Submitted by
Zacdos
a Cross Country Rider
from WA state Date Reviewed: July 6, 2008
Favorite Trail:
like just about everythibg
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Looks pretty, Kinda light I guess
Weaknesses:
Broke way too fast for me
Similar Products Used:
none on this bike setup
Bike Setup:
El Saltamontes, RF cranks ISIS
Bottom Line:
Ok I have hardly ridden this bike much in the 5 years I have had it. Rode for 6 months straight then had a major crash and could not ride for a time (too long). Was riding it yesterday and felt play in the BB so removed it and it was trash. I am not hard on parts by any means and do not do big drops. Even though my cranks are still fine I am considering dumping ISIS and going to Square Taper!!
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Submitted by
Freddie
a Cross Country Rider
from Harbor City, CA Date Reviewed: May 29, 2008
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Been dead reliable. Throw it on and forget about it. No creaks, no loosening, no play, bearings smoooth!
Weaknesses:
None.
Similar Products Used:
POS Race Face Signature (bearings totally contaminated and gritty after one season), TruVativ Giga (developed play, didn't seem to hold its grease)
Bike Setup:
Santa Cruz Superlight. Bottom bracket attached to TruVativ ISIS Team cranks.
Bottom Line:
Absolutely no issues whatsover after 2 years of riding (I do live in drier So Cal) and the cranks spin as smoothly as the day I installed this bottom bracket. Hell I've totally forgotten about this product and even forgot to regrease the bottom bracket shell and threads at the end of the first riding seaon. The Race Face Signature that was installed previously NEVER spun smoothly and the bearings became gritty very quickly.
Great job FSA!
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Submitted by
corey
a Weekend Warrior
from se us Date Reviewed: February 1, 2008
Favorite Trail:
one with dirt and rock
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
lbs
Strengths:
it works, its smooth, its quiet.
Weaknesses:
price is a little high
Similar Products Used:
old no name square taper
Bike Setup:
basic hardtail with truvativ stylo cranks
Bottom Line:
apparently a lot of people have had bad luck with this bb, I have not. I'm 210lbs and don't ride real aggressive but I don't exactly slow down for rock gardens and rough stuff either.
guess i'm one of the lucky ones
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Submitted by
Reamer
a Cross Country Rider
from Tempe, AZ Date Reviewed: December 18, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Aspen Creek
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$30.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
It fit my frame
Weaknesses:
Bearings do not hold up.
Similar Products Used:
Race Face, SHimano
Bike Setup:
Ventana El Conquistador Tandem MTB
Bottom Line:
The bearings started feeling like broken glass marbles after a few months of riding. They still function and haven't broken, yet. But very rough.
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Submitted by
Luke
a Downhiller
from Australia Date Reviewed: August 30, 2007
Well way to much to list, but a highend hardcore DH race rig!
Bottom Line:
I have thrown everything at this BB in the 2yrs of racing downhill & extreme freeriding with MASSIVE drops & it hasnt skipped a beat! :) Even though its not a DH BB, it has worked perfectly for 2yrs, So i highly recommend it!!!
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Submitted by
Random Drivel
a Weekend Warrior
from Marin, CA Date Reviewed: May 11, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Hitler
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
Universal
Strengths:
Stiff. Strong. Clyde Worthy. Your mom would approve.
Weaknesses:
Does not say "Phil Wood" on it.
Similar Products Used:
none.
Bike Setup:
inbred 1 x 9 with Middleburn 180mm cranks and a bunch of blingy parts. Whoo Hoo.
Bottom Line:
Pleasantly surprised at how easy this BB was to install (but I used to wrench on bikes and Porsches, so go figure). After a few rides the seals loosened up and now I have nothing but pure buttery BB smoothness. Great BB to run with Middleburn cranks, and very clyde-worthy. Looks like FSA finally got ISIS right. About time. Have to say that the more FSA stuff I use the more I am impressed.
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Submitted by
Justin
a Cross Country Rider
from Cedar City, UT Date Reviewed: December 10, 2006
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Down Shift Cycles
Strengths:
Super light, and super smooth. Ti. Four bearings.
Weaknesses:
none that I've noticed.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano octalink, FSA and Truvative external BBs
Bike Setup:
Commencal Meta 5
Bottom Line:
This review is for the Platinum Pro Megaquad Ti.
