Igneous Faction

So I've always liked the looks and idea of the de Bernardi as my first entry level frame. But I don't really have the cash to throw at a new one. I thought I had come across a super-awesome ebay find Here:https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1 until I read the part that says:

"We have tapped the bottom bracket.The threads are a bit loose. We were successful in tightening in an FSA and a Campy Bottom Bracket but were not successful with the cheaper Japanese bottom brackets. Using some thread tape or pipe dope and a good quality BB you should have no trouble getting a BB installed to work."

Yikes... I assume that the BB is/was italian threaded and they tried to install english and stripped the first set of threads and then had it re-tapped? Regardless of what happened, I'm just wondering if this is something I should steer clear from. Why would the quality of the BB matter? Internally, they're different, but shouldn't the threading be the same? Plus, the thing's being sold by one of those ebay businesses...

brunning

yeah... avoid this frame. you can only tap the threads on the shell so much before there's not enough metal left to hold the BB in place. you could probably get a BB to stay in there with some jb weld or something, but the minute you need to change or adjust something down there, you're SOL.

this is a project frame for a framebuilder.

brianallan

yeah, I think the bb threads are extremely important. You put a lot of stress on the BB as a result of cranking up hills. The BB threads on my 20 year old frame are a bit loose? ovalized? I'm not really sure. When I crank up the local 9% grade you can hear some squeaking from the shell, which I'd attribute to the wear on the threads. They didn't mention that they'd tried to have the BB shell re-threaded, which is a common sense thing to do.. Sounds sketchy, I'd stay away...

fixrider

you could use this bb : https://www.zefal.com/stronglight/pag...keyProd=jp1000
or you could melt some brass into the bb shell and tap it again.

shishi

Low bid and use as beater ride. Yeah, rethreading seems like the obvious choice. I had it done successfully to a panasonic conversion and lasted me (4 years) until I sold it. Was using a un52 also.

mattface 

I doubt any BB will stay put for long from the sounds of it, and furthermore I bet the price will go pretty high in the end.

Sketchy stuff often does better than working stuff on ebay, because un-knowledgeable people get in their head they can get a deal on it because of it's sketchiness. They probably think they can fix it cheap, and walk away with a bargain. Instead they pay more for something that doesn't work right, and encourage people to sell their junk on ebay.

shishi

True, ebay is weird like that.

mcatano

There are a couple of BBs that don't thread into the shell - the Stronglight fixrider posted above (english info here) and a similar Mavic BB that I don't think is being produced anymore put is still pretty easy to find on eBay, etc. Neither of those BBs would cost more than buying a Sugino 75 BB and both would be perfectly functional/safe/whatever.

If you can get the frame cheap and it's your size, I wouldn't let the stripped threads stand in the way.

m.

stendhalian

...lot's of DB's on ebay right now...weird.

Igneous Faction

Thanks for all the info guys. I'll keep an eye on it. I think re-tapping the BB shell to smooth 45 degree angles and throwing in that Stronglight would be a viable solution, as long as it's cost effective.

Just one more question though. Since I'll be using Sugino cranks, will I run into problems due to spindle length? The shortest those stronglights get is 114mm. I'm pretty sure the track specific Sugino BB is 103mm. Will that extra centimeter be a problem for my chainline?

hyperRevue

A centimeter is like a mile in chainline.

absntr

The Sugino 75 BB is 109.

Igneous Faction

Alright! so instead of a mile in chainline-terms, we're now talking a football field or so. Also, where can I buy one of these stronglight BB's stateside? I didn't even know that the French were still making components.

hyperRevue

BusinessCycles I assume has them.