At a glance Rugged and reliable tool for 16-notch external bottom brackets such as Shimano Hollowtech II and FSA MegaExo units.
Tested by
Jon Adams, tester for The Bike List
Performance
As the axle of a bike, the bottom bracket is one of the main bearings that’s most exposed to grime and gunge, and as a result, everyone will need to replace a BB at some point. The first signs of a wearing BB is some play when you hold both cranks and rock them from side to side, and the worse this play gets, the more urgent your BB replacement will be. The job itself isn’t especially difficult, but it’s one of those tasks that’s impossible without exactly the right tool. There are many different designs and sizes of internal BBs on the market, and more recent bikes can even have external bottom brackets, where the business part of the bearing sits outside the axle housing in the frame.
Shimano’s Hollowtech II and many comparable systems from Campag, FSA, SRAM and Truvativ feature external bearings, and if yours is one of these with 16 notches around the outside, then you need a wrench with the right interface, such as the Park Tools BBT-9.
This has a reasonably long handle with a plastic coating for a bit of comfort, and you can get a good amount of leverage going to apply the necessary torque. The handle’s actually long enough to overdo the force required, so some care needs to be exercised so you don’t damage the bearing’s housing when tightening. At the other end of the BBT-9 is an extra tool that fits the 8-splined crank arm adjustment cap (on Shimano units), so aside from the hex key to undo the crank arm on the non-drive side, removing and fitting the chainset and the bottom bracket can be achieved with just this tool.
Though at £20, the BBT-9 is more expensive than some of its rivals, there is some reassurance to be had from the nicely finished build, the non-slip grip and of course the extra tool on the small end. It looks good, it’s well made and it works, so as tools go, you can’t really ask for more.
Buy from www.chainreactioncycles.com
Park Tool says:
The BBT-9 is used to remove and install external bearing crankset bottom brackets. One end of the BBT-9 securely engages the 16 notches of the bottom bracket cups. The other end of the tool engages the 8 internal splines of the crank arm adjustment cap. The BBT-9 fits cups and lockrings with 16 external notches and an outside diameter of approximately 44mm.
The BBT-9 works with many external bearing crankset bottom brackets, including:
- Shimano Hollowtech II
- Campagnolo Ultra-Torque and Power Torque
- Race Face
- FSA
- SRAM
- Truvativ
- Chris King
- Phil Wood outboard bearing
The BBT-9 also fits rotor disc lockrings which use 16 external notches.
Find out more: www.parktool.com
