So, what you are going to do is put the regular adapters in the frame with the bearings. Then take the new adapters from WMFG and slide those into the adapters in the frame. This way you can still use the bearings on the crank. Yup, a BB within a BB within a BB within a….
A fellow Mooseknuckler, Fixie Dave posted a link to this adapter a couple of days ago.
The link was posted with an astute question, “If BB30 is so awesome why are there so many kits to use old school BB’s?”
That is a good question, why are there so many adapters? Well, for starters when there are more standards than one, there tends to arise the need to adapt other “standards.” Which brings us to the point that there isn’t really a standard, there’s what we are doing and what they are doing and the instructions on how to get the two together.
If we look at the BB30 “standard” and all the adapters a couple of things become obvious. First, frame companies love the big gaping hole in their frames. Why? They can claim that it’s lighter and stiffer. Remove the metal from the frame and have a hole there, yup that’s lighter. Not much you can argue with there. We all know that the motivating factor for almost all “advances” in frame technology are simply so they can say it’s lighter and stiffer.
Second, let’s look at the component manufactures that propagated this bastardized world we live in. FSA and SRAM love the standard and make the only cranks that are actually BB30. Yup, you read that right Shimano and Campagnolo do not make BB30 cranks. So the only companies making cranks for the gaping hole in your frame are the companies that are incapable of making a descent crank.
Hold on, stop throwing things at your screen you’re only going to ruin your computer.
Now that you are done throwing your tantrum let me explain. I don’t care if you are a SRAMite or happen to think FSA is God’s gift to the cycling industry, those are your opinions and your entitled to them. My opinion, after 17 years in the cycling industry, is that Shimano and Campagnolo are the only companies that make a descent crank. The reason they haven’t released a BB30 crank, because they don’t need a bigger spindle to make a stiff crank. And let’s be honest with each other, their cranks shift and roll the best and if you are flexing a Dura Ace crank you probably need to let up on the steroids.
So all those adapters we were talking about, yup they are all designed so you can do what? Take the “standard” made by the sub-standard crank folks and still use a good crank.
Questions answered.
And No, Virginia there isn’t a Santa Claus…
Out.