sirmontag

Bought a road bike (1980 something, unknown brand, model name 'Performer', lugged frame, Suntour 7 group) a few months back and have been slowly replacing the components piece by piece.

One of the pedals fell off the other day and I saw that the threads on the crank arm were stripped. Replacing the crankset, gears, front and rear derailleurs and shifters is on the to-do list anyway, so no problem. Only thing is, the bottom bracket is a odd one. Shimano Selecta, made from '78 to '80 or so, from what I can tell. And what I'm stuck on is what exactly I can put in its place. The cups are threaded in, but it seems to have rusted on to the point of resisting anything but a hacksaw.

So my question is, what is known about this bottom bracket / crankset and what square taper bottom bracket can I replace this with?

Pictures:

Album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/montag-...7626679454326/

OndrejP_SK

If the axle is still usable, you can have the pedal threads re-threaded, if not, I'd take it to a bicycle shop and see what they can do with it (i.e. if they can remove the axle part that is stuck in the frame). Good luck with that.

pastorbobnlnh 

Learn something new everyday.

At least start by soaking the threads of those cups with liquid wrench, WD40, or PB Blaster. That will be one of the best bet for free the threads so the cups can be removed. Is the spindle used to extract the cups?

Welcome to C&V. Glad you joined us.

BassNotBass

+1. However don't bother with WD-40, it's a water displacer and isn't very good at loosening rusted hardware so just go right to using the Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster. As for the crank arm, if it's the right side then you could tap the hole for a threaded insert. If it's the left side that would be a little more difficult to find an insert since it's reverse threaded.

Sierra

Apologies if you already know this, but the right side cup is left hand threaded(unless it's an old French frame), so make sure you are trying to turn it clockwise to remove it.

sirmontag

No I did not, thanks! So as far as a replacement bottom bracket goes, what measurements do I need to figure out what I can use for a replacement?

WNG

As mentioned, the drive side cup is left-hand threaded, assuming the bottom bracket is English and 68mm. Odds are very good that it is.
The photo of the BB is fuzzy, (close ups require your camera to be set to macro mode) but it looks like you'll need a spline tool similar to Shimano's freewheel tools in order to remove the cups. If the cup(s) have flats, then a conventional BB spanner that fits your cup will work.

If it's an English 68mm BB, then buy your replacement to this spec. How long the square taper spindle should be is determined by the model of crank you select. Pick the crank you want and it should specify the required spindle length.

Good luck!

sirmontag

Apologies, that photo was of the condition of the threads inside. Mr. Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 puts the focus where you select it

Here's a picture of the cups -

A local bike shop was unable to remove the cups with a spanner that fit it (most likely due to them being locked with rust), but they mentioned using a pipe wrench on them after filing two sides flat.

So once the cups are removed, odds are any 68mm BB will fit it? If I measure the interior diameter, am I good to go, or is threading not uniform across bike BB for models like that?

redxj

The cups are removed by the older splined Shimano freewheel tool (not the current one). They also made a deeper section tool for removing the cups. I actually have a friends frame sitting in the shop with the cups still intact because I havent been able to get them out yet.

Sierra

Just to add to what WNG said above, if it's British/ISO the bb width will be 68mm as he said, and the threading will be 1.37" x 24tpi.

Jeff Wills

+1. You need the older Shimano freewheel tool, not the newer Uniglide/Park FR-1 tool. The splines are slightly smaller. Bike Tools Etc. lists it, but they appear to be out of stock: https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg..._id=SH-TL-FW20 . Searching for "TL-FW20" might turn one up.

The BB shell is standard English threads: 1.37" x 24tpi, right side is left-hand thread.

kyleboyd

I know this is old but can anyone give me some further direction on replacing the selecta bottom bracket? I am not an experienced/knowledgeable bike mechanic, but I'm attempting to rebuild an old 70's road bike. Any (specific) help would be great!

sirmontag

I ended up keeping my bottom bracket after carefully re-attaching my pedals, but if you have any spots where you're stuck, ask away!

Captain Blight

Selecta/Integer was Shimano's solution to a problem that didn't exist; they moved the freewheel mechanism into the crankset and made the gear cluster essentially fixed (it -does- freewheel, but it's very stiff). This allowed the rider to shift while coasting, which is, to me, unspeakably and gleefully cool. The only fly in the ointment is that this required an oversized bottom bracket shell, the old American Standard size. Realizing this, Hiroshi and Hiro did their homework and produced a product that was startlingly well-engineered. Selecta/Integer is, essentially, a proto-Octolink; witness the bearings just as far outboard as can be, and the splined attachment of the crankarms. Sadly it didn't sell (IMO because the bikes it went on were heavy girls-frame Schwinns, not lightweights) and went the way of all flesh.

The good news is, you can buy bushings that screw into your frame and make it useable with a square-taper three-piece crankset. They run about $30 the set. IF you choose to not go this route, your cups (if salvageable) are useable with one-piece cranks, available everywhere.

Bill Kapaun

I THINK FBinNY has some of the tools available.
He posts prolifically in the Mechanics section.

I had an OLD Suntour 5 speed FW I was trying to remove and he said he had the Shimano "Boss?" tool that was required.
I think it's the same thing.

champion city

If you still want to remove the cups, I had to remove a somewhat stuck set once and I was able to do so by clamping the cup in a vice and using the bike as a lever to turn out the cups. It is slightly more difficult to remember which way to turn the bike to loosen the cups, but you can get a lot of torque this way. Good luck!

kyleboyd

Thanks for all the quick replies! With your help and a little other research, I can now get the cups out (I had removed the spindle, and was under the impression the cups and bottom bracket shell were all one piece - newbie). LBS had the right Shimano Freewheel Tool - I couldn't find it online. Also found the bottom bracket to indeed be compatible with the standard 68 mm English bottom bracket.