I've had a really good experience with this bottom bracket. It actually gets more smooth the more you ride it. It's also very light. Combined with the FSA Afterburner ISIS crankset, I'm only a few grams over the M960 XTR.
I was just riding the other day, noticing the buttery smooth pedalling, so I had to get on here and write a review.
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Submitted by
Ray Zapata
a Cross Country Rider
from PUERTO RICO Date Reviewed: December 7, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$72.00
Purchased At:
Ciclomundo Dorado
Strengths:
Looks
Weaknesses:
It simply went apart after a month of use and a 24 hr race..My recomendation do not buy it.I send an email to FSA and never answer my reply.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano octalink
Bike Setup:
Macalu Titanium hardtail....
Bottom Line:
Do not ever in your life buy it is just a well look piece of crab. To finish my coment FSA do not reply ever and back up their products..again my recomendation DO NOT BUY IT..
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Submitted by
Pooh Bear
a Cross Country Rider
from 100 acre wood Date Reviewed: November 23, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At:
www.bike-box.de
Strengths:
It's light enough. For me at least.
Weaknesses:
don't know yet
Similar Products Used:
Race Face Signature, Truvativ, RPM
Bike Setup:
steel rigid singlespeed with 2:1 gear ratio = lots of torque
Bottom Line:
The first isis bottom bracket that held up for more than 3 months. The RPM I used also comes from FSA but it went the usual ISIS trash can way after 1 week. The Race Face one worked 6 weeks. Then the spindle was bent. The Truvativ started making noise right after the first flat ride.
This FSA Platinum Pro thingie is lighter than the others listed and still spins smoothly. No noise. No mixing up of grease and dirt. I once rode through a river that turned out to be bottom bracket deep. Well it didn't do any harm to this well machined BB. Two bearings on the right side work out quite well. If it dies - SKF will be the next.
It's good for XC riders. If you're a clyde and/or ride very aggressively - ISIS is no option for you anyway.
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Submitted by
Grumpy
a Cross Country Rider
from Sydney, Australia Date Reviewed: November 7, 2006
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$60.00
Strengths:
Light.
Weaknesses:
Weak. Like, really weak.
Similar Products Used:
Race Face Signature.
Bike Setup:
Santa Cruz Superlight, Race Face ISIS Turbine cranks.
Bottom Line:
A lot of people have bearing trouble with ISIS BBs. I would love to have had the bearings wear out on this BB, but the spindle broke. I was jumping off a 4" (yes, inch) rock and when I landed, craaaack, and both feet fell forward. I thought I'd pulled the BB shell off the frame, but nope, I'd schnapped the schpindle. Now, this bike is a XC bike. It gets used for XC trail, endurance races, but no jumps or hucking or DHing, gees it's a Superlight, not a VPFree. So please believe me when I say the bike doesn't get trashed around. Shame about the BB, because the bearings were still buttery smooth. I'm going to try a SKF next.
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Submitted by
cooper
a Weekend Warrior
from midwest Date Reviewed: October 6, 2006
Favorite Trail:
porcupine rim
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$30.00
Strengths:
Light and stiff.
Weaknesses:
Started creaking after 2 months. Now it sounds like a cracking kindling!
Similar Products Used:
EVERYTHING! Raceface, SHimano (supercrap!), World Class, Synacros, Truvativ... square, isis, and outboard. still prefer a good old square spindle!
Bike Setup:
ROAD BIKE! 97' Fuji team w/ last gen Dura Ace, Bont Cyclocross cranks, Rold Vectors.
Bottom Line:
Unless you are a light rider, dont buy this product. I am heavy on cranks, but this thing really disspointed me in lifetime. I gotta get something better fast or else I have the feeling my cranks will stop spinning soon.
