I've had the same problem. Maybe I'm not torqueing them correctly. Seems I heard some where that the torque of the BB is critical.

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ShaRRky

Coupla questions:

Who's installing them, and telling you they need to be replaced, and are they competent and trustworthy?

What kind of riding do you do, and what kind of maintenance?

I'd be shocked if Ultegra- or any- bottom brackets normally have to be replaced that often.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Ultegra BB's should last you at least 1-2 years or more if you clean them. DA's on the other hand require more maintenance. What was wrong with the one(s) you had on the bike? Did the mechanic keep it or throw it away? They are sealed systems so it takes a lot of water/grime to really ruin them.

Steve H

www.buytrigear.com

Ultegra BB brackets should last a lot longer than 2 months. Mine is about 1.5 years old, probably 6-7k miles. No problems.It's pretty hard to screw up the installation since it's cartridge-sealed unit. Screw it in tight and forget about it.

DA BB are better than Ultegra, but not quite as user-friendly. They are lighter, spin better, and have larger dia. bearings (and, needle bearing). The trick is proper intallation. Most people -- if they do it wrong -- get them too tight. With the needle bearing, you tighten until there is no side-to-side play, not up-and-down like ball bearings. If you are careful about this one adjustment, you will be fine with a DA.

A properly adjusted and maintained DA will last indefinately. Thoroughly clean and grease it every year or so (more frequently if you ride in water, or ride tons of miles).

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*****
"In case of flood climb to safety"

Something sounds fishy about having to replace that often..... maybe your getting scammed

In my experience, if the BB is not wrapped in thread tape, sand or grit always gets into the threads and you end up with noise. If your shop guys are your local high school kids working after school, they may not know and assume it is in the bearings (sealed as they are), or in the alternative, there is a local shop that sells ultegra BB's at 75.00 a pop, I'm sure they would be anxious to replace one any time there is a noise.

First time I installed them. Second time a Swiss bike mechanic with much experience installed them and the last time I bought the bike new from Supergo. All three times the bike mechanics told me that it was the bearings fault. Since it's a sealed unit there is no otehr way than replacing that thing. Supergo replaced the BB with a new one and didn't charge me. The other times I they offered me to keep the broken unit, so I don't think I got screwed.

About the riding I do, just road. Never in the rain (thanks CA weather). Distance anywhere between 100 and 400 miles a week. What kind of maintenance? Clean the cranks and every once in a while add some lithium grease to where the Crank attach to the BB.

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�The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.� -Michelangelo

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the ultegra 6500 bb is one of the best values out there. I've put 10,000+ miles on a few of them, and never less than 5,000. screw them in and forget it. and $75 for one is robbery...they're about $35-$38 online and should be no more than $45 at your lbs.

I installed them both because they were making noise that was resonating up through my Softride Rocket. At first I thought it was my beam. After doing the beam maintenance, I still had the noise. After replacing the BB the noise went away until the next year. I maybe put 1000-2000 miles in per year. I don't have a torque wrench so that might be why they failed sooner. I only paid about $40.00 online.

Just curious if the torqueing is the main factor in the failure.

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ShaRRky