Token Ninja bottom bracket review

I’m on my third Token bottom bracket. I got my first one in spring 2021 when I bought my current gravel frame, a 3T Exploro RaceMax. I was going to put on a 2-by SRAM Red group—not a very gravelly choice, but remember, this build was happening during the Great Bike Parts Shortage. I was happy to have the frame and a gruppo. Still, I wasn’t going to make concessions if I didn’t have to. The Token BB was recommended to me as an option for a creak-free setup in the press-fit frame. So, I ordered a BB386 Token Ninja for SRAM Dub cranks. I opted for the premium bearings, not the ceramic ones.

That first BB was great. Each bearing of the Token Ninja is at the end of an alloy shell that has a cylindrical extension with matching threads. You press the non-drive-side bearing/cylinder into your frame. Then, you thread in the drive-side bearing/cylinder. You snug up everything to spec with some bottom bracket tools, and then you’re ready to install the crankset. It’s way less dramatic, and much quieter, than pushing in standard press-fit bearings. Installation is just pleasant if you ask me.

Earlier this season, we did some groupset juggling here at CCM. The SRAM Red went to a colleague of mine. I wanted to make my 3T a bit more gravel/CX focused with my old 1-by SRAM Force 1 group. It needed a new BB for a SRAM GXP spindle, so it was time for another Token order. New BB, same easy install, same excellent performance.

Not long ago, I got a FSA Energy Modular AGX+ 1X crankset for testing. The engagement by the chainring’s teeth is stellar. What wasn’t stellar was the need for yet another BB: something that could accommodate a 30-mm-diameter spindle. Ah, the joys of bike “standards.” However, I was in luck as a Token Ninja BB, with the company’s TBT ceramic bearings, showed up at just the right time. The cups that push into the frame are made of aluminum and nylon. This combination, which Token calls Fusion, helps to keep things stiff and silent. The bearings are protected from water and dirt by the company’s X-Seal technology.

So, for much of the fall, my cranks have been spinning nicely on the latest Token Ninja. I have a feeling it won’t be my last. It might be time for a new gravel groupset next year. ($75–$215, nomadfrontiers.ca)