In a perfect world, we never give our bottom brackets any thought after they’re installed and the crank spacing is sorted. Unfortunately, in my experience, that fairy tale land is about as far away as a bike that descends like a DH bike but pedals like a cross county bike. Actually, ebikes hit that mark, and the new Wolf Tooth Bottom Bracket aims to tackle our bottom bracket woes as well. The majority of Wolf Tooth’s products are engineered, machined, and assembled in Minnesota, and that’s the case for their Bottom Bracket as well. With fantastic sealing for long lasting performance and several high quality anodized color options, the Wolf Tooth Bottom Bracket is great for anyone looking to put a touch of personalization and quality on their dream build.
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I’ve been pedaling this bottom bracket around for the last couple months on my Transition Sentinel, and while that’s certainly not long enough to judge long term durability, I’m happy to report that everything from the install to the performance has been problem free. I’ve got the black, BSA 68/73, 29mm spindle version, with the Eagle 90 DUB cranks running through them. If you’ve got a 24mm, DUB or 30mm spindle, there’s a Wolf Tooth Bottom Bracket for you. Previously, I had a standard DUB bottom bracket, which is what I’ve used exclusively for the last few years. My biggest concern about switching to the Wolf Tooth Bottom Bracket was getting my chainline and crank spacing right, because SRAM has a great chart that makes getting the spacing correct pretty much impossible to mess up. It turns out that the Wolf Tooth Bottom Bracket has the exact same dimensions as the DUB bottom bracket, so I could just copy my previous spacer setup on the new bottom bracket. All the spacers I needed for a 55mm chainline with my MTB Wide crankset in a standard 73mm threaded bottom bracket shell were included in the box. It also uses the same DUB BB tool as the SRAM bottom bracket! |
Wolf Tooth Bottom Bracket
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Wolf Tooth’s priority with this bottom bracket is maintaining low friction and quiet performance for as long as possible. Obviously, this is the goal of every bottom bracket, but Wolf Tooth has achieved this with o-rings at the spindle and the shell, as well as thorough sealing around the bearings themselves. Wolf Tooth has also eliminated metal on metal contact at the cranks by using a bushing between the spindle and the bearings. That bushing also doubles as one of the seals, contributing to the weather proofing.
Wolf Tooth stands by their right to repair policy, and offers an impressive catalog of replacement parts should anything fail. You can get every part of the bottom bracket a la carte, besides the cups themselves. You can also get wider 83mm and 100mm internal sleeves if the standard 73mm sleeve just isn’t cutting it for your Super Boost or DH spacing bike. Wolf Tooth also has service procedures posted on how to replace the bushings and bearings yourself, a huge plus for all the home mechanics out there. If you do manage to wear out the bearings, they have a lifetime warranty, so Wolf Tooth will send out a replacement set should you ever have an issue.
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Those bearings use a custom design to avoid ever needing to invoke the warranty. Both the balls and the race are made from a hardened chrome bearing steel, which has a higher surface hardness than the stainless steel commonly found in most bearings. This bearing material improves durability, reduces friction, and reduces noise. The bearing technology paired with the thorough sealing means the Wolf Tooth Bottom Bracket should be ready for all conditions.
Conclusion
In summary, the Wolf Tooth Bottom Bracket is ready to sit at the heart of your drivetrain and hum along for as many miles as you’d like. With the same dimensions as a DUB bottom bracket, this an easy upgrade for anyone currently using the most common bottom bracket out there. You can’t beat a lifetime warranty on this Made in the USA product, and Wolf Tooth’s commitment to your right to repair means you’ll be able to transfer this bottom bracket from bike to bike for years to come.
