Classic & Vintage - Raleigh threading - rethreading

so my '77 Raleigh GP has, it seems, a 70mm Raleigh threaded BB. I wouldn't mind reusing the original BB cups - except the shell width means a normal 68mm spindle won't fit in. Having failed to find an appropriate Italian-BB spindle to replace it, my other option is to face the shell down to 68mm. The difficulty in this is in the tooling. The Park facing/threading tool I would be using requires that the opposite side BB tap be in place in order to (reasonably enough) get a flush facing. Of course nobody in Australia has a Raleigh tapset!

Anybody else solved this problem? I've heard that you can "re-cut" standard 24tpi threads into the Raleigh shell but I'm not sure how well this would work. Anybody have any experience with this? Or even better, a 116mm symmetrical BB spindle for a 70mm shell ("5*" marking on spindle) which I could have?!

thanks all.

- Joel

Fortune favors the bold. Two millimeters ain't squat -- half the bottom brackets out there are out of adjustment more than that. Get a 70mm spindle and put it in; so the non-driveside cup sticks out a hair more than before. We won't tell anyone if you won't.

easier said than done - it's my first preference to change the spindle. You got one? :)

- Joel

Also would help to know what crankset you'll be using on it to know what BB width would be best.

P.S.: That brings the total of Super Course BB variants to four...

-Kurt

I would just put it on a mill and take 1 mm off each side.

I would just put it on a mill and take 1 mm off each side.

Ridiculous, expensive and overcomplicated solution.

Why can't anyone get it through their head that a simple 70mm BB spindle is the solution?

I do not see any logic in modifing a frame for a BB. Makes just as much sense as replacing your rims with deep V's because the stainless spokes you have are too short. The frame is the important part - you choose your components to match your frame, not the other way around!


As for getting your hands on a 70 mm BB, try your LBS's, and if that doesn't work, bug the hell out of the Bike Forums members untill someone trades or gives you the 70 mil BB spindle you need.

P.S.: Take my advice and forget the For Trade forum - I've dangled some nice bait there before with no luck (and know of a few other members in the same predicament). Nobody reads it anymore, folks are seemingly posting to thin air.

Take care,

-Kurt

you're right of course Kurt. Thanks for the advice. I'll just keep looking for the right spindle. Taking 1mm off each side wouldn't work btw Oldyellr, as the driveside cup doesn't have a shoulder which sits flush against the shell. Instead the threads are cut into the cup, leaving an unthreaded portion on the outside which presses against the BB shell threads. Reaming out the first thread and then facing 1mm off the non-drive side would work.

But don't worry Kurt I shan't attempt it!

- Joel

P.S.: Take my advice and forget the For Trade forum

Yeah, it seems like potential trades are better expedited case-by-case as they come up in other threads. What the heck; it was worth a try.

It wouldn't be original, but you could also use a Phil BB with 26 tpi cups or just the Phil cups with a Shimano UN72. I would put this as the No. 2 option, ahead of modifying the frame.

I assume you are refering to the Maxy style,#5 series spindles with the protruding studs? They are still readily available, but the problem is the length. It's hard to find the #5 series in lengths under 122mm. However, having said that, I have a hunderd or so Maxy style spindles in the shop. To-morrow, I'll check to see if I have a #5 in 116mm or 117.5mm.

I'm not fussed over whether the spindle has studs or not. I have both bolts and nuts in abundance. I have an entire shimano 600 groupset lying around which I'm putting on with some old shimano barcons. I love the ride of the bike but wanted more from the drivetrain. Plus the original SR cranks were bent, and too short for me.

Spider-man, the Phil BB sounds fine, except for the price! I did find a un-72 in the BB bin at my shop yesterday though, I might pick it up for future use with Phil cups. Good thinking.

- Joel

It wouldn't be original, but you could also use a Phil BB with 26 tpi cups or just the Phil cups with a Shimano UN72. I would put this as the No. 2 option, ahead of modifying the frame.

I did a BB replacement on a '70s Raleigh Record using Phil cups and a UN72. It worked quite well.

If you've got a mill, then putting it on the mill would be far from expensive. It'd be free.

I'll just go and pick up a mill then :)

- Joel

My point was, it sounds like Oldyellr has a mill. People do. My dad does, for one.

If you find a 70mm spindle the race spacing may or may not be appropriate for your cup thickness. If you do find one that works, you still have a problem when it, or one of the 26tpi cups, wears out.

If you have a local framebuilder, with BB tools, he should have no trouble retapping to 24tpi and facing 1mm off each side. I got my Raleigh done by a friend and it took him about 20 minutes, tops. Now I'll never have to worry about BBs again.

P.S.: Take my advice and forget the For Trade forum -I've dangled some nice bait there before with no luck (and know of a few other members in the same predicament). Nobody reads it anymore, folks are seemingly posting to thin air.


Wrong, I read it all the time. In fact, some guy just posted a Raleigh frame in a 57 cm size that I am having a hard time resisting, because I simply don't have the room for it. Nor do I have anything that the poster might be interested in. :D

I think what is needed to make the for trade more effective is a mechanism to simplify 3 or 4 way trades...

I have traded once using the for trade thread, but I admit I have had a couple of other transactions based on PMs related to other threads.

Sorry, the shop does not have a #5 series less than 122.5 mm.