cccorlew

It's a long dull story, but I'll do what I can to speed it along...

1. There's clicking coming from somewhere in my Motobecane Le Champion SL. It's very annoying and getting worse.



2. I do research on BF and discover the FSA/ISIS click thread.
https://bikeforums.net/showthread.php...ight=fsa+click
I also discover ISIS has a bad rep.

3. I take the bike to LBS. Yep, bottom bracket they say.

4. Decision: Rather than replace suspect bottom bracket with another ISIS, I order a Shimano R700 compact crank and Ultegra bottom bracket. LBS installs.

SIDENOTE. Bikesdirect speced "TruVativ or FSA" bottom bracket in their ads and web page. This is what was found inside. "Chin Haur" LBS says it wasn't installed very well.


5. ARRRGGGGG. Clicking still. But substructure in thread https://bikeforums.net/showthread.php...ight=fas+click said he tighted his QR and solved his problem

I really tightened my rear QR and ZOOM. All better. I am an idiot. But then my LBS didn't exactly save the day either. On the other hand, LBS had no problem with me finding a great deal on the cranks and BB elsewhere and having them install it all.

Did I waste money? Maybe, but the Ultegra shifts a bit better, and I'm pleased to not have that other BB any longer.

Such is life.

rickhigbee

Despite Mikes best efforts on these boards to bring some credibility to Bikedirect, it's stories like this that cause me to loose faith. Too bad... I have ordered one of their bikes. It will be here today (Vent Noir). If there is so much as a bent spoke or item not as described it's going back to them. I already regret my purchace and I've not even seen my bike yet.

jrennie

rickhigbee - THERE WAS NO PROBLEM WITH THE BIKE!

A creak cause by a quick release is hardly the fault of BD. I have a campy QR that did the same thing, they must be crap also

rickhigbee

So, the part from "Chin Haur" was acceptable?

Rutnick

A friend of mine was getting the dreaded "click" from his FSA ISIS cranks on his recent Motobecane purchase. I took off the cranks and the drive side of the bottom bracket wasn't tight. Tightened it up and no more problems. That was disappointing but better than the one poster that said they couldn't get the BB out.

cccorlew

I actually like the bike a lot! The problem was me. That said, I am concerned that the BB was some weird brand and LBS said it wasn't threaded in very well.
Still, even knowing this now, I'd have bought the bike as the wheels and parts were such a good deal.

ggg300

not in my book

but who the hell knows anymore...FSA may source from them...

DocRay

That does not look like an FSA BB, or Truvativ (which make truly crap ISIS bbs).
The problem is that it is a cheap part. Period.
you buy a cheap bike, you get cheap parts. big surprise.

cccorlew

Wow. Brutal. The rest of the bike is Ultegra and Ritchy WCS. American Clasic wheels. Pretty non-cheap stuff. Even the FSA cranks aren't bad.

Even though it is a cheap part, I do with it had been threaded in better.

Rutnick

you did the right thing and there is NOTHING wrong with the rest of that bike. That Shimano crank is much better. He's just bitter because ISIS is a dead standard anyway. Chris King developed it and then dropped it because it wasn't up to their standards. His BB has ceramic and Ti in it and is ISIS. He also likes pigs with lipstick.

My only other grip about the Motobecane bikes are that the larger frames like 58cm only comes with a 42cm width handlebar.

BTW, cut your fingernails!

cccorlew

I knew I should have credited my sweet wife as "holder of crappy part"
Those are her nails, Mr. Observant!

