Press Release: “We’ve been talking about BB30 for a while now, but if I gave you a crankset today you couldn’t find a bike to put it on. But that is all set to change soon,” said Ric Hjertberg, FSA’s new technology manager.
“We don’t need to talk with manufacturers any more as so many of them get the product and are making bikes to use it,” he added.
In addition to FSA, other companies including SRAM announced BB30-compatible cranksets.
BB30 provides the specifications for an oversized bottom bracket shell for a bike frame. This standard allows for Direct-fit, pressed-in bearings and a 30 mm spindle. The system saves weight by accepting a 30mm aluminum spindle and eliminating cups that would normally hold the bearings.
The oversized bottom bracket of the frame provides more area to attach larger down tube, seat tube and chain stays to better resist deflection from pedaling forces.
Pedal width, or Q-Factor, is somewhat fixed by chainstay design. Once a frame designer draws in tire clearance and chainstay dimensions, that sets the limit for how close the pedals can be. One of the unheralded aspects of BB30 is that the greater bonding surface between the bottom bracket axle and the crank arm allows a reduction in width of the cranks at the axle.
“Our BB30-compatible K-Force Light is 14 millimeters narrower than our K-Force for traditional bottom brackets, a big improvement in ankle clearance,” Hjertberg said.
