Epic Research & Design Bottom Bracket

Epic Research designs and markets two bottom brackets. The first we will discuss is the B series. It uses a fixed spindle position with two adjustable bearing cups. The spindle is cleanly machined from Titanium 6al 4V rod. The outer diameter of the spindle at the ends is 15.72mm. At about 25mm from the end the diameter increases to 17mm making the seat forthe sealed bearing cartridge to pressed onto.

Just past the bearing the diameter increases to 20mm O.D. making an oversized center capable with standing flexing and breakage than many other Ti spindles on the market. The spindle is drilled through and the ends are tapped with the 8mm x 1mm threads for crank arm bolts. The ends of the spindle have the necessary 2 degree taper for use with all aluminum arm sets. Epic uses a single Japanese IJK 6903RS bearing cartridge at both ends of the spindle.

The bearing cups are identical and machined from 7075 aluminum rod. The interior is bored to snugly fit the bearing. There are no added seals or gaskets at the spindle exit hole. The cup is has 20 small notches cut into its face for a Park BBT2 installation tool to be used. Once the cups are reasonably tightend, lockrings also machined from aluminum rod cich the cups in place. Each lockring has 6 square equi-distant notches for a lockring spanner to grip. The B Series cups have an 2.5 mm of width which leaves a bit more of the cups exposed past the lockring than riders are familiar with. This added cup allows the B Series B/B to be in variety of shell widths, and also permits the cups to staged diferently relative to one another. In effect the 122.5mm B/B can easily be used in a 120mm or up to a 125mm application depending on how the B/B is "floated " left to right, B/B shell width and final lockring placement.

The B Series bracket comes with some smartly machined aluminum crank arm bolts that incorporate washer and bolt with a 14mm head. We reccomend that you tighten the crank arms on with a steel crank bolt first, then remove it and use the aluminum one afterward to hold the arm in place. Using the aluminum bolt initially to tighten the arm can lead to breakage. The aluminum parts of the B Series are left in a an un-anidized Silver/Grey color.

The B Series is available in a 117.5mm, 120mm, 122.5mm, or 125mm spindle length. The crank arm bolts weigh 9.5 grams per pair. With the 117.5mm B/B weighing 176 grams, the crank bolts bring the total to 185.5 grams.

Spindle - 17-20-22-25 $Price in Catalog

The Epic F Series employs an inner shell with fixed cups and fixed spindle, as a variation of the standard B/B design. The F Series B/B uses the same spindle and bearing as the B series but has an aluminum over the spindle between the bearings giving it the appearance of the Gt or World Class style with a very important difference.

The GT/World Class B/B's have the their bearings pressed so tight against the inner aluminum tube that when a bearing fails there is no way to wedge the bearing off without destroying some other part of the B/B. (One of the people who set up our Internet server threw his World Class away after trying to remove to replace a failed bearing.)

The Epic F Series inner tube is not press tightly between the bearings. The joint between the bearing and the tube is completely covered by each cup sealing the syslem proplerly. With the cup off, the tube can be nudged to one side exposing one of the inner sides of the bearing and then moved again to expose another surface. This movement permits the spindle to be rapped while the rests on an anvil.

The drive side cup is machined from aluminum rod and is a fixed cup with a flange that seats against the B/B shell when tight. The non-drive cup is identical to those used in the Epic B Series B/B but threads into the shell with no lockring to cinch it in place. Both cups are installed using the Park BBT2. Epic includes a apir of their machined aluminum crank bolts.

The F Series is available in 107.5mm, 110mm, or 112mm. The 107.5mm size weighs 167 grams, the bolts add another 9.5 grams for a total system weight of 176.5 grams.

Spindle - 07 - 20 - 12 $Price in Catalog