Acros A-BB-T1 External Bottom Bracket Tool - Review
The Acros A-BB-T1 External Bottom Bracket Tool is designed to help align and install your new bearing cups while minimizing the chance of cross-threading or surface damage. The integrated aluminium body and plastic insert is compatible with most Hollowtech II style bottom bracket cups.
Acros is a small company based in Renningen, Germany, that continues to expand its lineup of mountain bike components since starting up 15 years ago. The A-BB-T1 External Bottom Bracket Tool is designed to install your new bearing cups while minimizing the risk of cross-threading the frame's shell, damaging the cup’s tool slots, or scratching any anodized surfaces. The T1 is compatible with most Hollowtech II style bottom bracket cups that accept 24 millimeter spindles including Shimano, Raceface, Sram, and others. The tool is meant for 68/73 millimeter shells but also works with 83.
The assembly has an eight inch long machined aluminium body and replaceable hard plastic insert secured with four T-10 torx style bolts. The insert has 16 internal splines to engage the outer slots of the cup. A stainless steel ring slips over the insert to provide extra stiffness since torque required may be 25-40 ft*lbs. To help guide it through the cup, the long end of the tool is chamfered. The short end has ten millimeter wide flats for a 24 millimeter wrench or hex socket driver to turn the tool. Anodized gloss black with laser etch graphics it weighs in at 350 grams. The MSRP is $75 USD, and a replacement insert runs $16 USD. www.acros.de
The Exploded View: Shown clockwise, the anodized aluminium body with centering shaft, a splined plastic insert to engage the cup, Torx bolts secure the insert, and a steel ring supports and stiffens the insert during use.
The tool is lined up and pressed onto the Drive-side cup by hand, then tightened with a 24mm wrench or hex socket.
The centering shaft helps align the non-drive side cup to prevent cross-threading.
Function
To ensure a good snug fit, the tool was lined up and pressed onto the cup by hand. After testing a variety of cups, it could be concluded that the insert fit square cup profiles noticeably better than rounder ones. Signs of wear could be seen along the plastic spline after two dozen installs, but it did not slip or bind on the typical Shimano cup profile during repeated heavy loading. This tool worked best with a socket and long arm ratchet, and as expected the torx bolts initially settled in and needed to be re-tightened. The insert was easy to swap out by removing the bolts and pushing a T-10 key through two holes drilled in the body. Twisting the steel support ring off by hand was no problem once my greasy blue nitrile gloves were off.
The centering shaft helped to align the drive with the non-drive side cup and keep the tool in place, but unlike some spanner tools you must remove the cranks to check if your cups are tight.
The centering shaft keeps the tool in place when the turning force is applied further out-board.
Pinkbike's Take
 | These days you can find all kinds of aftermarket high-end replaceable steel, ceramic, coated, or 'super' bearings that potentially keep on spinning and may need to be removed and re-installed in multiple bike frames. For those trying to avoid the long term damage sometimes caused by hard steel tools, the Acros A-BB T1 External Bottom Bracket Tool delivers on its promise to protect the surfaces and finish of your new bearing cups.This tool will not prevent inexperienced users from cross threading their bottom bracket shell, but it was easy to use and turning engagement with most cup profiles was secure. It got the job done and appears to be a good tool for new builds and high-end repairs in the bike shop, or for home use. Purchase of a spare insert is recommended for the long term. - Chris Johannes |
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I could pound nails with a rock, but I certainly don't feel like a pussy doing it with a hammer. Or a nail gun.
Let's see PB do a review on a tool more like this ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8gfeZEPjK0 ) to replace the actual bearings instead (plus an in-depth Tech topic on choosing bearings). I swear I once saw a Race Face video years ago of a tool that would do all 3: remove the plastic cap without cracking it, remove the old bearing, and press-in the new bearing, all with hand force only, no wrenches required. I swear I didn't imagine it, but I can't find it now!!
-Bruce
Not to mention how much sturdier a socket fitting is than a 6 sided bolt one. They're designed to tighter tolerances(sockets have to fit around mangled bolt heads, so they have some slop built in) & have a far deeper engagement than this appears to have.
Really, I never understood the bike tool industries' obsession with not using a ratchet handle, like it's some obscure tool no-one has.
In my mind, this will only really help inexperienced bike owners fit something that they prob will not even attempt themselves and put into an LBS to do anyway!! And will they even want to spend this money on something that costs more than the BB itself??
these are $40.. maybe not quite as fancy but metal so doesnt wear out
Over engineering at it's finest.
You should use a proper tool, & torque to spec whenever possible. But I'm not gonna lie about having used a pipe wrench on a BB before I had the proper tool & for stripped ones, though this was all back in the internal bearing days(ISIS or square taper) days, when you didn't have to worry about crushing the bearings.
I am curious to know how much force you use if you have crushed modern bearings.
And to all of you...Keep in mind, not everyone can afford to BUY an new tool...And might have a pipe wrench in their possession....Oh and have you ever had to wait up to a month for a tool. Just so you can go for a ride. And could not simply go and buy it. Because the nearest store in which to purchase the "proper" tool. Is over 1300KM away.
So why not help, with Bike Hacks.
.....Rather than the same ol'addage that actually caused the whole 5000-10,000$, stupidity craze. Make it expensive and exclusionary and your company will make Crap loads of money.
I have used vice grips to install cups. I know it can be done without breaking anything, it just isn't the best way to go about the job. I can fix all sorts of stuff with the wrong tools, but I don't expect to do it as well or as quickly.
I have a $10 tool to install cups. It works nicely and it doesn't risk breaking anything. Looks like this: img254.imageshack.us/img254/5409/18230061642.jpg
Everyone does what they gotta in a pinch (use a rock to bash your derailleur back into line ever?), but don't upgrade anything else on your bike until you have the tools to work on it.
Never mind the fact that a BB tool can be had for far less than actual BB cups, & if you took a bike with the BB shell threaded in, but just needing tightening, to a bike shop, they'd probably do it for free.
All I know is, if I lived someplace where I couldn't easily get new parts, I'd make sure I had the tools to work on something properly, instead of risking destroying something, & being out of a bike because I'd been a hack. Cause that would truly piss me off.