The Worst Place to Save Money on a Bike

For the last 5 years I’ve built many budget road and gravel bikes, almost exclusively using cheaper Chinese parts from AliExpress, and other direct to consumer brands. Not just using cheap carbon frames and wheels, but full groupsets, integrated carbon cockpits, cranksets, cassettes, chains, all as cheap as possible. And honestly? Most of it works surprisingly well.

But there’s one component where I’ve repeatedly faced issues, the bottom bracket.

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In this video I break down why cheap bottom brackets, especially external BSA units, have consistently failed on me in real-world British weather. We’ll compare budget AliExpress options against OEM units from Shimano and SRAM, look at bearing quality, seal design, weatherproofing, and why some designs last dramatically longer than others.

I’ll also cover:
- Why dust cap tolerances matter more than you think
- The difference between generic cartridge bearings and custom lip-sealed designs
- Why cheap BSA DUB bottom brackets keep seizing on me
- Why T47 bottom brackets are such a good design
- Whether facing and chasing your bottom bracket shell is really essential

If you ride in dry conditions only, your experience might be different. But if you’re riding through UK rain, grit, and winter roads, this might save you some frustration.

A few of my preferred internal bottom brackets from AliExpress
(these are affiliate links btw):

T47
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4CDJtXz

BB386
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c43ujKgL

Also if you can find them, a brand called Gineyea do some great BB’s for the money!

Timestamps:
00:00 – Start
00:56 – Intro
01:43 – How cheap are AliExpress BB’s?
02:30 – Weatherproofing on cheap BB’s
04:11 – Seized bottom bracket
07:01 – A false economy
08:07 – When do cheap BB’s make sense?
09:19 – Bearing alignment

Intro roll:
Created by Dev Joshi - http://www.go2dev.co.uk

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/tracevelo/

Email:
tracevelouk@gmail.com

Please note:
I am not a professionally trained bike mechanic. There can be risks associated with using products that are unbranded, untested, or come from sources where the provenance is unknown. Please talk to a qualified bike mechanic if you are in any doubt.

In essence, be careful, do your research, and cycle safe!!!