Here it is, the coolest piece of cycling bling I've come across for a long time, Enduro's XD15 bottom bracket unit.
Whats so cool? Well there's quite a bit of amazing technology gone into this little baby. I had the pleasure of meeting it's designer and maker a few months ago and he gave me the full run down on how it came about.
He meet this guy who makes a special alloy for bearings to go in the wings of commercial passenger jets, that will survive freezing tempertures and de-icing chemicals. It's a special nitrogen infused alloy that has been 5 x heat-treated to make it extra hard for use in the XD15, then it has ABEC3 ceramic balls that are running in angular contact races for even more durability. This means you can set a pre-load on the bearings so they will run with a minimum amount of drag and side play. Then it's all sealed up with low drag seals.
It's totally amazing to ride with this BB in your bike. So smooth and so drag free. Take your chain off your crankset and give the cranks a spin and it's just amazing how long they keep turning for. You can certainly feel it when pedaling. All most like having another gear. I think the biggest benefit of the XD15 is how much less energy it needs to make it turn, so the bike needs less energy to make it go. It's also super durable. The bearings have a 2 year warranty against failure. If you are anything like me and get about 4 months riding out of a standard BB, then this baby is something you should have in your bike, road and mountain. You can buy one of these for the price of less than 3 normal external BB units, so for me, by the time I've worn out 6 BB's, the XD15 is still under warranty! A no brainer. BB 30 types are in the works and should be available in a few months.
