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Step 1: gather your

materials

Wait a minute….
Step 1: gather your
materials

There we go. This is going to get


messy….

For a work surface, you want a wide,


open space covered with material that
will keep the bearings from rolling off
in every direction should they fall on it.
It should be free of clutter, and far
away from drainage holes, sewer
gratings, subway gratings, rabbit,
mole, or groundhog burrows, fault
lines, wells, and any other kind of
opening that errant ball and needle
bearings might seek out as they flee
your fumbling fingers.

Although the ball and needle bearings


in Dura-Ace Octalinkbottom brackets
are “standard” and “readily available,”
Murphy’s Law suggests that when you
actually lose one, no bike shop within
a 100-mile radius will have them in
stock, and that they’ll take three weeks
to arrive because QBP has them on
backorder from Shimano.
Step 2: disassemble
your bottom bracket

That looks about as ugly as it feels....

Like I said earlier, my intention is to


offer tips on how to clean, lube, and
maintain a Dura-Ace Octalinkbottom
bracket, nothing more. So I’m going to
use a bottom bracket that’s already
been disassembled as my starting
point, and I’m not going to try to
provide instructions on how to remove
it, disassemble it, reassemble it, or
install it. For that, I’ll refer you to
Shimano’s service instructions, which,
kind chap that I am, I’ve included in
the blog, along with an exploded view.

“Exploded” indeed….

One word of caution: don’t be tempted


to use a magnet to remove the
bearings, at least not if you plan on
ever using them again. It seems like a
cool, bike-shop thing to do, but you’ll
end up magnetizing the bearings, and
ruining them in the process.
Step 3: separate parts that
contain plastic and rubber
from parts that do not.

The powers that be at Finish Line will


disagree with me on this, but any way
you cut it, Citrus is a stronger
degreaser than Multi.

The problem is that citrus degreasers


in general will break down most kinds
of rubber and plastic, which means
that Citrus’ uncanny cleaning power
can only be applied to metal parts
without risking damage to essential
components like seals. Multi can be
used on any kind of material, and
though it isn’t as powerful as Citus, it’s
certainly powerful enough to strip any
grime that isn’t actually embedded into
the material in question. And it’s
biodegradable, just like Citrus….

In the case of the Octalink bottom


bracket, you can see that the only
parts that don’t contain any rubber or
plastic at all are the lockring and the
spindle.
Step 4: put parts into
different containers and
pour in your degreasers

Yes, those are canning jars; they’re the only


glass jars I could find. Now all I have to do is
make sure they don’t get mixed in with the
ones I put my strawberries in….

I wanted to use glass jars so that you could


see what was going on inside, but really, any
container will do. The shop standard is the
coffee can. Consider this an opportunity to
show your commitment to fair trade organic
small-batch-roasted whatever….

In order to make sure that I don’t put the


wrong parts in the wrong bath, I’ve labeled
the jars, with an “E” for Multi (?!), and a “C”
for “Citrus” (Multi used to be called Ecotech,
and the top of the label still reads Ecotech2;
hence the “E.” After calling it “Ecotech” for
10 years, it was force of habit that made me
do it, and I used a Sharpie, so….)

Both Multi and Citrus can be diluted with


water, up to 20 parts for Multi, 5 for Citrus.
But this is a bottom bracket, which means it
sees dirtier conditions, higher forces, and
less maintenance than almost any other part
on a bike, so I’d recommend using the
degreasers at their full strength.
Step 5: wait a while

Remember when I said that Multi


was strong enough to strip away
most kinds of grime? I’m not
exaggerating when I say that the
Multi bath went from clear to dirty in
about three minutes.

Still, it’ll be a while before you do


this overhaul again, so it makes
sense to wait a little longer than
that, maybe ten minutes, and give
the degreasers time to do their
jobs. Have a beer, stare out the
window, maybe close your eyes
and pretend it’s a summer
afternoon in the bike shop of your
dreams…
Step 6: remove all parts
from the Multi bath except
for the bearing retainers

This includes the cups, C-clips, and


seals.
Step 7: spray those
parts with Speed Clean

The cynic, and there are plenty of them in


cycling, will say, “Dude, if Multi is so
strong, why do you need Speed Clean,
too?”
Two reasons. The first has to do with
removing dirt from nooks and crannies
that are hard to reach with a rag or brush.
Many shops use an air compressor to do
this. If you’re like me and don’t have one,
Speed Clean is the next best thing,
especially the latest version of the can
that’s equipped with the Turbo Spray
feature. The combination of a powerful
degreaser and equally powerful spray will
blow any remaining dirt right out of the
parts you’re working on.

The second has to do with drying. The


last thing you want in any closed bearing
assembly is used degreaser. It contains
dirt particles, and will break new grease
down faster than you can say “why does
the bottom bracket I just overhauled feel
like crap?” Speed Clean evaporates
immediately, and will take with it any
remaining solvent and water, sparing you
time, effort, and risk.
Step 8: brush the parts out,
and wipe them down with a
rag

After using Speed Clean, it’s likely


that the brush and rag will both
come out dry and clean, but like I
said earlier, you won’t be doing this
overhaul again for a while, and it’s
so important to the quality of your
ride that it makes sense to be
obsessive. Imagine yourself as a
Faema mechanic getting
Merckx’sbike ready for Paris-
Roubaix. Would you leave any
cobble unturned as you prepared
his machine for glory? I thought
not…
Step 9: shake it

The only parts remaining in the jar


should be the two needle bearing
retainers, the two ball bearing
retainers, and the bearings
themselves. Now put a lid on the
jar and shake it shake it good
shake it real good….

