Bicycle Mechanics - Trying to find a cotter bolt : is it possible?

I went to my LBS today and they said they didn't have it...not really surprising. Is it possible to find that today, or will I have to buy a new BB and crankset? In that case I'm not sure I'd go for it since it's only for an old bike that I found and that I'm rebuilding. Helps time goes by while winter is killing me!


thanks,

youngster

they're around and still made, you'll just have to call around, maybe check loosescrews. know your cotter diameter. they often need to be filed, either to get the cranks in phase if you only replace one or sometimes for them to fully seat on the spindle, so look for ones with a lot of meat. you can always take away but you can't add.

When you find the right cotter, it might be a good idea to replace both of them to have a better chance of keeping the cranks parallel.

I'd just ditch steel cottered cranks altogether. But Sheldon's shop, Harris Cyclery (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/parts.html), carries cotter pins. It's on the Cranks page, I think.

Bike Tools Etc. also has them for $2/pair is most sizes.

I'm with Tim on this one. Replacing it with a cheap square taper three-piece crank and bottom bracket is probably worth the effort and minor cost. Most of the cottered cranks I've seen were heavy as anvils. You might see if your LBS has a used or NOS crank in his parts drawers that you could get at low cost.

I'll think about it. You're right about the weight of that thing : I'm having problems to lift it off the ground ;)

The advice in this thread is spot-on. However, if you have own a classic bicycle with all-original components, such as my 1960 Capo (as opposed to my repainted and heavily-updated/upgraded 1959 Capo), you may want to keep those cottered cranks on the bike, or at least store them safely for a future collector if you do decide to replace them. The (admittedly rotating) weight penalty is well under a half kilo, and old steel cottered cranks are much safer than old aluminum cotterless. (I have broken one of each. The Agrati steel crank, OEM on my first 1960 Capo, broke at the cotter eye, and I was able to ride home with the left crank timing advanced by about 25 degrees. The Sugino aluminum crank, OEM on my 1971 Nishiki Competition, snapped at the pedal eye, causing a painful and potentially dangerous crash.