The Best MTB Bottom Brackets for 2023

This article features ten of the best MTB bottom bracket for your mountain bike. The bottom bracket is an integral part of the bike as it connects the chainset to the chainrings and the pedals. This bike part will allow the chainset to connect freely when the bikers pedal and put power on the drivetrain.

We tried to do our research and testing process to look for the best bottom bracket for mountain bike. We also consulted bike experts with their knowledge and opinion as we listed the top mountain bike bottom bracket available in the market today.

Best MTB Bottom Bracket Reviews

1. Shimano Alivio BB52 Mountain Bottom Brackets

Shimano is a household name in the bike manufacturing industry, and this bottom bracket is no exception. This product is one of the best mountain bike bottom brackets, in my opinion, because it combines quality and affordability.

If your mountain bike’s bottom bracket begins to show wear and tear or starts to wiggle free play on the chain, replacing or upgrading it is a must. This bike part is an excellent replacement as it is built primarily to work on a mountain bike. It also comes with additional spacers, which allow you to fit and adjust to the bike quickly.

Physically, this bottom bracket from Shimano is well built and comes with excellent construction quality. It’s a combination of high-grade plastic and aluminum materials, making it lighter in weight. It also comes with high-quality machining to provide an excellent performance once installed in the bike.

I also like what his Shimano MTB bottom bracket brings to my bike. Once I installed it, the pedal stroke was very easy and smooth, providing more power on the back wheel. My bike is also quieter now that I have started using this very impressive bottom bracket.

This product will also be an excellent fit for your mountain bike. The extra spacers are a great help in fitting this bottom bracket to a particular bike. It is also very easy to install, but you need some tools during the installation process.

2. SRAM Dub Pressfit MTB Bottom Brackets

The bottom bracket is an integral part of your bike as it can influence your bike ride’s speed and quality. With that said, you need to find the top MTB bottom bracket for your bike when your original bottom bracket is worn out or does not work as expected.

This bottom bracket from Sram is built to do one specific function to your bike. This function is to connect the crank arms, which will enhance the smoothness and the application of power to the drivetrain. The moment I started using this bottom bracket, I could really feel the difference in comfort when pedaling during the bike ride.

But what is unique about this bottom bracket is having one oversized spindle built to work every bottom bracket standard. This feature enhances the compatibility of the crank arm of a bike while also providing long-lasting performance.

I am also impressed by the overall quality of this product. It is one of those MTB bottom bracket types that uses high-end materials, making it very light. It also comes with fully sealed cartridge bearings which help in enhancing its performance.

Meanwhile, installation of this bottom bracket is quick and easy overall. Its unique design allows you to put it on your bike with ease. In fact, this bottom bracket will enable you to press the bearing cups quickly into the frame for a faster and quick installation.

3. Truvativ Sram GXP Team Pressfit MTB BB92

This product is another bottom bracket type coming from Sram, a company known for producing high-quality bike components and accessories. Although this product is nice, it also has some limitations. This bottom bracket is brand-specific which means they can also be installed and paired with Sram cranksets.

But still, this bottom bracket comes in excellent construction quality. It is built with alloy cups that are anodized in dark silver. It looks very durable and should last for a long time. It also features press fit cups pressed directly into the frame without the need to be threaded, which results in its lightness or reduced weight.

This bottom bracket also features smooth bearings, which help keep the drag to a minimum and give the proper sealing to keep the debris out. These features will help every biker get the most out of every pedal.

Meanwhile, this product also comes with an integrated gutter seal, which helps prolong the life of this bike component. It also has more ankle clearance, allowing the biker to be more comfortable when pedaling.

Overall, replacing your old bottom bracket with this product will help in improving riding performance. The sealed cartridge will reduce the friction during the bike ride for a more comfortable ride.

4. VGEBY Mountain Bike Bottom Brackets

This mountain bike bottom bracket from Vgeby is special and unique in its own way. I say that it is special because it is built with high-quality materials. It is also unique because it has a unique design different from the standard bottom bracket. Nevertheless, this product is an excellent option when replacing or upgrading your bottom bracket.

I am impressed by the excellent construction quality of this MTB bottom bracket. It uses high-quality aluminum alloy and polypropylene materials known for being durable and rugged. I am confident this bottom bracket will last for a long time using these materials.

Meanwhile, the unique design I mentioned earlier is the separate rubber gasket. The separate rubber gasket, which is built with sliding characteristics, will not increase the resistance to the rotation access making the pedaling smooth and easy.

In terms of fitting, this accessory is compatible with various cranksets such as FSA Integrative Crankset, Sunrace, Prowheel, and Sram hollow crankset. But you must make sure that the diameter of the cylinder of your bike is 24 mm. The MTB crankset and bottom bracket should fit nicely for them to work on your bike.

Also, installation is relatively easy with this MTB bottom bracket, just like other standard bottom brackets. It also comes with the proper assortment of spacers, making it easy for you during the installation process.

