Like any other part, they don’t just need regular services but they’ll ultimately have to be replaced as well. The bottom bracket bearings are components on your road bike or mountain bike that wear out. The spindle is attached to one or both crank arms. Most modern bicycles come with the bottom bracket bearings fitted inside or on the sides of the bottom bracket shell. This is something you no longer see with modern bikes. The bearings and spindle were all a single component. The bottom bracket bearings used to be a single cartridge. Overview of bottom bracket shell, bottom bracket bearings and crankarms.
The crank spindle connects the two crank arms and runs through the bottom bracket bearings, which are placed into the bottom bracket shell. Whenever we talk about replacing your bottom bracket, we’re referring to the actual bearings that go into the frame. The bottom bracket bearings are sometimes referred to as just the bottom bracket as well. How can you even tell what bearings and bottom bracket shell your frame has? This extensive how-to explains exactly what you need to do in order to service and replace your bottom bracket bearings yourself. All the different standard dimensions can make it hard to determine what kind of bottom bracket shell your frame has and what bottom bracket bearings you need. The bottom bracket and spindle together form the foundation of the drivetrain on your road bike or mountain bike. The bottom bracket shell of a bicycle is the part of the frame where the spindle of the cranks go through.