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Bottom Bracket help

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Old 01-20-12 | 12:04 AM
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Bottom Bracket help

I have a french bike and i need the bottom bracket for it. I saw a french bracket online that i think would work but i looked at the bracket and on the left side it is closed of with a square opening. i am not sure what kind of bracket im looking for now
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Old 01-20-12 | 12:24 AM
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Assuming you do in fact have a French - 35x1- bottom bracket, than you need to replace it with a 35x1 BB. But not all bikes made in France have French thread BBs. It's entirely possible that your bike has an ISO BB, especially if it's of fairly recent production, so I suggest that you start out by verifying what's in there right now.
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Old 01-20-12 | 06:29 AM
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If it does end up being french BB, Velo-Orange sells them.
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Old 01-20-12 | 07:10 AM
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You need to clarify what you mean by a French bike, do you mean an old one which has a French BB (like the suggestions above), or a new one, from a French brand, like LOOK, TIME etc which will have a normal English BB
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Old 01-20-12 | 08:29 AM
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Originally Posted by FBinNY
Assuming you do in fact have a French - 35x1- bottom bracket, than you need to replace it with a 35x1 BB. But not all bikes made in France have French thread BBs. It's entirely possible that your bike has an ISO BB, especially if it's of fairly recent production, so I suggest that you start out by verifying what's in there right now.
+147 French bikes at one time came with French bottom brackets, then Swiss bottom brackets, then british bottom brackets. All of them are different, none are compatible with the other, far too little information to know which one you have. But since you have the bike in hand, just go to a bike shop and they can help. Note, if you happen to have a Swiss bottom bracket, options are quite limited, but its doable.
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Old 01-20-12 | 08:37 AM
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+1 on taking it to a bike shop to determine exactly what you have. Your comment about the "square opening" is puzzling. Are you looking at the end of the spindle?
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Old 01-20-12 | 11:28 AM
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Originally Posted by jimc101
You need to clarify what you mean by a French bike, do you mean an old one which has a French BB (like the suggestions above), or a new one, from a French brand, like LOOK, TIME etc which will have a normal English BB
Or even Swiss, as found on some Motobeacane and Peugeot models.
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Old 01-20-12 | 12:22 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnDThompson
Or even Swiss, as found on some old Motobeacane and Peugeot models.
I took the liberty of editing your comment. Only older bike of these makes will be French or Swiss threaded. Anything with these names from fairly recent times (like in the past 10 or more years) will be English threaded. Also, the Motobeacane name was bought by and is now just a house-brand of Bikes Direct and is not French at all.
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Old 01-20-12 | 12:37 PM
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While I'm a big DIY proponent, if unsure about what part you need, LBS service might be cheaper in the long run -- if they order a part that doesn't fit, it's on them; if you order a part that doesn't fit, might be at the very least a restocking fee.

Figure out if you want to pay for your education or lean on the expertise of others...
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Old 01-20-12 | 04:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Dieboldly
.... and on the left side it is closed of with a square opening....
You really need to rephrase that so we know what you actually mean!
Are you talking about the crank arm?
Post a picture.
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