Two things will happen. First, any


needle and ball bearings that
haven’t done so already will drop
out of their respective retainers.
Second, they will clean themselves.
Step 10: remove the
bearing retainers, and
spray out any remaining dirt
with Speed Clean
The rationale used in Step 7
applies here as well.

Before you actually spray the


retainers clean, make sure that
there are no bearings left in them.
It’ll be practically impossible for
there to be any, but you want to
make sure, because if there are,
Speed Clean will blow them clear
across the room, and you’ll never
find them again. They don’t call it
“Turbo Spray” for nothin’….
Step 11: remove the
bearings from the bath…
Now the only parts remaining in the jar
should be needle and ball bearings,
along with dirty degreaser, and dirt.

What I like to do is carefully pour the


dirty degreaser into another container,
then pour water into the container with
the bearings, swirl it around, and pour
it out again, to get some of the excess
dirt out. Always drain the dirty
degreaser into another container,
never into a drain. No matter how
careful you are, one tiny, prodigal
bearing will slip out and disappear
down the drain, and that’s all it will
take to ruin your day.

Once you’re done rinsing and draining,


gently dump the bearings into another,
smaller container, where they’ll receive
their final Speed Clean treatment. I
find that the ideal container for this is
actually the cap to the Speed Clean
can….
Step 12: …and spray
them down with Speed
Clean
The cap to the Speed Clean can
has a small well in it that’s perfect
for containing the bearings while
you treat them with Speed Clean.
It’s small enough to keep the
bearings from jumping out when
you spray into it, and the ring
around it seems to collect any dirty
degreaser before it evaporates. I’m
proud to have discovered it.

Once you’ve sprayed the bearings


down to your satisfaction, drain that
outer ring, then spill the bearings
out onto a rag, and gently wipe
them dry, or spread them out and
let them air dry while you move on
to….
Step 13: the spindle and
lockring

It wouldn’t be much of a bottom


bracket without the spindle, now,
would it?

While we were working on the rest of


the bottom bracket, the spindle and
lockring were lying submerged in a
bath of awfully powerful degreaser,
which would lead one to imagine that
there’s not much work left to be done,
especially since the spindle doesn’t
have any nooks and crannies to clean
out, and the lockring isn’t a bearing-
containing part.

And that happens to be the case,


though the races on the spindle have
dirt, grime, and grease ground into
them with every turn of the crank. So,
once again, keep it obsessive, and
when you remove the spindle, spray it
down with Speed Clean, then brush off
the races.
Step 14: the races

As you’re cleaning the spindle, you


might suddenly find yourself with the
spindle in one hand, and a thin,
gleaming ring in the other. Check it for
pits, cuts, or grooves, and if there
aren’t any, slide it back on. If there
are, it’s time for a trip to the bike shop.

Since they’re the parts the bearings


turn on, the races need to be replaced
if they’re damaged as described
above. On most bottom brackets, the
races are simply machined into the
spindle, requiring a whole new spindle.
However, in what I consider a brilliant
courtesy to its customers, Shimano
made the races on the the Dura-Ace
Octalinkspindle removable, so you can
replace them individually.

And best of all, if you’re a traditionalist,


you can use an old race as an
engagement ring, though if you look at
the diameter of that spindle, it would
have to be an awfully big person you
were getting engaged to, or a small
person with awfully big fingers….
Step 15: grease the
bearing retainers

Out of all of Finish Line’s products,


I think their Teflon-fortified synthetic
grease gets the most running
improvements. I like the latest
version best, because it’s slightly
tackier so that it adheres better
than ever, but doesn’t sacrifice the
smoothness that built its reputation.

And adhesion will come into play in


these next couple of steps,
because the easiest way to reinstall
bearings into a retainer without
having them fall right back out to
the sound of cursing is to grease
the retainer first. Using your finger,
apply generous gobs of grease to
the ball and needle retainers, then
spread the grease around their
circumferences.
Step 16: reinstall the
bearings

Now that the retainers have a layer


of grease on them, you can just
seat the balls and needles in the
spaces on their respective retainers
one by one, then giggle with delight
as you turn the retainers upside
down and the bearings stay in.

Although it may seem intuitive to


spread another layer of grease on
the retainers once the bearings are
seated, don’t: the adhesive
properties of the grease that are
keeping the bearings in the retainer
will pull them right back out again.
Instead….
Step 17: grease the cups,
races, spindle, and seals

Or, as Shimano says in the


maintenance section of their service
instructions, “GREASE,” with lines
branching out to every part of the
bottom bracket except for the C clips.

And don’t worry about using too much


grease. Because I dislike opinions
that are passed off as facts, I try to be
careful with my own, but in this case
I’m going to go ahead and declare to
the ten people reading this that I don’t
believe you can ever use too much
grease, especially not in a part like a
bottom bracket that’s exposed to that
much contamination and stress. If you
do use too much, the excess will get
pressed out through the slight gaps in
the seals that are necessary for the
spindle to rotate. In other words, the
bottom bracket, or for that matter the
hub or headset, will self-adjust the
amount of grease in it, and the worst
that will happen is that you’ll have to
wipe the excess off with a rag.
Step 19: reinstall the
bearings in the cups

Again, I won’t try to provide


direction beyond that contained in
the Shimano service instructions,
other than to say be careful. Try to
hold the bearing retainers as
delicately as possible by their outer
edges, and try not to touch the
inner surfaces of the cups with the
bearings, since they’ll be sticky with
grease and might pull the bearings
out of the retainers.

Think of it as a game: if you lose,


you have to go back to the previous
level and start over again from
there. If you win….
Step 20: you’re done

Isn’t that beautiful?

Well, alright, maybe it looks more


or less the same. But in a saying
that may be truer of bottom
brackets than anything else, it’s
what’s inside that matters….

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