Removing a pressfit BB from a carbon frame

Fatal Swan

Senior Retro Guru
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I need to remove a pressfit BB from a nice second-hand carbon frame as it's not the right type for my crankset. I'm planning to replace it with a threadfit type (Token Ninja or similar) since they seem like much less hassle overall. But to remove the existing pressfit cups I just want to check that the right method is essentially to whack them out of the delicate carbon frame with one of these:

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Or is there some gentler way I should try?

Also, any recommendations for a specific version of this tool which will do the job ok but probably end up being used only once or twice?! They seem to start from about a tenner. Cheers
 
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I use both the drift type tools and pullers, depending on the type of BB. If bashing it out make sure you support the frame properly. It doesn't usually take more than a couple of good taps, those rocket type tools can sometimes make a mess of the bearing seals but if you don't need to reuse it then that's not a problem.
 
I had one that was so tight the splayed thing ended up cutting out the centre and bearing whilst leaving the outer in place, fortunately the other side came out fine so reverted to a brass drift, either way you’ll need a big rubber mallet and some anger 💪
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Thanks for the replies to this! I actually got sick almost straight after I posted it and didn't think about it again for a good week or so.

So the options were more or less as I guessed, so I thought it over and took a good look at the inside of the BB cups with a torch. I decided I was comfortable enough with the cheap hitting-it-out option since it's likely to be a one-off job and I don't need to keep the cups, but the inside of the cups really had no flat surface as far as I could see for the splayed ends of that tool to push against (it's a campag pressfit and most of the tutorials on this are Shimano). It looked to me like hitting it with something with a flatter end would be more effective. The enormous coincidence was that I noticed a small length of steel pipe lying in the garage, I can't remember what it was from - around 20mm diameter and very thick metal. I couldn't resist sliding it in to try, and it was easy to locate it against the back edge of the BB cup, so I gave it a careful tap with a mallet. On the first tap it moved the cup, and a few more taps and it was safely rolling around the garage floor. The other side was even easier. Job safely done in about 20 seconds in total!
 
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