5. Race Face Cinch BSA Threaded Bottom Brackets

I can tell you navigating the standard of your bottom bracket can be a challenge, especially if you are trying to customize your bike ride. But this product from RaceFace is the best threaded bottom bracket that you can use if it is compatible with the Cinch crankset of your bike.

But what impressed me the most was the excellent construction quality of this bottom bracket. If you look at its physical features, the cups are made of aluminum, and the bearings are stainless steel. The inner sleeves are durable plastics making it the best BSA bottom bracket for durability and toughness.

I also like what it brings to the mountain bike once it is installed. The bike is quiet, and the pedaling is smoother with this MTB bottom bracket. It made a big difference in terms of the comfort on the road compared to my old and worn out bottom bracket.

This bottom bracket will also fit the crankset of various bikes as long as you get the correct Cinch bottom bracket. It will let you feel the improved stiffness coming from a cinch 30 mm spindle in any bike frame with a 68/73 mm bottom bracket shell.

Installation was also a breeze with this bottom bracket. It was easy to install and will require only a few minutes to do it. But you need a different size special tool during the installation process.

6. TRiPEAK MTB Bottom Brackets

This mountain bike bottom bracket from Tripeak is all about quality and durability. This bike component is perfect for those bikers looking to upgrade or replace their already worn out bottom bracket.

I was in awe of the overall quality of this bottom bracket. The bearings are built with high-precision steel, which provides excellent stiffness and power transfer efficiency. The high-precision steel materials also provide durability and toughness to enhance stability and longer ride.

This bottom bracket also provides an excellent fit. The caps are built with a precise structure to fit into the bike frame easily. However, the compatibility will also depend on the crankset and the shell width of your bike.

This bottom bracket will fit 68 mm English (BSA) bracket shells and is compatible with a 24 mm spindle. But the best thing for you to do is to consult or ask the seller regarding compatibility and fitting to ensure that it fits on your bike.

Also, installation is straightforward as it needs only four steps to do it. First, you need to grease the threads. Then, insert the non drive-side cap. Then, insert the drive-side cap then tighten the bottom bracket using the correct wrench.

7. FSA PressFit Bottom Brackets

The moment you hear sounds coming from your bike during the ride, it is probably because of your ageing or a worn-out bottom bracket. This essential bike component needs to be replaced or even upgraded to ensure excellent bike performance. With that said, this bottom bracket from FSA is a perfect option for a bike with an FSA BB30 crankset with a 30 mm spindle.

I like the overall construction quality of this bottom bracket. It is made up of chrome steel cartridge bearings which provide stability and durability. The steel ball bearings also provide low wearing and optimized power transmission. Physically, the anodizing is good and the bearing roll is so smooth.

This bottom bracket is compatible with all FSA and Gravity BB30 Mountain Bike cranksets with 68 mm or 73 mm PressFit bottom bracket shells. Also, nylon adjustment washers are included to make it easy during installation.

This product is also a direct replacement to every bike with FSA cranks installed. In fact, it works perfectly as advertised as it makes a no frame interface noise. It also comes with a plastic shell that prevents the spindle from being cut by an internally mounted cable on your bike.

Also, the installation was quick and easy. The only issue I have with the product package is the absence of fitting instructions, which will guide you during the installation process. Also, if the bracket does not fit snugly, I recommend using a Loctite solution to address the issue.

8. Full Speed Ahead Bottom Bike Brackets

Mountain bikes need a bottom bracket that can stand the challenges and difficulties of a mountain bike trail. These challenges are what this bottom bracket from Full Speed Ahead is made of, as it is built to hold up the challenges being presented by a mountain bike trail.

If you need a bottom bracket that can stand the challenges of a mountain bike trail, this product should be the one, in my opinion. It features titanium anodized aluminum caps and stainless steel bearings to ensure durability and toughness.

This English threaded bottom bracket also fits various types of spindle interface types. Just check on your local reseller for the fitting and compatibility. It is also compatible with Shimano Di2 wiring and other shifting groups.

The toughness and durability were tested immediately on the trail when it was installed on my mountain bike. And this product has proven to me that it can hold up well. Pedaling is smooth, and this bottom bracket makes the power transfer more efficient.

Installation of this bottom bracket was relatively easy. But make sure that this bike component fits all the requirements needed with your bike. You also need a specialized FSA tool to install it on the mountain bike easily.

9. Wheels Manufacturing Pressfit Bottom Brackets

This particular bottom bracket is manufactured by a well-known bike components manufacturer worldwide. The Wheels Manufacturing is famous for producing high-quality bike derailleur hangers, bike parts, and specialized bike tools. And this bottom bracket is no exemption based on what I experience from having this product on my bike.

This product is built with excellent construction quality. The cup is made with alloy materials, and the other parts are also manufactured with high-quality materials. This bottom bracket comes with two machined aluminum cups which are threaded together to ensure stability on the frame.

