Originally Posted by
Maddox
Can you please expound upon this quote, Sixty? I recently picked up a 79' UO-8 in remarkably good condition, and I'm of course intending to swap out the cottered crank/bb for something slightly more updated (I have a old square-taper Sugino double I got off of Craigslist that currently sitting in the parts bin). I'm probably going to have to swap out the wheels while I'm at it, as they feel like they're steel (they have little abrasive nubs on sidewalls, looks like for dynamo lights, which was a surprise to me).
I'll let Sixty fill in the details but the basic issue is that threads and various other dimensions are peculiar to the French of that period. It is possible too that they switched to more conventional threading and dimensions at some point though. Upgrading wheels and crank will convert it to a very nice ride. It's pretty good as it is, very smooth, but the bike can be lightened. I happen to have a set of Sugino bearing cups with the correct threads from when I did this very upgrade to mine. If you can't find any drop me a note. I transferred my upgrade components to a different bike some years ago, including crank and spindle, but to a British-thread BB. As long as I haven't decided to upgrade it again they are available.