schteiny

So my bb is loose on my peugeot a08 from 71-73.
I took it into my LBS and they said it may very well be a french threaded BB in which they can not get the parts.

Last summer my father gave me the bike, which was his first, and i got some work done on it at my LBS (i've taken it to a new bike store this time around)

At the time they installed a new derailleur, crankset, and BB.

my questions:

1) it currently has a bottom of the line shimano crankset on it that my old LBS installed last summer. they also installed a new BB. Are these shimano cranksets even compatible with french threaded BB's?
2) did the old LBS i go to screw me and put in the wrong type of BB and strip the thread?
3) what kind of money am i looking at to pin the thread differently assuming its not stripped?

Any informatino would be helpful.

Thank you

evwxxx

For one thing the BB has nothing to do with the crank except as a point of attachment, so being french or italian or swiss threaded does not impact how the crank attaches. More important is whether the spindle in the BB is JIS or ISO taper, things like that. So anyway as far as the LBS putting in wrong thread BB and stripping threads, etc, that could be possible, the BB cups should state on them whether they are french sized (35 X 1) or standard size (1.375 X 24). The shimano cups should have those numbers marked on them, so you will know which cups they put on there. Other than that, tighten them up with locktite? See this webpage for more info:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/cribshee...mbrackets.html

Kommisar89

Any particular reason you think it might be stripped? There could be any number of ways they could have changed it out - maybe they had the right French thread cups, maybe they reused the original cups with a new spindle, maybe they used one of those universal BB's that work with any thread. Post some close up pictures of it and we'll have a better idea.

nlerner

The fixed cup on the French-threaded bottom bracket on my commuter bike came loose today, not the first time that's happened. Loctite and some good force with the fixed-cup tool should hopefully do the trick, and it sounds like that might be what you need. Did your LBS give you an idea of what the problem was and why they needed to order new parts?

Neal

Poguemahone

What's loose? If it is the fixed cup, these are not reverse threaded, as British thread ones are (unless it's a late Peugeot, but I dont think the AOs were still around at that point). Because it is not reverse thread, it needs to be torqued in tightly, preferably with the proper tool (the Var 30). Many shops dont have this tool or are unaware of the idiosyncracies of French bikes. Also, because the fixed cup is not reverse thread, it is highly unlikely the bike shop could even force in a British cup-- it wouldn't even start threading.

Velo Orange is in the process of manufacturing some French thread, sealed, cartridge bottom brackets.

markk900

I too have an AO-8 - as others have said, you need to determine what is actually wrong before deciding what the solution is. If the fixed cup is loose, I have had good luck tightening (and loosening) using a bench vice (and the frame as the lever).

Post some photos of what you believe the problem to be and I'm sure you'll get some good advice.

Mark

miamijim

1. Yes, Shimano cranksets can be used in conjunction with French threaded BB's. Its all relative to the combination of parts being used.

2. Highly unlikely you got screwed because its virtualy impossible top put anything other than French threaded cups into a French threaded frame.

3. Money. Anywhere from a few bucks if it only needs a basic adjustment to $50 plus depending on if the BB needs to be replaced.

schteiny

Hey guys,

Thank you for your responses so far.
So my new LBS called me back with bad news.
The bb on my peugeot a08 is french thread, but the old LBS installed a threadless bb in there and he says he can't fix it properly because he doesn't have access to french threaded bb's or have the proper tool to thread it british.

he says my solutions are:
1) get someone to reverse the thread on the frame of the bb
2) find a french threaded bb
3) move on from the bike

Do you guys see any other options or have any experience with finding french bb's or thread reversal?

Thanks guys

wrk101

Find a donor bike. There were a lot of U08s made in the 1970s. I picked up a donor recently myself at Goodwill. If you are going to keep riding a 1970s French bike, you really need to acquire any/all of the donor french bikes you get your hands on.

Kommisar89

So first I would ask why the threadless BB doesn't work? That is normally a valid option when installing a new BB in a French threaded shell. Perhaps not ideal but perfectly valid. Also, French BBs are out there and pop up frequently on eBay. To re-thread it you would have to go to Italian thread not English. The Italian BB is a slightly larger diameter and French shells can often be rethreaded to Italian thread.

Grand Bois

You probably have one of those YST threadless bottom brackets and they have a terrible reputation.

It's not that hard to find French bottom bracket cups and spindles. I suggest that you start watching eBay.

Poguemahone

According to a recent post on the Velo Orange Imports blog, their French threaded cartridge bottom bracket will be available by May 1. I'd just buy one and install that.

OP, neither of your shops inspire any sort of confidence in me. I'd get the tools and learn to install it myself, or find a local bike co-op to help you with the installation. Frankly, option 1 the shop gace you is BS.

I would not retap, probably more expensive than the VO bb. Plus, you need a quality shop with skilled hands to do it.

Check Veloorange.com .