Nomad MK2 - bottom bracket replacement (73mm Shimano BB-UN55)

[WorldTourer]

VP is a wonderful Taiwanese firm which makes hight quality cycle gear built around their very high quality bearings and I wouldn't be surprised if the UN55 was made by them for Shimano

The UN55, at least ones I have bought in recent years, are marked Made in Malaysia (like a few other Shimano components nowadays), so unlikely to have that Taiwanese firm involved.

[KvBCycles]

I went to the local bike shops this morning and haha had a few great reactions.  The first guy took one look and asked me what´s wrong with me! I had to laugh. The word "antigua" was mentioned a few times, antique. One shop said he had exactly what I needed and for a brief moment I was hopeful but when he brought the part out - the model number was BR73, and the size was 68mm x 110mm.

SJS Cycles seems to be *the only retailer* holding 73mm square tapered BB´s at the moment, well apart from a guy on eBay in the US selling used ones for 50 dollars a pop.
Regarding Phil Woods - they appear to be out of stock. When I try to select the item on their website it shows up "out of stock", so I have sent them an email asking about availability.
In the meantime, my basket on SJS Cycles is holding a couple of Tange BB´s along with an eccentric bb and a chainring, may as well get those extras included in the package. About to hit the order button.
In the meantime, I´m going back to one of the bike shops - I asked if he can service the bottom bracket, remove and clean basically. It could just be a bit of dirt in there again (like I had previously in 2019). There is still some life in the UN55 yet. I can still ride the bike, cranks are not moving, just an annoying click, creak noise.
Karl.

[Andre Jute]

VP is a wonderful Taiwanese firm which makes hight quality cycle gear built around their very high quality bearings and I wouldn't be surprised if the UN55 was made by them for Shimano.

The UN55, at least ones I have bought in recent years, are marked Made in Malaysia (like a few other Shimano components nowadays), so unlikely to have that Taiwanese firm involved.

Thanks for hard information, World Tourer.

[martinf]

Link to the TA square-taper bottom bracket page in French (couldn't find an English option on the manufacturer's website):

https://specialites-ta.com/68-standard-axe-carre

When sold separately, the spacers needed for a 73 mm bottom-bracket shell are marked "Entretoise - Axix 2,5mm (pour boîtier de 73mm et montage dérailleur type "E") (sachet de 2)" and do not seem to be in stock at the moment. If ordering a complete unit for a 73 mm shell you would have to make sure that these spacers are included when the option 68/73mm is noted.

This is a link to the "English" page of a French online retailer that sells these TA units:

https://www.alltricks.com/Buy/TA+axix

I have the 131 mm length steel axle version, with the set of two 2.5 mm spacers, on my Raven Sport Tour.

This is the right length for the Rohloff chain line using my old-pattern TA cyclotouriste cranks, modern cranks use shorter axles.

The TA bottom bracket axles and cranks are supposed to be ISO rather than JIS, but in practice they seem to be different from some other ISO standard components I have had in the past (notably a Campagnolo bottom-bracket unit, which didn't fit satisfactorily on my TA cranks). YMMV, but I have successfully mixed TA ISO cranks with JIS bottom brackets and vice-versa.

________________________________________

Off topic as not for 73 mm shells, but perhaps of interest for someone in the EU looking for a 68 mm UN 55 equivalent, Stronglight's site still shows a reasonably-priced square taper bottom bracket unit in the JIS standard:

http://www.stronglight.com/stronglight/index.php/welcome/afficher_Produit?id=210

This website has some, but only in 2 sizes :

https://www.xxcycle.com/bottom-bracket-stronglight-jp-400-al-bsc,,en.php

I have one of these on my large visitor bike, it has done about 11,000 kms so far and seems to be of comparable quality to the Shimano UN 55 units.

I expect TA and Stronglight retailers in France would supply to other EU countries, but perhaps not to the UK with the current post-Brexit uncertainties.
________________________

On the thorny topic of higher shipping costs and/or delays due to Covid19 and Brexit (I live in France):

- I ordered some of the cheap bifocal "safety glasses" I use for cycling from England for my wife and self. They arrived last week on the date scheduled, from memory perhaps 1 or 2 days slower than my previous order several years ago. Shipping cost was significantly more than pre-Brexit, but not crippling. And the supplier added an extra pair as a gift, which more than compensated for the difference in shipping.

- And I have just received an order of mixed cycling spares/clothing care products from a prominent German on-line retailer. Absolutely no extra delay or cost compared to my pre-Covid orders from this company, and quicker than some orders from France. So, at least for some suppliers, Covid19 problems within the Europe Union have already been sorted out.

As far as SJS cycles are concerned, the shipping costs to France are currently very high. But this has happened before, and they eventually found a way to reduce the costs while at the same time maintaining their excellent packaging standards and prompt deliveries. I am reasonably hopeful that solutions for export deliveries will be found when the double whammy of the Covid19 panic and Brexit settles down.   

