Why isn't this spindle long enough to use in 68mm BB?
04-17-12, 09:53 PM
#1
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Why isn't this spindle long enough to use in 68mm BB?
I'm trying to get a bike ready for sale. Early 90s Schwinn Cross Cut.
I'm trying to install an old loose-ball BB I had laying around. I put the cups in with the spindle (and 1/4" bearings) but I cannot thread in the adjustable cup enough. Even with it all the way in, the spindle has significant play. It's like I'm trying to put a 68mm BB in a 73mm shell, but the shell is definitely 68mm.
It's a Shimano bottom bracket, with markings "68 W" and "3H" on the spindle. I got it with a bunch of other parts so it has never been installed on any of my bikes before. What's going on here?
I'm trying to install an old loose-ball BB I had laying around. I put the cups in with the spindle (and 1/4" bearings) but I cannot thread in the adjustable cup enough. Even with it all the way in, the spindle has significant play. It's like I'm trying to put a 68mm BB in a 73mm shell, but the shell is definitely 68mm.
It's a Shimano bottom bracket, with markings "68 W" and "3H" on the spindle. I got it with a bunch of other parts so it has never been installed on any of my bikes before. What's going on here?
04-17-12, 10:08 PM
#2
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Weird... according to Sheldon's crib-sheet, that should definitely have the right middle length. Dumb question, but it's all I can think of -- are you sure the BB's are 1/4"? 
04-17-12, 10:29 PM
#3
Really Old Senior Member
Are the threads in the shell cut far enough?
What came out of it?
What came out of it?
04-17-12, 11:34 PM
#5
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The shell isn't the problem, if I thread it in any more I will not be able to attach the lockring! Not sure what came out, as I bought the bare frame/fork/headset. Right now I have a really nice 68mm cartridge BB in it that I would like to keep.
Besides "Shimano" and "Japan" it says "BC 1.37"
04-17-12, 11:45 PM
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BB cups have been made in differing "wall" thicknesses, and the matching spindles had differing spreads between the bearing surfaces. Maybe you mixed a thin wall set of cups with a spindle meant for thicker walled cups. Andy.
04-18-12, 12:47 AM
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I am unaware of any other thick walled BB than Campy Nuovo Record and Super Record cups. Even with these the spindle length did not vary from the thin to thick wall.
Last edited by onespeedbiker; 04-18-12 at 12:52 AM.
04-18-12, 08:53 AM
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04-18-12, 09:52 AM
#9
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Even with these the spindle length did not vary from the thin to thick wall.
04-18-12, 10:04 AM
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Well, for what ever reason, you seem to have a mis-match between the spindle and cups of your bottom bracket so unless you have a source of other parts to try, buy a cheap cartridge bb and finish the project. That way you get to keep the nice one.
04-18-12, 11:36 AM
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I knew if I wrote that it would probably be wrong; however the OP says everything is Shimano...I do remember however one time I bought a 68mm Shimano NJS spindle that would not fit in some Shimano NJS cups; turned out the spindle was 10 pitch.
Last edited by onespeedbiker; 04-18-12 at 11:49 AM.
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