Token Ninja BB86/ BB89.5/ BB92 Bottom Bracket

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The Ninja range from Token is designed for the serious cyclist looking for those extra watt savings compared to a standard bottom bracket.

Token says: "TOKEN's NINJA bottom bracket solves the creaking issues, improves bearing life and adds stiffness to the bottom bracket.

"They start with Fusion technology; it is a combination of plastic and fibre that cover an alloy bottom bracket shell. The composite material allows it to be precisely machined and fit snugly in the frame so it doesn't move in the frame and sound like grandma's clicking and creaking arthritic knees. But plastic and fibre don't do a good job of supporting bearings; poorly supported bearings can wear prematurely.

"Token house the bearings in an alloy shell and wrap it with plastic and fibre. This fusion of the three materials provides the bearings a solid platform to sit on and extends their lives. A lot of people would be satisfied with this, but Token went even further by extending the alloy shell so the right and left sides lock together. This locks the frame, cranks and bottom bracket together and provides unparalleled stiffness.

"The NINJA bottom bracket is can be purchased individually or in a package that includes adapters to fit several different frame and crankset combinations.

"The NINJA bottom bracket doesn't just solve the problem of noisy bottom brackets - it actually improves the life of the bottom bracket and makes your bike stiffer. There aren't many times a replacement part actually improves your bike but put one on your bike and you'll wonder why you didn't install a NINJA sooner."

Combining press-fit with standard threaded, where the cups screw into each other, is so much easier than standard press-fit, which can be a right pain to install. It is definitely one of the smoothest bottom brackets I've ever had on my bike.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Token uses this 'double thread' pattern, which supposedly leads to less axial force, and TBT bearings which house very hard races and ceramic balls for durability and smoothness. Token has fused the nylon cup to the aluminium externals to eliminate the creaking often experienced with press-fit. Its own X-Seal technology is used as a barrier to keep grit and dirt away from the bearings.

Metal outers on the cups give a real solid structure and combined with the nylon internals make it a lot stronger than standard press-fit bottom brackets.

Super-smooth running and spins forever.

Had a tiny bit of creaking in the first 500km, but now absolutely nothing. Done more than 2,000km so far.

The Easton we tested was 66g, but this is still pretty light.

It is well priced in the bottom bracket market, with smoother bearings than most standard bottom brackets.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Other than the occasional creak in the first 500km, the bottom bracket has been perfect.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Ease of installation and how smooth the bearings still are.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Just the odd creak at the start.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It is at the cheaper end of the market, more than Shimano's BB86 press-fit unit but nowhere near the price of Ceramic Speed and C-Bear bottom brackets.

Use this box to explain your overall score

Apart from the creaking early on, it's excellent. In terms of price, durability and performance, it's hard to fault.