[KvBCycles]

Morning all, received a package from SJS Cycles this morning.
Sent on the 4th of May, value of just under 150 quid, arrived in Melilla (Spain) 10 days later - not bad at all, was expecting it to take longer.
Customs all in order but had to pay 20 euros to the shipping agents here in Melilla to release.

Update on the BB itself - I had it removed along with the EBB a couple of weeks ago, got it cleaned, greased and re-fitted and the noise disappeared, however, noise is back so it seems as if it is nearing end of life. EBB was in good shape, so while I ordered another, I´ll keep it as a spare for now. I ordered 2x Tangeseiki BB´s and I´ll be installing one of them next week, that should keep me going for a while yet while I decide on a Phil Woods.

[mickeg]

Does anyone know if you can run a 68mm square taper bottom bracket in the 73mm eccentric on the Mk II Nomad?  My concern would be that the internal threads in the eccentric do not extend far enough inside for the non-drive side bushing to thread in if you used a 68mm cartridge bottom bracket.

Yes, I am aware that the bottom bracket would be centered 2.5mm to the drive side instead of in the center of the bike, but I would not worry about that.  And, in the unlikely situation that I noticed the pedals were shifted a few mm to the right, I could slide the eccentric a bit to the left.

I am guessing that if you tried a 68mm and it did not work because the bushing did not thread in far enough, you could grind or cut off 5mm from the bushing to make it fit.

But maybe something else would go wrong in this case that I have not thought of?  Thoughts anyone?

***

After reading parts of this thread, I decided I should put a spare square taper 73mm UN-55, 122.5mm bottom bracket on my shelf for a spare for the Nomad.  I could substitute a 127mm, looked for that too.  And yesterday I looked on-line, and looked harder, and started looking for substitute brands and models, and ... eventually gave up looking.

A few years ago I was in a local bike charity that takes old bikes in, fixes them up and resells them, they try to train underprivileged youth into the world of working while providing discounted bikes to the poor.  They have bins of old used parts.  In a bin I found an old cup and cone 73mm/122.5mm spindle, which I mated to a set of cups and some bearings which I bought.  Got home and cleaned it up, that was when I found that the bearing surfaces on the spindle were badly pitted, bad enough that I think it unusable.   

Yesterday, found a new old stock duplicate of that spindle on Ebay.  I paid the overpriced cost of $17 USD.  So, if my UN-55 goes bad, hopefully I will be able to get home before it goes kaput.  And once home, switch to cup and cone.

When I worked in a bike shop, all the bottom brackets then were cup and cone, so I have no fear of getting a cup and cone square taper bottom bracket functional.  I have re-greased plenty of them over the years.

[Andre Jute]

A few years ago I was in a local bike charity that takes old bikes in, fixes them up and resells them, they try to train underprivileged youth into the world of working while providing discounted bikes to the poor.  They have bins of old used parts.  In a bin I found an old cup and cone 73mm/122.5mm spindle, which I mated to a set of cups and some bearings which I bought.  Got home and cleaned it up, that was when I found that the bearing surfaces on the spindle were badly pitted, bad enough that I think it unusable.

Ashtabula is alive and well in Madison, WI!

[Danneaux]

...yesterday I looked on-line, and looked harder, and started looking for substitute brands and models, and ... eventually gave up looking.

The entire bike industry is suffering some pretty severe supply-chain problems at present. I was helping place orders last week for a couple friends who own shops. If components aren't outright unavailable from distributors and suppliers, they're backordered indefinitely. I saw expected delivery dates extending well into 2023 and beyond. One for a car roof rack cargo pod was listed as "2035" -- their proxy for "out of stock, availability unknown". Bikes are pre-sold before they've arrived and the prices of used bikes is ticking upward as the supply of new ones is often nil. Hopefully things will begin to ease toward the start of next year. Until then we may have to make do with whatever's available. For example, I found most of Shimano's derailleur offerings were unavailable until I managed to find a small supply of low-end Tourney rear mechs. We were able to trade some stock with other shops so customer repair needs could be met.

As the supply of higher-end components gets tighter, the counterfeits and closely labeled copies are surging. I've seen three "Shingmano" derailleurs and a couple rear mechs labeled "Toumey" and one called "Alevio" instead of "Alivio" -- all used he expected font and it required a second look to really scope what was "off". Be careful out there, I've even seen some "Tamge-Saiki" bottom brackets. I even saw a "Diant" mountain bike where the "D" was so highly stylized it looked like a "G". If you buy from a reputable source you should be okay but eBay may become a little sketchy in the weeks and months ahead. A guy locally was advertising "Romex" watches with the minute hand at 12 obscuring the "m" in his photos, so it isn't just bikes. Prices were up there, too. 

Best,

Dan.

[mickeg]

...
Ashtabula is alive and well in Madison, WI!

?

The entire bike industry is suffering some pretty severe supply-chain problems at present. ...