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Submitted by
Nick
a Weekend Warrior
from Wollongong, NSW, Australia Date Reviewed: October 1, 2006
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Weaknesses:
Creaked from the start, sheared the spindle in 2 off a 4ft drop
Similar Products Used:
Raceface srx, shimano whatever
Bike Setup:
kona bear, fox float 100rlc, xt, hayes
Bottom Line:
There is a reason this bb was cheap, spend a bit more and buy something decent
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Submitted by
Lee
a Cross Country Rider
from Berkeley Date Reviewed: September 22, 2006
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
colorful
Weaknesses:
expensive and short lived
Similar Products Used:
Truvativ Gigapipe Team DH
Bike Setup:
Specialized Hardrock setup as commuter
Bottom Line:
It started creaking from day 1, and now has developed a tick that can be felt during both downstrokes while pedaling. The same feeling as old school 3 piece bottom brackets when they need adjustment, except you can't adjust this piece of garbage. And yes I'm sure it's the bottom bracket, not the cranks, chainrings, stem, seatpost, saddle, frame, etc. All this for a $60 bottom bracket with well under 1000 commuter miles on nice smooth roads.
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Submitted by
Dyo
a Cross Country Rider
from Szeged, Hungary Date Reviewed: August 2, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
It's light, however the it's heavier than it is said on the official home page or printed in their brochures even printed on its box
Weaknesses:
Bearing are extremly _weak_. I had 3 races in mud and there is nothing greas like stuff in the left bearing but mud. Brownish mud is coming out from the bearing.
Similar Products Used:
BB-un 25, un 73
Bike Setup:
Home made Kona Kula Deluxe 2004
Bottom Line:
I wouldn't recommend it to be bought! If you're thinking of buying it, DO NOT do that! buy something cheaper, because it doesn't worth a piece of sh*t. But I give 2 flamin' Chilli as I used it for one year - but three muddy race :(
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Submitted by
Mr Anderson
a Weekend Warrior
from Albufeira Date Reviewed: July 28, 2006
Favorite Trail:
XC, agressive XC
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$110.00
Purchased At:
local BS
Strengths:
looks
Weaknesses:
everything else
Similar Products Used:
shimano, truvativ BB
Bike Setup:
rocky mountain element 2003, w\ race face carbon lp
Bottom Line:
"2x double-row deep-groove full-complement sealed cartridge bearing", sealed, yeah wright,that's what they say in theire website, but it's the worst shi* i've ever bought, it lasted for "almost" 4 months and then the bearings got tasted.I wouldn't recomended to anybody, i wonder if they had last longer, some people say that they manage to brake them in half !!! Nobody should bought it . The Isis system ie crap whatever brand makes it. Shimano may be 10 grams more but it lasts. Now i have to buy a complete set of cranks.
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Submitted by
Roman
a
from Tallinn, Estonia Date Reviewed: July 16, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
Veloplus
Strengths:
Quite light
Weaknesses:
Weak !
Similar Products Used:
Truvativ Gigapipe
Bottom Line:
Broke/bend on a second day after buying. I did dirt jump about 1-1.5 meters and after landing axle bent... so did the left bearing cartridge broke. Well it says on bb "not for downhill or jumping". Dont buy this bb if you plan to do hard stuff, for light XC it might suit well.
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Submitted by
Ben
a Downhiller
from NZ Date Reviewed: February 20, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Strengths:
None
Weaknesses:
The whole thing is weak. Cranks always used to come loose.
Bike Setup:
Hardtail
Bottom Line:
Spindle snapped after a day of downhiling, no hucks, what a piece of crap. I only had about 6hours riding on it and it broke, I was lucky i did not get hurt when the spindle snapped clean in half. I was not going full speed ahead when i had to go and fetch my crank arm either.
Get something else!!!
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Submitted by
casey white
a Downhiller
from seattle,wa Date Reviewed: February 13, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$70.00
Purchased At:
downhill zone
Strengths:
none that i could find
Weaknesses:
the first one bent in half after one ride,the guys @the down hill zone warrantied it for me the second i got maybe three weekends out of before it snapped in the dead center off of a four and a half foot drop, after seeing the inside of one no wonder they break so easy the machine work is horrible the spindel is hollow and the wall thickness varies through out the balls in the bearings are tiny
Similar Products Used:
truvativ stuff, shimano
Bike Setup:
04 brodie devo, shiver 729 mavic
Bottom Line:
if you weigh 165 or less you might be able to ride on of these for more than a day or two but for us bigger guys not the ticket i don't even know if i would put one on an xc bike
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Submitted by
George
a Weekend Warrior
from Oakham Date Reviewed: February 8, 2006
Submitted by
scott
a Cross Country Rider
from winmalee australia Date Reviewed: December 29, 2005
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$90.00
Strengths:
no strengths at all
Weaknesses:
creek,creek,creek
Bottom Line:
this bottom bracket broke in half on a light fire trail leaving me to ride one legged for 20km to get home. NOT HAPPY. ive done mainly commuting and some light cross county, i weight 165 pounds i doubt i overstressed the bottom bracket and i know i didn`t abbuse it but still it broke.
