Originally Posted by dgregory57
I have my bid in for this sweet looking Le Tour IV...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=300004275384
But for bidding purposes, I wonder if anyone can tell me about upgrading.
Is the headset a standard 1" threaded? I know some early Schwinns weren't. but I wonder about the Le Tour IV in 1979...
Also, what size is the BB?
I have a bid in for what I would like to pay for it on its own, but may consider increasing the bid if it can be upgraded a bit with pieces I have.
Maybe I have found a replacement for my Cannondale... I know the FD won't transfer, but if everything else will, I would love to swap them... and probably at some point swap everything back when I get to where I can ride my real lightweight.
The bottom bracket should be 68mm, English thread, spindle length will depend on cranks, of course. What you'll probably find regarding the headset/stem/fork is that the inside diameter of the steerer tube and the diameter of the stem's quill will be an odd size, 21.15mm (usually marked .833" on the stem) instead of the more common dimension of 22.2mm. The threads on the fork, and everything about the headset will be ISO except maybe the crown race (which might be the JIS dimension, although the le tours I've worked on had an ISO crown race, I believe). And to top if off, the lock nut on the top of the headset assembly will have the odd size (.833") inside diameter, so that it fits closely around the stem as it goes down into the steerer.