I also like what it brings to your mountain bike once installed. This bottom bracket comes with a 2-piece design that threads together in the center. Then, the two halves will squeeze the frame when you thread them together. The result is a light press fit and compression, which means no creaking during pedaling.

In terms of compatibility, this bottom bracket directly replaces most of the OEM PF30 bottom brackets available in the market. Just make sure that it fits your bike easily before having it in terms of the spindle type requirement and the bottom bracket shell.

Also, installation is a little bit challenging but is worth it. During installation, you will need a little bit of cranking to thread it tightly. But once it is installed, the security and the comfort it gives to your bike outweighs the difficulty of installing it.

10. Lixada MTB Thread Type Bottom Brackets

Replacing a bottom bracket in your bike is needed regularly once the old component wears out, or you just simply want to upgrade this particular bike component. But as a bike owner, you need to make sure that the replacement component should provide an easy and smooth riding experience the moment you install it.

This bottom bracket from Lixada is built with durability and toughness. Its construction quality involves high-quality aluminum alloy and polypropylene materials known for their extreme toughness and durability.

I am also impressed by what this bottom bracket brings to your bike when you install it. In my experience, I really felt the smoothness and the easy riding experience after I paired it with my current chainset.

In terms of compatibility, you must make sure that your bike fits the needed requirements of this bottom bracket. The fitment of this bike component is a 24 mm crankshaft and 66-73 mm bottom bracket shell.

Installation is relatively easy, but you must have the proper tools to make the installation process easy. Also, there are three pieces of gasket included in the package, which can be used anytime during installation.

What to Look For When Buying a MTB Bottom Bracket

An MTB bottom bracket is an essential component of your bike which makes it essential to choose the right one during replacement or upgrade. With that said, you need to look at factors when selecting an MTB bottom bracket. Please check below.

The Right Fit

I tell you, there are several bottom bracket standards and specifications that you need to check so that a particular bottom bracket will fit in your bike. But the primary consideration you need to look at is whether your bike runs a threaded or press fit bottom bracket.

The threaded bottom brackets usually come with threads that screw into the matching threads of the bottom bracket shell. On the other hand, the press-fit bottom bracket is literally pressed to fit into the bottom bracket shell.

These two general classifications can also be classified into different types, which fit nicely on other mountain bikes. These classifications include the BSA, PF30, BB30, and many more. All of the classifications come with varying requirements in terms of the size of the crankshaft and the bottom bracket shell. Make sure that the product you choose fits well with the said requirements in your bike.

The Crankset Compatibility

Apart from the compatibility of the bike frame, you must ensure that the bottom bracket is also compatible with the crankset of your mountain bike. This factor is essential because every bike uses different types of cranksets axle standards.

You need to make sure what axle is being used by your bike. For example, the two most popular bike brands, Shimano and SRAM, come with different axle standards. Shimano uses the 24 mm axle while SRAM has two standards; namely, 24/22 mm GXP and 29 mm Dub Axle.

There are also other types that you need to consider, such as PF30 and the threaded 30 mm BB30. So, all of these requirements are very important in looking for the compatibility of a bottom bracket to your bike.

Choosing the Right Type of Bearing

Choosing the type of bearing being used by the bottom bracket is equally essential. Essentially, the bearings will be responsible for carrying your weight if you are standing on the pedal or descending on the mountain bike trail.

There are two types of bearings that can be used: ceramic and steel. Ceramic bearings are more expensive. Ceramics are narrower intolerance and have less friction. It is also less susceptible to flex, which means it can retain its shape even if you are cranking at maximum power during a climb.

Ceramic bearings are more expensive but more complex and stronger than steel. Meaning, it can last longer compared to steel bearings.

Construction Quality

The quality of the construction is also an essential aspect in choosing a bottom bracket. You need to know the materials being used in a particular brand. You need to look for durable materials being used in the construction process such as aluminum, polypropylene materials, and steel. The quality of the construction will dictate the longevity of the bottom bracket and the benefits it provides to your mountain bike.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Often do you Change the Bottom Bracket?

At the very least, you need to replace your bottom bracket every season. But there are brands that need replacement frequently. The fact that a bottom bracket wears out over time, replacing it immediately is necessary the moment you feel a reduction in performance.

Also, when you feel that the bottom bracket is making a noise or not spinning freely, it is a clear sign that it’s aging. Replacing it is an excellent step for you to retain the performance of your bike.

How Long do Bottom Brackets Last?

A bottom bracket will last if you do regular maintenance in it. There are also other factors that affect the lifespan of a bottom bracket, such as proper adjustment, weather, and the bearings.

In general, today’s bottom bracket should last around 5,000 to 10,000 miles. But, as a general rule, do not replace it if it’s still working fine. Just do proper maintenance, and your bottom bracket should last for a long time.

Conclusion

Choosing the best MTB bottom bracket is essential if you want smoother pedaling and a nice biking performance on the road. This bike component is often neglected in importance, but choosing the right bottom bracket for your bike is a must for a comfortable bike ride on the road.