We present an overview of the current limiting factors in BSCCO/Ag 2212 and 2223 conductors, based on a variety of transport and magnetisation experiments and consistent over a wide range of samples of different quality and origin We show how the dominant dissipation process determining the overall critical current density depends on the temperature and the applied magnetic field At low fields and temperatures weak links limit the current, while at higher field or temperature the useful current is carried only by strong paths and is limited by intragranular flux motion. While the effective cross section of these strong paths - and therefore the critical current - is strongly sample-dependent and determined by microstructural features, the flux motion in these conductors is remarkably similar from sample to sample.