A Specialized dealer should be able to look at it and tell you if it looks like a fault BB shell or not. It sounds like the crank could have been improperly installed which led to this, in which case it probably wouldn't be covered.

Regardless, there is nothing inherently wrong with 24mm spindles. If it's not covered by warrantee, get the BB Infinite ($125 here) and move on with a lesson learned.

Not to offend, but if you were really meticulous about maintaining your bike, this probably wouldn't have happened. I say that as this is something you now know to check whereas previously you had no idea it was even possible (an unknown unknown). Most of us that wrench on our bikes have run into the scenario of an unknown unknown before and sometimes it's stuff much easier to find than this.

Correct. Of course I can't be meticulous with what I don't know. Also like I said I had no creaking until very recently. As soon as I did I got it checked out.
Given the poor experience I've had with anything done by the mechanics at the shop where I bought the bike, I would not be surprised if it were installed improperly. I agree that the BB infinite looks like the way to go if it is not warranted.

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Less power, more aero.

Does this mean there was lateral play in your crank? I'd like to learn from your lesson and have an idea of what to look for.

That is possible. I honestly did not know / did not ever think of checking for that, given I had no other symptoms.
At this point I am wondering why bike manufacturers do not include a maintenance schedule in their user manuals the same as car manufacturers do. At least having a rough idea of what one has to check every so many miles, given the specific components on your bike, would be very helpful. In fact, I find most bike user manuals completely useless as they are typically totally generic, with a bunch of warnings such as "you should ride with a helmet", but not "you should check your bottom bracket for lateral play every X miles".
One could argue that he was not properly warned by the manufacturer of this issue, hence this should be covered under warranty.

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Less power, more aero.

I call BS on the shop. If that was true my CX bike (spec-Crux) would have been in a dumpster a long time ago. To cause the kind of damage the shop is talking about the bearing would have to seize and spin in the frame. You would have noticed that, a big tip off is your cranks would not spin freely/at all.

There is no way to push a BB30 bearing into a frame by hand, the fit is to tight. In comparison it is fairly easy to slide a crank spindle through a bb30 bearing. If a bearing froze it is more likely that the cranks would spin on the inner race messing up the cranks not the frame.

I have taken bearings out of my CX frame that feel like rock tumblers when spinning. It gets raced hard 3-4 months of the year and used for gravel and some light single track the rest of the year. The BB bearings get changed more often then my road or TT bikes. This adds to the wear and tear on the BB shell pressing bearings in and out. Going into its 4th race season soon and still going strong.

Thanks for the feedback. I think the shop is reputable, but I will get a second opinion from the shop where I bought the bike (less reputable).
I am also a little puzzled by the fact that I got some significant damage with no symptoms.
All I know is that now after they replaced the bearings I have significantly more creaking, but I still can't feel any lateral play.

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Less power, more aero.

I have some updates on this. After the visit to shop1 that I mentioned in my opening post, I brought the bike to shop2 (the one where I bought the bike), explained the situation and asked them to have a look at it. Of course they found no issue and called BS on shop1. They re-greased the BB and the creaking got better, but it is still there at low RPM.

At this point I was quite confused, so I brought the bike to a very reputable / highly reviewed / recommended multi-sport shop (shop3). The service I received here was much better, the mechanic was very knowledgeable and he thoroughly explained the situation and answered all of my questions. They also had a good look at the bike and reported the same exact issue as shop1 reported: the bearings on the drive side fit very loosely. However, the interesting part is that they claimed that I could not possibly have caused this by just riding the BB loose. They said the only likely explanation for this is frame defect and I should get it warranted.

I have done some research on this and it seems meaningful to me. I know that the tolerance for BB is very very low and I have read of frames being sent back to the manufacturer right out of the box. Given how sloppy they are at shop2 (the one where I bought the bike), I am not surprised that they did not catch this. Possibly, they just don't want to deal with the hassle. However, I am planning to go back, explain the situation again and try to get the frame warranted.

Thoughts?

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Less power, more aero.

Any more information on this?
I have a 2011 Venge that the carbon is worn where the OSBB press in cup seats. So it remains loose and can't be tightened.
Hoping for them to warranty it out, as the shop seems to think it's beyond repair.

You are the 3rd Shiv frame related BB issue posted to ST in the last month... i'm getting a little worried this is a trend. I have a 2016 Shiv and had some BB issues as well. No one could figure out where the creaking was coming from (we had pretty much taken the bike apart to eliminate random things.) Finally just had the shop put new bearings and degrease everything. Problem went away and things were much better but in my last race I had it come back climbing up a hill. Hoping things don't get worse. Hope you can find a solution for your issue, keep us updated.

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Team Zoot

Not sure if we're talking same symptoms, but I have also a big issue with my Sworks Venge.
Cranks are creaking. Shop (registered Specialized mechanic) has tightened everything, replaced ball bearings, but the noise won't go away.
Interestingly, the noise only appears 15 mins into a ride. When the bike is "cold" I can put 400 watts on the cranks, no noise. 15 mins into a ride, even at 200 watts, you hear me coming miles away.
I took it to the shop 4 tiles by now, without result. I mailed specialized, they didn't even bother to answer. So far I am clueless as to what the issue is and how to solve it (Any suggestions would be highly appreciated) !!!
I am also less than impressed by the quality and the customer service from Specialized.