wider, BB shell, I am obviously limited in choice and need extra long BB cartridges. However, this is my preferred option.
So far, I have found this: 153mm Cartridge Bottom Bracket - a 153 mm cartridge unit which I have managed to fit, but there are two problems. Firstly, the shell is not quite long enough. It could do with being another 5 to 10 mm so that the end retainer does not have to be screwed right inside the BB shell. The Tucano Deluxe bottom bracket width is 83 mm, measured from the left outside of the frame to the right outside of the frame. Secondly, the axle is not quite right on two counts. It is shorter than the original axle, thus altering the chainline - although to be honest the chainline looks passable to my inexperienced eyes. I rode 10 km with it and it seemed not to give any trouble.
With the alternative cartridge system, the chain sits straight on the 2nd gear cog (out of 6), instead of the 3rd gear cog with the original scheme. The original axle is a whopping 165 mm long excluding the threads on which the crank nuts bolt into, which makes the cartridge solution 12 mm shorter overall.
The second count is that the left/non-drive side of the axle is the longer side (by about 5 mm), rather than the chain/drive side. I am guessing that this BB cartridge was intended for a chain drive on the left side of the bike. Does this sound feasible? And, of course, I cannot reverse the cartridge due to the thread directions - although I have thought about switching the whole drive train from the right side to the left. I haven't quite wrapped my head around whether this will cause problems with motor direction as well as with other drive components. Anyone know of the top of their heads?
Anyway, to cut a long story short, my questions are; does anyone know of any longer (than 153mm) BB cartridge units that are available out there that might be suitable for me (say 160-165 mm), or can anyone offer any useful advice or experience to help me with my problem?
I have some photos:
The original axle/cup/ball bearing bottom bracket arrangement, less the caged bearings and the adjuster cup lock nut (which is the same as the one seen on the right hand side of this picture).
This is what happened to the bearing cages.
The eclipsebikes cartridge fitted to the Tucano Deluxe BB frame (non chain/drive side). The retaining ring needs to be screwed in more than it should be in order for the 68/153 mm cartridge to fit. This is a Euro sytle thread (1.37" x 27T). The part/cartridge is made by a Tiawanese company and can be seen here FIRST Components although they don't list the 68/153 mm length version of the F-2001E as it is dubbed.
The chain line with the cartridge fitted. 6 gear cog, chain shown in 6th gear. Chain sits true somewhere between 5th and 4th gear cogs. With the original arrangement it sits true on the 3rd cog.
Footnote: I have currently reassembled the original BB assembly, using 12 x 6 mm loose ball bearings. The play in the cranks does not feel too bad, but the rotation is nowhere near as smooth as with the cartridge unit and I suspect that I will be tinkering with this every other week until I find a better solution. I have sent an inquiry to the firm in Taiwan that make the 68/153 mm BB cartridge in the hope that they have longer parts, but I'm not holding my breath.
Mainly, the whole arrangement tends to work loose and the bearings get chewed-up. Doesn't seem to matter how many times I take it apart and put it together, with different tensions on the adjusters/lock nuts. Strangely, my wife's bike (same model) has not given her any trouble (yet), although it may still be early days yet. We have only had them about two months.
I have several options to service this.
Firstly, I could just let the supplier sort out the problem. However, my confidence in the whole arrangement is already at a low and I would like to improve on the situation. Also, I enjoy a little mechanical tinkering - treating it as a learning experience for future maintenance.
Secondly, I could just simply replace the chewed-up caged bearings (9 ball bearings in a flimsy cage) myself. I don't like this option since the previous cage was really badly chewed-up and there were bits of metal everywhere inside the BB.
Thirdly, I could lose the bearing cages and just fit loose bearings. In this case I would fit 12 x 6 mm ball bearings in each side/cup, since without the bearing cage there is more room. I have some grade 10 ball bearings that I have procured for this purpose. This is quite a tempting option and is probably my fallback.
Finally, I could replace the axle/cup/ball bearing system with a cartridge bottom bracket. Because the bike has a controller box mounted behind the BB and a non-standard (normal bike), wider, BB shell, I am obviously limited in choice and need extra long BB cartridges. However, this is my preferred option.
So far, I have found this: 153mm Cartridge Bottom Bracket - a 153 mm cartridge unit which I have managed to fit, but there are two problems. Firstly, the shell is not quite long enough. It could do with being another 5 to 10 mm so that the end retainer does not have to be screwed right inside the BB shell. The Tucano Deluxe bottom bracket width is 83 mm, measured from the left outside of the frame to the right outside of the frame. Secondly, the axle is not quite right on two counts. It is shorter than the original axle, thus altering the chainline - although to be honest the chainline looks passable to my inexperienced eyes. I rode 10 km with it and it seemed not to give any trouble.
With the alternative cartridge system, the chain sits straight on the 2nd gear cog (out of 6), instead of the 3rd gear cog with the original scheme. The original axle is a whopping 165 mm long excluding the threads on which the crank nuts bolt into, which makes the cartridge solution 12 mm shorter overall.
The second count is that the left/non-drive side of the axle is the longer side (by about 5 mm), rather than the chain/drive side. I am guessing that this BB cartridge was intended for a chain drive on the left side of the bike. Does this sound feasible? And, of course, I cannot reverse the cartridge due to the thread directions - although I have thought about switching the whole drive train from the right side to the left. I haven't quite wrapped my head around whether this will cause problems with motor direction as well as with other drive components. Anyone know of the top of their heads?
Anyway, to cut a long story short, my questions are; does anyone know of any longer (than 153mm) BB cartridge units that are available out there that might be suitable for me (say 160-165 mm), or can anyone offer any useful advice or experience to help me with my problem?
I have some photos:
The original axle/cup/ball bearing bottom bracket arrangement, less the caged bearings and the adjuster cup lock nut (which is the same as the one seen on the right hand side of this picture).
This is what happened to the bearing cages.
The eclipsebikes cartridge fitted to the Tucano Deluxe BB frame (non chain/drive side). The retaining ring needs to be screwed in more than it should be in order for the 68/153 mm cartridge to fit. This is a Euro sytle thread (1.37" x 27T). The part/cartridge is made by a Tiawanese company and can be seen here FIRST Components although they don't list the 68/153 mm length version of the F-2001E as it is dubbed.
The chain line with the cartridge fitted. 6 gear cog, chain shown in 6th gear. Chain sits true somewhere between 5th and 4th gear cogs. With the original arrangement it sits true on the 3rd cog.
Footnote: I have currently reassembled the original BB assembly, using 12 x 6 mm loose ball bearings. The play in the cranks does not feel too bad, but the rotation is nowhere near as smooth as with the cartridge unit and I suspect that I will be tinkering with this every other week until I find a better solution. I have sent an inquiry to the firm in Taiwan that make the 68/153 mm BB cartridge in the hope that they have longer parts, but I'm not holding my breath.
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