Silverclaws asked:
"Well, in answer to the OP, if you are renewing the drive train, why not renew the BB as well. I have just done it on a '93 Saracen, one of the new UN54's, if it goes wonky, then I will replace it, it isn't exactly a hard or time consuming job. "
Simply because of the serious concerns about the quality of Shimano parts emanating from their Singapore factory.
eg: Quote from my LBS this week: (An honest, trusted, and proven Bloke who sells all makes.)
"Well we can certainly get you a Shimano UN54, or whatever you want, but even we cannot be sure of the quality. We just have to take what we get from them." He showed me a draw full of duff Shimano BBs and suggested I get a VP BB as they are "better than Shimano". And much cheaper too.
eg. Quote from another LBS when I picked up a pair of Genuine Shimano axle cones I ordered for another bike.
Me: "Are you sure these are genuine?"
LBS (looking sheepish): "Well... I'm sure they were made in the Shimano Singapore factory..."
Nuff sed!
Even buying a UN54 or UN73 from the UK doesn't ensure it wasn't made in Sg., as the English chap I mentioned before discovered to his cost. QC in the Japanese factory may have toppled too.
There are also many Chinese sellers on eBay hawking brand new Shimano parts from Sg and Tw factories, and of doubtful provenance. I understand they have huge back-doors.
The Trek MTB BB problem is long-standing, and well known over here, and at Trek HQ.
So I may be better sticking with a 17 year-old worn BB than a new Shimano one of poor quality.
It's not the cost, it's the hassle, and then the concern that your new BB will fail on a long touring trip. (I just completed a 1000 km tour on the old BB.)
Silverclaws wrote:
"I flushed it through and a load of orangey fluid came out..."
An indication it may be rogered, but the rust could have cultivated on a non-bearing surface not splattered with grease. An old known good-un may still be better than a brand new-but-dodgy one.
"...but if there is cause for concern, it is good to know and maybe if the big 'S' finds out we know, it may make them sort out their problems, as reputation is the most important thing in any company ..."
There's certainly cause for concern, but complaining to the factory in Sg or Shimano HQ in Japan would be a waste of time. It is so commonplace, they MUST already know and are simply trying to cover up, and oust the managers responsible without loss of face, spilling of trade secrets etc.
With the present cost-cutting fever forced on companies by the current collapse of Capitalism (hip hip Comrades!), the QC at Sg is not going to improve. Cost-cutting favours lower production time, fewer staff, and higher output, not longer time spent checking quality and proper hardening of materials.
Unless consumers make a loud noise, Shimano products will get worse not better.
Then there's the intriguing tensions of Chinese Singaporean sub-managers in the Sg factory, answering to Japanese owners. Totally different attitudes to work, business culture, and ethics. (Think baby milk-powder and Melamine. I know that was PRC, and Sg isn't Shanghai, but...)
Just a hop away are the Chinese Taiwanese bicycle parts manufacturers plotting to topple Shimano, and the Tw bicycle assembly plants trying to keep both sides happy. Would they like to influence the Chinese managers at Shimano Sg? Would those managers want to be "influenced".
Waiting by a Malaysian Chinese hotel reception desk I overheard the Proprietor turn away an enquiring Japanese tourist, "No rooms. Full!" (It was half-empty).
Noticing my raised eyebrows, the owner beckoned me into a courtyard at the rear of the building to show me the spot where, as a boy, he'd witnessed his relatives beheaded by the occupying Japanese forces.
Business is business... No? Not always.
