Raleigh BB Hell

soundz

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
My dumpster Raleigh fixie project has hit a snag. I am trying to replace the cottered cranks that it came with some newer cranks. The easiest way to do this according to Sheldon Brown is to replace the spindle. See photo below:

spindle.jpg


The top spindle is the original Raleigh one, the one in the middle is from a 2000'ish Pacific mountain bike, the 3rd one is from a 80's road bike.

According to Sheldon Brown, if the digit on the spindle is a "7" (as the middle spindle is), then it should work on a Raleigh. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html#cotterless ... But it doesn't work. The length of "A" is about 3mm too short on the middle spindle and when I put it on the bike, the BB cup screws in too much leaving no thread left to put on the locknut. The length of "A" on the bottom spindle is even shorter, so it's even worse.

As far as I can think of, here are my choices:

a) Someone please sell me a spindle that fits.
b) Just use the cottered cranks & spindle that came with the bike.
c) Buy a Phil Wood Bottom Bracket with 26TPI threads for the Raleigh ~$150+
d) Find some LBS that can tap my BB shell so I can use a more modern BB. Which shop?!
e) Put the Raleigh back together and sell it. Get another project bike with the money.

What's the best choice?
 
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J-7

J-7

Active Member
If you consider Sheldon's idea of using the Shimano bottom bracket with the Phil Wood cups, I have one. It has a long spindle (about 122 mm) so you would have to use an older square taper crankset that uses the longer spindle.

J
 
soundz

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
J-7 said:
If you consider Sheldon's idea of using the Shimano bottom bracket with the Phil Wood cups, I have one. It has a long spindle (about 122 mm) so you would have to use an older square taper crankset that uses the longer spindle.

J
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Phil Wood cups can only be used with UN72 Shimano BB which is out of production. They're going on ebay for $35 + phil wood cups $50 = $85, which is more than I wan to spend on a bike I pulled out of the dumpster.

Some other suggestions I got on Bike Forums:

- Hit some LBS and see if they have a spindle I can use. I will do this later, but for some reason I get the feeling I won't find it. I figure it will cost about $10 if one can be found.
- Use a threadless BB. I did some research on this and the ones that are the most available (YST brand) is a POS but economical (about $20 + shipping). Plus you have to machine your frame to get them to fit. Plus they only come in 68mm, but the Raleigh is more like 73mm. Can I squish about 5mm of washers in there?

It's looking like the best option at this point is to hit the LBS and look for a spindle. If that doesn't work get them to tap it out (about $25?).
 
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soundz

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
J-7 said:
If you consider Sheldon's idea of using the Shimano bottom bracket with the Phil Wood cups, I have one. It has a long spindle (about 122 mm) so you would have to use an older square taper crankset that uses the longer spindle.

J
Click to expand...

Sorry were you suggesting that you want to sell me your cup/BB combo? If so, please PM me.
 
soundz

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Had one more idea which has no cost involved ... It would make use of 2nd spindle on the photo I originally posted. My thought is to take the drive train side BB cup and shave off 1-2mm off with a dremel. This "should" give me a tighter fit against the bearing and expose enough thread on the left side cup for the lock nut.

I'll give this a try tomorrow unless I come back tomorrow and find 10 replies screaming at me not to.
 
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J-7

J-7

Active Member
I meant I have the UN-72 bottom bracket but not the Phil Wood cups. Like you say, it's probably not worth spending the money on the cups, anyways. It's a shame it's non-standard threading. Good luck.
 
soundz

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
To Paint or Not To Paint

My dumpster fixie build is coming along, but the zillion & 1 rust spots are annoying me. I actually like the color & it's got some hand painted features that look old-school, so I'm at a dilemma. Should I paint it or leave it alone?

It's actually a more darker yellow color than in the 1st picture. The flash does terrible things to the color. I'm running 700c flip-flop hub in the back & 27" in the front .. should be OK, no?

fixie01.jpg


fixie02.jpg
 
soundz

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
It's not quite done yet, but at least it's rideable :) My fixie dumpster build almost complete .. actually it's a flip-flop hub. I'm not quite brave enough to ride w/o brakes so they're going up next and I think maybe white bar tape to match the seat and I think that's it.

record01.jpg
 
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