Kinetikx

I am going with the former.

I've got an oddball Univega that I got advice for here: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/258142-my-first-vintage-bike-univega-custom-ten.html

The problem that I'm having right now is with the bottom bracket. For some unknown reason this bike was built with an Italian width BB shell, but it has English threading. As suggested in the above thread I bought an Italian BB (Shimano 600 date coded with 1991) just for the spindle. Today I got some Shimano (possibly Dura-Ace but I'm not convinced of that) cups with English threading- date coded 1993.

What happened today when I tried to install the BB is that the spindle isn't long enough for me to tighten the cups correctly. I can screw the adjustable cup down flush with the outer face of the shell and it's still not tight enough. Obviously this doesn't allow me to put on the lockring and won't work.

I assumed that having an Italian spindle would have given me enough length between the cups to get everything adjusted. So yeah, I assumed which is why I'm the idiot in this scenario.

Any idea what I did wrong?

(I thought that posting here made more sense than in the mechanics forum because of the age of the bike, if this is incorrect I'm sure a mod can move the thread.)

bigbossman 

Didn't some "English Thread" bikes have 73mm shells, or is that for mtb's?

https://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=13353
https://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=26107

Kinetikx

Would I be able to tighten those down to fit a 70mm shell? I've never used a cartridge style BB so I have no idea how much play there is.

MajorA

Aside from your BB issues, "My Bike Is an Idiot" is a pretty good band name.

barba

I am confused. Doesn't English and Italian refer to the BB shell? I am not sure what an "Italian" spindle would mean. I thought that the definition is in the cups, not the spindle. The spindle length is determined by the crank you intend to use and the chainline needed.

nlerner

According to Sheldon Brown, you need a spindle marked with a 5, which is the right length (bearing surface to bearing surface) for a 70mm Italian BB shell. Is that what you're using? If so, and it's still not long enough with those cups, you could try a longer spindle, one marked with a 7.

Neal

Kinetikx

It is stamped with 5J-B which according to Sheldon is correct, for the shell size anyway. This $20 frame is starting to become a huge pain. I may have to just get the shell faced down to 68mm and be done with it. I'd rather not, but I'm not seeing much of a choice right now.

Edit* in looking at the table on Sheldons site the only difference between the different "5" spindles is the right side length. I'm not sure if one of the other ones would bring the race of the spindle more outboard and solve the problem? https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/bottombrackets.html

Edit2* No it wouldn't. I looked at the diagram and I would need a spindle with a larger "B" (length between races of the spindle).

John E

A 70mm-wide BB shell with English threading is indeed somewhat unusual, but a few others have reported encountering them, as well. There are thin-walled and thick-walled BB cups, which also affects spindle bearing race spacing. Don't give up; there are lots of used and NOS spindles out there.

Kinetikx

Well at least I've got a NOS Italian BB for when I finally find a vintage Italian bike at a yard sale

Otis

Why not just take it to a good bike shop or frame builder and have them face the BB down to 68mm. It was probaly just not cut enough in the first place and is proably not very square. This will fix both of those problems. Swapping axles was the cheap fix, but not all brands have the same shoulder spacing so you have to get lucky for that to have worked. $25 ought to cover fixing it right with a facing tool.

bigbossman 

Well, as it happens I could use a square tapered Italian BB for a Legnano I'm building. PM me if you want to trade or sell....

Kinetikx

Update:

The guy who sold me a 600 crankset on ebay also included his old UN53 cartridge BB with them and they arrived today. The UN53 is a 68x118. I installed it in the shell and it seems to work just fine- so for anyone in the future who has a similar "unique" style BB shell- one of these will fit. Whether or not the fact that I'm not fully screwed into it will be a problem remains to be seen.

Crisis averted... I think.

Antipodes

I had a similar problem on my 1980 Raleigh Criterium - English threading, but a wider shell, around 71mm from what I remember. I managed somehow to force a UN91 B.B. to work, but it isn't ideal. I didn't have any "5" spindles around, so that was my only option. I did use a "5" spindle in an old Peugeot UO-8 that I rebuilt with cotterless cranks - worked well with the French cups.