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The bottom bracket of my bike was completely stripped to the point that when you push the left side crank arm, the right crank moves and you can see the bottom bracket lock move out the frame. The bike shop tried putting Teflon tape but it's temporary.

It's a 26' xc hard tail. For all I know both sides of the bottom bracket(square tapered) are stripped clean hence the Teflon tape put by the previous owner. Can I fix the problem by changing into a hallow tech cranks because it works like a thread less bb, or should I just buy a thread less square tapered bb?

Any suggestion on what to do?

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    If possible, share some pictures showing how badly the threading is stripped.
    – Mike
    Mar 1, 2019 at 15:01

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If I understand your problem correctly it is the drive side that is stripped while the non-drive side (left) is still usable

Depending on the frame (i.e. it's value for you) and the bottom bracket type I see the following solutions:

  • get yourself a cartridge bottom bracket (with sealed bearings) and glue in the drive-side plug. You will still be able to replace the spindle and the bearings and the pre-load is adjusted with the non-drive side anyway
  • get this Velo-Orange bottom bracket for stripped shells
  • have the shell re-threaded for a slightly larger thread, e.g. BSA shells can be re-threaded for Italian threads. You then need new cups or complete (cartridge) bottom bracket
  • clean the shell and press in another shell with healthy threads, most likely of smaller diameter
  • get another frame with healthy threads

Please, give some more information on the frame you have, we can then come up with some specific advice.

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    There are other bottom brackets that are similar to the Velo-Orange one (and much cheaper). The magic search term seems to be "threadless bottom bracket." With these, you've got a two-piece adapter where the pieces slide into the shell, and one piece threads into the other.
    – Adam Rice
    Mar 1, 2019 at 17:03
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    @AdamRice - thank you for this valuable remark. Some time ago when I was looking for some replacement for my threadless 42mm BB frame the only "modern" option was Velo Orange, hence my advice above. In the end I've found a threadless 42 mm nylon cups set which I installed.
    – Mike
    Mar 1, 2019 at 19:25

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