RE: [CR]Italian BB in English BB shell, can it be done?

(Example: Racing:Jacques Boyer)

Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:22:14 -0800 (PST)
From: Donald Gillies <gillies@cs.ubc.ca>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: RE: [CR]Italian BB in English BB shell, can it be done?

The correct new-tech bargain-basement part for your campagnolo nuovo record (i'm guessing) crankset would be :

post-1-1-1977, 114.5mm 3mm rhs offset-spindle, add 3 mm, buy 118 mm symmetric BB. pre-1-1-1977, 112mm 3mm rhs offset-spindle, add 3 mm, buy 115 mm symmetric BB.

there is nothing magic about these vintage spindles with 3 mm of offset on the right-hand (drive) side. To replace them with a modern BB until you get the correct one, just add 3 mm to the left side, and buy THAT size in a symmetric spindle. The bike industry does an astonishing job of keeping old parts on the road, if you buy an old-fashioned part that was once popular.

Even for 1950's bikes with Chater-Lea oversized bottom brackets, you can buy the Phil Wood cartridge lock-rings and use a Phil Wood or Shimano UN-71/72 cartridge bottom bracket (maybe Tange/IRD, too, with some filing on the Phil lockring.)

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA