Factory Tour: BBinfinite shows how they make one-piece, creak-free bottom brackets

Nestled at the back of an industrial office park in Little Rock, Arkansas, BBinfinite has moved all of their production in house. Here, they machine, laser etch and assemble their ultra-smooth one-piece bottom brackets before packing and shipping them to customers and bike shops.Advertisement

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We swung by to check out the operation and see how it’s done. Here’s a quick video walk through…with photos and a quick description below.

How are BBinfinite bottom brackets made?

BBinfinite launched in 2014 with their novel one-piece bottom bracket design. Where others use two halves that thread together to create a better solution than just pressing bearings and cups into each side of the frame, BBinfinite’s solution goes a step further.

By using  true one-piece shell, they’re able to guarantee that the bearings remain perfectly aligned regardless of frame imperfections. We reviewed their PressFit replacement and love it, and it’s been rolling strong ever since.

Over the years, they’ve added models for GXP cranks, BB30 frames, and the new SRAM DUB standard.

One of the more interesting facets of their small-batch process is the intermediate measurements. Final testing with this apparatus confirms everything is within tolerances, then they get anodized (out of house, they don’t do this themselves) before coming back for…

…laser etching of the model, specs, logo and a QR code that leads you to their online instruction manual.

Then the bearings are pressed in, either steel or Ceramitech (and even they will admit that the ceramic upgrade is a very marginal gain because of how smoothly these roll with the stock bearings). They’re packed and shipped and off to the rider.

Thanks a ton to Gary and Wes for hanging out on a Saturday to show us their workshop!

BBinfinite.com