gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » Bottom Brackets - Mix and Match?    View previous topic :: View next topic  Bottom Brackets - Mix and Match?   Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:58 am PBR Streetgang Joined: 11 Dec 2008 Posts: 39 Location: SF I have a Stronglight spindle, but no cups. Will Sugino French thread cups work with this spindle? If so, what size bearings would I need? Thanks, Eric Last edited by PBR Streetgang on Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:55 pm; edited 1 time in total   Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:35 pm vanhelmont Joined: 11 Dec 2007 Posts: 242 Location: Florida First the easy part, Sheldon said "virtually all traditional bottom brackets use 11 1/4" balls on each side." That includes metric/French bottom brackets. As for matching spindles to cups, again Sheldon Brown said some French bottom brackets have thinner walled cups, and tend to work with spindles intended for Italian bottom brackets, while others with thicker cups work with British spindles (of course either would work with its own spindle). My solution was, I had both a British and Italian spindle that would work with my cranks, so I just tried them with my cups. With TA cups, an Italian Campy spindle worked. (with the British spindle the adjustable cup would need to screw in too far) The easy way, if it's in your budget and a 122 mm spindle works with your cranks, is http://www.velo-orange.com/edbobr.html Re: Bottom Brackets - Mix and Match?   Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:30 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area PBR Streetgang wrote: I have a Stronglight spindle, but no cups. Will Sugino French thread cups work with this spindle? If so, what size bearings would I need? Eric, I have some French Stronglight and Sugino cups. Give me a day or so to dig them out and measure them. Chas. Bottom Brackets Dimensions - Mix and Match?   Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:39 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area PBR Streetgang wrote: I have a Stronglight spindle, but no cups. Will Sugino French thread cups work with this spindle? If so, what size bearings would I need? Eric, Yes, no, maybe... First off, is it a Metric or British threaded BB? Second, what cranks are you planing on using? Here's the standard Stronglight BB lengths for their classic cranks: 118mm, for double chainrings with 68mm wide French and British BB 122mm, for triple chainrings with 68mm wide French and British BB 120mm, for double chainrings with 70mm wide Italian BB 125mm, for triple chainrings with 70mm wide Italian BB A standard French BB would use a Stronglight 118mm spindle for proper chainline with Stronglight cups. Next, the fixed cup is the critical measurement for proper chain line and to make sure that the small chainring doesn't rub on the chain stay. The thickness of the cups at the spindle hole varies between manufacturers and models. Here's the cup thickness for some common manufacturers Stronglight French 1.5mm Stronglight British 2mm Sugino Maxy French 4.5mm Sugino Maxy British 4mm Sugino Mighty French 4mm Sugino Mighty British 4mm Campy Thin French 2.5mm Campy Thin British 2mm Campy Thick French 4.5mm Campy Thick British 4mm TA French 2mm TA British 2.5mm So to partially answer your question, NO (maybe), because a 4mm or 4.5mm thick fixed cup will move the crank arm 2mm to 3mm closer to the chain stay which may mess up the chainline and/or cause the small chainring to rub. 1mm to 2mm shouldn't make much difference. In addition the adjustable cup will probably have 2 to 3 threads protruding past the lock ring which wont hurt anything but might look unprofessional. Bearings, always use uncaged bearings whenever possible. Most caged bearings have few than the optimal number of balls. The reason for caged bearings is to speed up the assembly process! 11 1/4" balls per side. Use Grade 25 CHROME STEEL ball bearings! I always use a thick grease to hold the balls in place during assembly. If you don't have a plastic BB dust seal you can trim a business card to fit in the BB between the cups. Roll it up and insert it. This will do 2 things, help keep dirt out and provide a hidden ID if you ever have to prove ownership. You can also use other materials such as flexible plastic or an aluminum beverage can. Regards, Chas.   Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:53 pm PBR Streetgang Joined: 11 Dec 2008 Posts: 39 Location: SF Thanks, Chas. I assume the BB shell is French, as the bike is a pre 73 TDF. I'm using a Stronglight 93 double with a Stronglight 118 mm spindle. I don’t have any cups, though. The Sugino cups look like a bad idea. First Flight has some Sakae French threaded cups. Do you have any sage advice regarding those? I’ve sent an email to them requesting further information. Sakae (SR) Cups   Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 9:49 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Eric, The metric Sakae (SR brand) cups are probably 3.5mm thick which is a little better than the Sugino 4mm cups. TA Cups are 2mm thick and will work fine with Stronglight BBs. There's a TA BB currently on ebay: http://tinyurl.com/a7gxqd If you don't get this one keep searching for TA or T.A. under Sporting Goods >Outdoor Sports etc. Also, Stronglight BBs are always coming up on eBay. Chas.   Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:45 am PBR Streetgang Joined: 11 Dec 2008 Posts: 39 Location: SF Thanks, Chas.   Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:23 am dasbier Joined: 24 Mar 2009 Posts: 2 Location: Iowa City, Iowa While we're on the subject of bottom brackets... Just picked up a 1984 TdF and I am wondering if anyone knows if it is French threaded (have not had a chance to tear into it yet.) I know some French bike makers started switching to English BB/headsets in the mid-1980s. _________________ 1976 Motobecane Grand Jubilee 1980 Peugeot PFN10E 1984 Gitane Tour de France 2006 Cannondale CAAD8   Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:59 am PBR Streetgang Joined: 11 Dec 2008 Posts: 39 Location: SF It's got to be English. Was any manufacturer still using French threads by 1984? Wait for Chas to chime in, though.   Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:13 am sandranian Site Admin Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 2701 Location: Southern California Pretty sure it is English. My 1983 Kilo uses English... _________________ Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA www.gitaneusa.com   Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 8:01 pm scozim Joined: 26 Sep 2008 Posts: 629 Location: Ellensburg, WA My 1984 Sprint has English threads on the BB. I'll have to check my 84 Tour de France when I get home tomorrow. It's got an Ofmega bottom bracket but i can't remember if it was English or Italian thread. Scott _________________ 1984 Gitane Sprint 1984 Gitane Tour de France mid-1970's Gitane Olympic Plus many more http://eburgcycling.blogspot.com Bottom Brackets   Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:48 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area I don't know when Gitane switched from metric to BSC threads on their bottom brackets and headsets. All three of my 1984 Gitanes have British threads with metric diameter tubing. Except for the chrome plating, it appears that the 1983 Criterium, Tour de France and Super Corsas all used the same frames. For 1984 the Criterium had Vitus 181 forks and stays with Super Vitus 983 main tubes. The TdFs and SCs had the same Super Vitus 983 frames. Chas. Last edited by verktyg on Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:15 am; edited 1 time in total   Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:43 am scozim Joined: 26 Sep 2008 Posts: 629 Location: Ellensburg, WA Just checked my 84 TdF and it's also English thread _________________ 1984 Gitane Sprint 1984 Gitane Tour de France mid-1970's Gitane Olympic Plus many more http://eburgcycling.blogspot.com   Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:09 pm dasbier Joined: 24 Mar 2009 Posts: 2 Location: Iowa City, Iowa Thanks everyone! It was BSC... I always like to know which way to turn when I start cranking away. _________________ 1976 Motobecane Grand Jubilee 1980 Peugeot PFN10E 1984 Gitane Tour de France 2006 Cannondale CAAD8 Bottom Brackets - Mix and Match?     gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours   Page 1 of 1   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First  Select a forum Gitane USA----------------Vintage GitaneGitane RacingModern GitanePro Racing - Classics/Giro/Tour....Owner Gallery   Powered by phpBB © 2001-2004 phpBB Group Designed for Trushkin.net | Themes Database.