Rutnick

well, is she also the wrench because those hands look dirty. If yes, man, what a lucky man.

gautam_dewan

So cccorlew likes his American Classic wheels but not his Chin Haur BB ? I just bought the exact same bike as him. So I got interested in this thread. I did some google searches. Turns out Chin Haur supplies hubs to American Classic, and also to several other companies. They have been in business since 1957, and are a massive manufaturer of BBs and Hubs among other components. Google for the following search terms: chin haur american classic
For example, I found the following quote: (By thewheelworks in the thread https://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=74546 )
"Chin Haur is the maker of the hubs for Formula. They also make the hubs for Ritchey, American Classic, Velocity, Spinergy and WTB to name a couple more."
Further down in the thread, thewheelworks says:
Chin Haur also makes some headsets for some "people like America"n Classic, Ritchey, Cane Creek(who makes their own hubs in the USA) and many others. You would be surprised by the amount of products this one company makes. Many US makers go with the same company due to convienence as well as playing the manufacturer against itsel"f trying to get cheaper prices."

Gautam.

cccorlew

Actually, I didn't like the way it was installed, and I didn't like that it wasn't what BikesDirect said it would be. I did indeed call it "some weird brand" which, considering it wasn't the brand I was expecting, it is some weird brand.
I can't speak to it's quality, but it does weigh more than (using the careful palm of the hand method) then the Ultegra I replaced it with.
So, gautam_dewan, are you liking your bike? I know I still like mine.
But if you have a chance, pull the BB and check the threading and, jutt for fun, see if it's what you think you bought.

battery guy

i cant believe u didn't know that your QR wasn't on tight.

aballas

so...are you getting rid of that god awful crappy FSA crank? If so send it my way...

shabbasuraj

ISIS = barf

SoreFeet

Square taper rules! I have a sealed cartridge shimano that I bought and it is a heavy POS compared to my square taper. You certainly can't expect high quality parts on a mass produced cookie plastic bike. Most all bikes that offer bang for the buck leave a lot to be desired in upgrades.

The ultegra is a very nice upgrade and probably won't let you down for many miles. Enjoy the cookie cutter bike while it lasts. You might want to try riding a real Motobecane made of Reynolds 531 or Vitus. There is a fine line between the Motobecane of today and yesterday.

cccorlew

Yep, stupid. Yet it didn't seem loose at all. It was reasonably tight. I ended up really tightening it a lot. The combo of the AC wheels and this bike make tightening feel a lot different than bikes I've had in the past.

gautam_dewan

When I bought the bike, in late August 2007, it was spec'd as having a "sealed cartridge BB". No brand was specified. The 2008 model that is currently on the website says: "TruVativ or FSA".

I haven't ridden it much yet. I have a marathon coming up in about 2 wks., so I am currently not riding. About the bike: It arrived in good shape, with no apparent damage. I brought it to a LBS to install a 12-27 cassette, and do a tune up. I changed the saddle and the tires myself. It seems to work fine, other than the front derailleur needs a lot of trimming with the 34T chainring. I will probably have to eventually change out the derailleur or the compact crank or something.

Gautam.

Rutnick

and you might want to try something other than friction down tube.

bsyptak

Clearly there is nothing wrong with the bottom bracket. Who cares what name is on it? It's probably the same BB as name brand component makers offer. In fact, this BB probably was purchased from FSA or TruVativ, but it just wasn't spray painted with FSA or TruVativ. BFD.

Unless you're a whale, your BB should be forgotten. Just like your headset.

Rutnick

I agree about the BB. There is one problem with it though...ISIS. barf.

aballas

it's no more cookie cutter than trek or giant...and at least the motos come with decent parts for the price...can't really say the same for entry-level stuff from any of the big guys...

OkComputer

I have the same bike which I bought in Dec 06 and it has developed a horrible creaking sound since the last several rides. I suspect I have the same Chin Haur BB as the end of ring/cup in the pic above looks the same as mine with the 8 notches. I tried all the fixes (tighten/lube qr, seat, pedals, cleats) but none of them worked.

I am now trying to remove the bottom bracket so I can clean it. I got as far as unthreading one of the rings/cups but I can't pull it out. Am I supposed to yank it out using some force? I'm afraid I might break it if I do. The ring/cup that I unthreaded is on the drive side (I removed the drive side cranks and non-drive side crank arm is still attached).

Any help would be appreciated.