Long story here such that enough detail is given to hopefully provide meaningful help.

I have a converted fixed gear Gitane (1977 Super-something-french). The bike is awsome. It has a french BB. This sucks.

I am running the stock Campy high-flange rear hub with cog and lockring (english thread BB lock ring, not a 'real' track lock ring). I am running the smaller chain-ring on the inside of the stock cranks. I have the rear wheel equally spaced between the drops (120 mm) with the wheel re-dished (new rim) such that it is even.

I elected to get rid of the french thread pedals which ment so-long to the stronglight cranks. I picked up a new set of Stronglight track cranks with a JP 400 BB (107mm spindel, sealed cartridge...English threads). The HOPE was that the off-set for the track cranks would be similar to the inside ring of the double-ring cranks such that all I had to worry about was chain-ring size and the chain-stay. As a back-up, not knowing that the BB which came with the cranks were sealed, I figured I could simply swap the old-fashioned 118 mm spindel with the 107 mm whihc came with the cranks.

F%$ked on both counts.

The cranks on the stock 118mm spindel are 10-15 mm too wide to match the rear cog as centered. The sealed bottom bracked with the 107-mm spindel has brittish rings to mount the sealed cartrige within the shell. I cannot find on-line, or anywhere a spindel to match with a length even close to what I need (sub 105 mm).

Option 1: Somehow acquire a second brittish thread left cartridge cup for the new Stronglight sealed BB and simply run two left-hand cups. Yeah the threads aren't a perfect match, but I can probably mash them in well enough to save on the locktite.

Option 2: Get a set of Phil Wood BB cups in french threads an hope they work (the Stronglite cartridge is 60mm long and about 30mm in diameter. I cannot find any information on the Phil Wood BB cartriges so I have no idea if this will work without shelling out $70).

Option 3: Re-lace the rear wheel with a real track hup and hope that shifts the chain-line out to closely match the the track cranks on the original 118mm BB axle. For reference, the rear cog is spaced about 38 mm from center, but the chainring is running nearly 53mm (not good). I cannot find any information as to standard chain-line offsets for track hubs, so this too would be an expensive shot in the dark.

Option 4: Give up and put it back together with what I have and use the pretty track cranks for wall decorations.

Help.

Thanks.

You have one other possibility, probably cheaper than buyng a PW bb, and redishing the wheel

5. Rethread the BB shell to Italian threads and get a BB cartridge (threaded italian) that allows you to recover the lost chainline of the new crank.

I'd just redish the rear wheel, moving it over by re-arranging axle spacers.

You problem may be that older Stronglight cranks had a very different spindle. As you've found. Now, I'm not sure if the newer ones take an ISO or JIS spindle, you'll have to find that out.

Switching just spindles is likely not an option; the cups on your bike are likely thin walled, where most spindles you will find are for thick walled cups.

My advice is to get a set of the Sugino (or Sakae), I ferget which, cups from Harris. Replace the BB on your bike with the Suginos. This will allow the BB to take standard 3 series Japanese spindles, which should greatly increase the number and variety of spindles you can use. Be sure to crank the fixed cup on tight (best done with a VAR 30 tool, though a bench vise works in a pinch). You can flip spindles (ie turn 'em around) and this can also help adjust chainline.

As to the Phil rings/ SL BB idea, I'm unsure how well that would work. I do know that Phil rings work with Shimano UN72 BBs, but I haven't run into another mix that works (havent tried a SL BB).

Retapping is likely to be costly, and you'll need a shop you can trust absolutely to do it. I would avoid it.

You could also retap the original SL cranks to English thread pedals, and try them instead. However, older SL cranks use a different remover and have an obsolete BCD pattern. But it might work better with your extant spindle.

Phil Wood can solve your problem, but it won't be cheap:

https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/bottombrackets.html#phil

Because there is some adjustability with the Phil system, you can get the chainline absolutely perfect.

Is your bike a Gitane Super Corsa? If so, spend the money to do it right. It's worth it.

Thanks for the input!

I checked into re-taping the BB and/or cranks and decided against it for two reasons. First, there is no one around here I could find who really wanted to attempt it, nor I trusted (I'm in Alaska, not Boulder). Second, I have had second thoughts of the fixed-gear conversion all along. I do not know what version of Gitane this thing is (it had all french stickers...when it had stickers), but it has 531 tubes and is full Campagnolo except for the BB. I have carefully stored all the old parts incase I get feeling too guilty and decide to restore it back (I do nto have the original seat/seat post or stem though). That said, I am going to have a hard time chaning it back as its my favorite in its current form.

It does have the thin-walled cups, so I the Sugino cups are an option which I may have to give more thought. The spindel is standard taper, and I slipped an old Campy Victory crank on it last night which fits fine, just an obsolete bolt pattern again.

I am still leaning towards the Phil Wood BB rings if they work though. If someone could get me measurements of a Phil BB cartridge, that would be helpful.

Thanks again

Your best option with Phil is to contact them directly. Thier tech support is absolutely super.

if your only issue with the original cranks was the french threading, why not just tap them to BSC? if they're alloy it takes less than 10 minutes.

In the interest of temporary closure, this is what I have done. Actually, it is so half-@#$ed that I'm almost proud of it. Found an old Campy BB spindle (109 mm) in the junk bin at one of my LBS ($10). Kept the thin-walled french cups, but reversed them so the fixed cup is on the left side such that the spindle is slightly off-set to the left due to the change in bearing-race centers. I can no longer get the lock ring on the adjustable side as the cup is too far in. Its held in with loc-tite right now, but if it backs out more than 1/2-turn, it will hit the crank. The chain line is now near perfect.

I do not think this will last long-term, but at least long enough to figure out what else to do. I have a call into Phil Wood to see if that route will ultimately work.

Thanks for the help!!!