I am well aware that supply chains are a mess.  But I had no idea that 73mm bottom brackets were being dropped from manufacturers production schedules.

And to think that I went with square taper in large part because you would always be able to get it fixed at just about any bike shop, any time, anywhere.

I have Campy square taper triples on several bikes, I prefer the Origin8 bottom brackets over the Campy, recently I realized that all square taper bottom brackets fell off of the Origin8 website.  I did find someone had one with the Campy taper in the spindle length I wanted, so it is now on my shelf as a spare.

[WorldTourer]

And to think that I went with square taper in large part because you would always be able to get it fixed at just about any bike shop, any time, anywhere.

Some of Thorn’s marketing about what parts to choose for problem-free servicing or replacement around the world years into the future, now needs to be reconsidered. I first noticed this in 2018 in Chile, where replacement rim-brake pads were impossible to find unless special-ordered over the internet – I visited over twenty bike shops in Arica and Santiago and the staff spoke as if disc brakes had superseded rim brakes years ago already. Then here we see the dearth of quality square-taper bottom brackets, so in much of the developed world you may be more likely to get a good, long-life replacement if you had just installed Hollowtech cranks like (they’ll tell you) everyone does nowadays. I’ve heard rumours that Schwalbe may discontinue the 26" size of some of their better tires, etc.

[PH]

Some of Thorn’s marketing about what parts to choose for problem-free servicing or replacement around the world years into the future, now needs to be reconsidered.

I think you're right, it's only a thought because I don't have the experience to say otherwise.  Yet I also think, that despite the image, such tourers are a tiny percentage of Thorn customers,  I suspect for most a replacement BB isn't ever going to be needed in a hurry in some exotic part of the World.  They rarely fail in such a catastrophic way that for most replacement could wait till they're back home a thousand miles later.  Where, at least if home is the UK, finding a suitable replacement is ten minutes on google or half an hour at most if you want a decent choice, good price and fast delivery. As ST chainsets become less common so will the choice of BB's and 73 have always been less common than 68, but for most of us, they're not going to disappear in our lifetimes.

[mickeg]

...
Some of Thorn’s marketing about what parts to choose for problem-free servicing or replacement around the world years into the future, now needs to be reconsidered. ...

Some of Thorn’s marketing about what parts to choose for problem-free servicing or replacement around the world years into the future, now needs to be reconsidered.

I think you're right, it's only a thought because I don't have the experience to say otherwise.  Yet I also think, that despite the image, such tourers are a tiny percentage of Thorn customers,  I suspect for most a replacement BB isn't ever going to be needed in a hurry in some exotic part of the World.  They rarely fail in such a catastrophic way that for most replacement could wait till they're back home a thousand miles later.  Where, at least if home is the UK, finding a suitable replacement is ten minutes on google or half an hour at most if you want a decent choice, good price and fast delivery. As ST chainsets become less common so will the choice of BB's and 73 have always been less common than 68, but for most of us, they're not going to disappear in our lifetimes.

I did not rely very much on Thorn marketing for my component decisions on how to build up my Sherpa or my Nomad Mk II.  The one place where I did rely on their marketing, I found out that I should not have done so, that is why my rims on my Nomad Mk II are much narrower than I would have preferred.

All of my bikes are square taper except one, my road bike is one I bought complete, it came with a Campy drive train.  I built up the rest of my bikes from the frame and fork.

I worked as a mechanic in a bike shop before college, in almost all situations (other than my road bike) I chose the parts based on anticipated longevity, robustness, reliability, ease of replacement and reparability.  And generally I am quite happy with my component choices.  But I am a bit disappointed that some manufacturers have decided to make major component changes that could mean that some of my components will be hard to source in the future, such as parts for quick release hubs and skewers versus through axles.

26 inch tires may be more difficult to find in the future, but that certainly can't be blamed on Thorn.

[WorldTourer]

26 inch tires may be more difficult to find in the future, but that certainly can't be blamed on Thorn.

I certainly don't blame Thorn for anything, I only feel sorry for them that they are at the mercy of an industry that is obsoleting components that they had reasonably hoped would stay around.

[Andre Jute]

I find it very interesting that through-the-bottom-bracket electric motors for bikes made in China use square taper pedal fitments. We're looking at a very large future market here, in which the dominant producer, the Chinese, will set the parameters of which products returns to production after the pandemic is beaten, not by planning but simply by being such a massive lowest common denominator.

Even if the Chinese suddenly go Hollowtech (a hollow horselaugh here -- they hate the Japanese with a fervour) or one morning decide to invent their own standard (possible and even likely with central planning), the boutique makers will supply, as they now supply a whole Rene Herse bike, or as Orange Velo supply antique parts made yesterday. In the longer term, the worry is not about supply but about costs: boutique prices and carriage from distant international suppliers.

In short, while sympathise with those who have urgent present needs, in the longer term, even in the medium term, I have no fear for my beloved square taper pedal axles and bottom brackets.