I've never had a Campy, so it must be different from the Specialized and other similar cartridge BB. This whole process has made my head hurt... and I skipped a lot.

The ones I've used had lockrings. Spanner and a pin wrench and in 5 minutes the chainline is set and the BB is nice and snug. Used grease on the threads but no lock tite. I'd probably be inclined to see if suitable lockrings existed.

John

Nothing sticks out to put a lockring on. It is the same system as Phil Wood has used forever, and it allows for simple adjustment of chainline that would be incredibly difficult with other systems, and it doesn't require facing the BB cups. There's nothing wrong with it.

Ahhh! I see.

I've seen the Phil Wood ones, but never really looked into how they are installed.

Thanks!

John

I figured it was just for fun. When we were kids, we used to call this stuff "Sleazy Cheese."

against each other, thru the cartridge bearing outer edges and the sleeve joining them.

It's really not complicated at all. I just made the initial mistake of using anti-seize on the threads, and then enjoyed diving into some super specific details about the process (maybe because I'm weird and like stuff like that).

Anyway, as Kontact pointed out (below), it's actually a rather nice system. Allows for some added adjustability, and I really like the flush fit that doesn't require any facing. Unfortunately my bike was brought used, so the cup faces already have half their paint chipped off, but I would have been super happy with this option on a new bike at the time.

How much adjustment can one really expect from these types of BB's? I'm not sure if it's just my frame, but with the smaller chainring already quite close to the stay, my NDS pedal is only a couple of millimeters at most away from the opposite stay. I'll provide some pics when I get a chance, but I'm not seeing anything more than a 5mm right to left tolerance for adjustment (at least in my case). Does that seem about normal?

you have the width of the BB shell minus the width of the BB assembly..

In the situation you describe, it's the spindle length, not the BB type, that is the limiting factor. Using a cartridge with a longer spindle extension on the non-drive side would allow you to adjust the drive side further out without causing clearance problems on the non-drive side.

I own a Japanese BB with a DS flange that put the crank 2mm too far to the right. Had the BB worked like yours, I simple would have moved it over to where it should be. Instead I had extra faced off the right side of the BB shell.

Picture time!

So despite being satisfied with all of my installation and torquing work, I wasn't completely happy with the clearance of the left crank arm, so I too everything apart and shifted the BB over toward the NDS a little bit, because I didn't have much clearance between the small chainring and the stay either.

All in all, I'd say I shifted it between 1mm and 2mm, and I'm happy with the result as it seems to be about as good a compromise as possible in terms of clearance on both sides. What do you guys think? I tried to give multiple angles, as I know it is hard to tell from pics.

(Yes, my left crank is vintage/used and has some very strange corrosion marks on it).

Lots of people really like minimizing Q, the distance between the pedals.

That wasn't my goal. It's a 111m bottom bracket, and I'm 99.9% sure that is what the bike calls for.

Strangely (or unfortunately), the left crank is about 4-5mm closer to the seat tube than the drive side crank. Doesn't seem like there is much I can do about that.

Nothing the OP has done involves changing or addressing Q.

You might want to check frame alignment. Pull a string taught from left dropout, ever the head tube and back to the right drop out. See if the seat tube is centered between the strings.

That's typical with asymmetrical spindles. The drive side sits further out to provide clearance for the chainrings.

Not on any Campy 111mm spindled crank I've ever seen or owned.

The OP's frame doesn't sound symmetric because the cranks can be centered on the stays or the seat tube, but not both.

We must be reading my mind, because I did exactly that last night. I did find a very small discrepancy, with about 2 (maybe 3)millimeters more space between the string and seat tube on the drive side. Not to happy about that either, but figure I can deal with it for now (unless you or anyone thinks that is too much. I have no experience with this).

Thing is, I'm not sure how frame alignment would affect the distance from the cranks to the seat tube, since they are mounted in line (vertically) with the seat tube? Am I missing something?


You know, I never even considered the possibility that it was asymmetric, but after looking around a little I think that might be a strong possibility. I found this link, which is for entirely different (and older) BB's, but makes me think the general practice continued on: Campagnolo bottom bracket info

If the string is closer on the drive side, that is (usually) because the stays are not centered on the plane of the main triangle. When that happens left stay is bent closer to the NDSW crank while the right side is bent away from the DS crank. It is hard to tell if that's what's happening here - your before and after description don't necessarily make sense with that. But it might be worth stopping at a shop with an alignment gauge.


Asymmetric spindles are usually for use with asymmetric cranks - the left crank arm's head is inset with more ankle clearance than the right arm's. It is not something that makes the pedals asymmetric because the two arms angle out to the pedal differently.