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Submitted by
Jeff Kelly
a
from Calgary, Alberta, Canada Date Reviewed: December 10, 2005
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
none
Weaknesses:
Bearings blew up on the bike after about 10 rides. I emailed FSA asking about warranty (they are supposed to warranty for 1 year) and they offered to sell me replacement bearings for half the cost of a new BB... No thanks.
Similar Products Used:
Syncros, Shimano, White Industry, Race Face
Bike Setup:
'05 Turner 6-pack.
Bottom Line:
This is total garbage. Save yourself a few bucks and run far and fast from this horrible bottom bracket. I had only taken the bike out on a few XC rides, no drops or hard riding, and the bearings were so far gone the cranks would hardly turn in the frame. Too bad I can't give it a -ve number of flaming turds because that's just what this POS is.
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Submitted by
Tim
a
from Newmarket,Ont,Can Date Reviewed: November 11, 2005
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
bike shop
Strengths:
NONE!!!!
Weaknesses:
this BB is the biggest peice of crap you can get. I went off a little drop and the spindle just snapped right in half dead center.
Bottom Line:
well i would never by this BB again.
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Submitted by
Karl
a Cross Country Rider
from Montreal Date Reviewed: August 6, 2005
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Online Web Purchase
Strengths:
NONE
Weaknesses:
Well it only lasted about 10 minutes so !
Similar Products Used:
Shimano Truvativ, Race Face
Bike Setup:
Trek 7000
Bottom Line:
10 minutes after installation on my son' bike, the inner main spindle snapped in half after my son went over a small drop, luckily he was not hurt.It took three days to get a hold of someone in Customer service at FSA, I was finally told that this type of failure was considered abuse and would not be covered under warranty ! What, so using a XC BB on an XC bike is fine unless it breaks then you should have used our DH BB it's stronger. So now they want me to waste another $10 to send it back and will only warranty it if there was a defect which they never seen before on a spindle! Looks like I am wasting my time with FSA. Today there seems to be two kinds of manufacturers in the biking industry, those that stand behind their products and support their customers by making it easy to deal with issues etc. And those who feel ther are never at fault and the end user is the problem not my product. FSA is clearly in the latter group and will not see any more business from me. One star is already too much in this case
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Submitted by
Victor
a Cross Country Rider
from Redmond, WA Date Reviewed: June 17, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Many
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
Local Bike Shop
Strengths:
None.
Weaknesses:
Seals are easily compromised.
Similar Products Used:
None.
Bike Setup:
Specialized FSR Rockhopper.
Bottom Line:
I'm on my third bottom bracket in nine months. The positive thing is that FSA has a great warranty and they have a no hassle replacement policy. But I'm tried of taking on my bike in every three months to have the BB replaced. You should consider another product. I ride mostly XC trails and the cranks do hit rocks, tree roots, etc. The seals are easily weakened and performance quickly deteriorates.
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Submitted by
chris
a Cross Country Rider
from okc,oklahoma.usa Date Reviewed: May 11, 2005
Favorite Trail:
the one I'm riding
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At:
bicycle store too
Strengths:
smooth very smooth,weight,
Weaknesses:
what?not for dh ro fr
Similar Products Used:
race face srx,shimano
Bike Setup:
04 nrs,fox 80 rlt,mavic crossland wheelset,spd petals,fsa team carbon pro crank,cloud nine rear shock,avid bb7 brakes,avid sd 7 levers,carbon slk seatpost,bar stem and seat.xt derailurs frontand rear
Bottom Line:
I would recommend this bottem bracket to any crosscountry racer or weekender looking for top shelf compontes without the price tag.This thing is tough i'm 200+ lbs. And take 2 and 3 foot drops on a regular baises.And have yet to have any problems with it.I'll agree with the other post u don't even know it's there.Best bang for your buck. 5flamers for value,5flamers for overall rateing.
$
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