Robvolz 

I posted yesterday, and it now says, “can’t load, error”

anyway, 1978 colnago, 70mm wide bb. Adding same year triple crankset.

according to the campy catalogue, I need a 120. When I try to eyeball it, to my untrained self, a 115 should suffice.

the catalogue shows this guy. Looks like 118 to me

you might know better.

thanks,
Robert

cyclophilia

The bottom bracket spindle you need will be marked:

70-SS-120
X3

where "X3" indicates a triple.

Here is a photo, for reference, of the comparable part for a 68mm bottom bracket:

Robvolz 

thank you so much for the info.

Question, what does the "Z" mean?

I saw another without the X3, but had the Z

JohnDThompson 

The "Z" is a production code, of no relevance in selecting the proper spindle.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TZw...usp=share_link

Catnap 

I also need one of these but for a 68mm English threaded BB. Anyone holding?

jeirvine 

Here's my NR/SR spindle length cheat sheet:

Italian:
Double -Pre CPSC (1978): 113mm. Post: 115.5
Triple - Pre: 118. Post: 124

English:
Double - Pre: 112. Post: 114.5
Triple - Pre:117. Post: 123

Catnap 

Based on the varying widths, does the pre / post-CPSC designation mean that the BB cups are thinner/ thicker?

Mr. 66

The campy triple bb set is thin cup

Robvolz 

Hey John Thompson….

whst a great educational link.

still trying to wrap my head around the “before and after” consumer safety situation.

If my understanding is correct, the front derailer had more movement thanks to the lip?

At the same time spacing in the rear was moving from 120 to something greater. Thanks to the want of more gears on the rear hub.

SJX426 

@Robvolz - My understanding is the lipped FD needs to be match to the crankset from the same era. The distance between the crank arm and the ring sprocket was increased to accommodate the lip. A post -CPSC crank will work fine with a non-lipped FD but the reverse may not. A narrower chain in this last configuration may not work well due to the need to move the chain a bit further to engage the sprocket. The result is a FD cage that rubs on the crank arm.

Not to hijack the thread, but do the thin cups require a spindle with wider spacing of the races on the spindle? See bottom spindle. @JohnDThompson?
P1030105 on Flickr

JohnDThompson 

Yes, they do.

Robvolz 

Thanks for all the tips. Any hi-jacking that informs us all is always welcome.

Sounds like not only do I need the pre-safety lip spindle, but thin 70mm cups too? or are 68 cups thin on their own.
Robert

jeirvine 

Both 68 and 70 cups come in thick (rifled) and thin. Thin cups came with triples and pista BBs, but also with GS cranks. Any will work fine with an x3 spindle.

Robvolz 

man o man. I have a 70mm pista set. I'm half way there!! Thank you for clearing this up for me.

Though I was going to have to go new Phil.

Duke7777

Is the crank dated 78? If so, it is likely post-CPSC and you will need the post-CPSC Record spindle (122 mm long, stamped either 70 SS 120 X3 (+1.0, 1.5) or 70 SS X3), together with thin cups. A post-CPSC Gran Sport spindle would probably also work (124 mm long, stamped 70 SS X3, but black oxide finish)

Robvolz 

no, the crank is dated 74.

Duke7777

To put it another way, all Gran Sport and Record bottom brackets have thin cups, whether they are pre or post CPSC. Rifled steel cups are Nuovo Record. The Nuovo Record series did not contain either a track or a triple bottom bracket.

Duke7777

OK, in your first post you said "1978 colnago, 70mm wide bb. Adding same year triple crankset", which I assumed meant a '78 crank. A '74 crank should work with the "Old Style" Record X3 bottom bracket (thin cups, 118 mm spindle). A couple of years ago I converted all my Campagnolo equipped bikes to triples, so I spent a lot of time studying those tables and searching ebay for X3 spindles and thin cups.

Robvolz 

Yes, the frame is a 78 Colnago.
I assumed the crank was the same. It is a few years earlier. Its also my understanding that the crank did not change, but the FD changed when the safety stuff came out. I have both lipped and non-lipped FDs campy to choose from.

So, either newer or older spindle will work.

Other than ebay, have you had any luck locating spindles elsewhere?

Still searching.

Thanks all, learned so much. Chain lines, relationship between spindle length and rear drop-out spacing. New vs Old derailleurs.
Things I've never really thought about and now it all adds up.

Duke7777

The front derailleur cage, crank, and bottom bracket spindle all changed together in 1978. The lip on the derailleur cage necessitated moving the crank arm outboard 1.5mm to clear the lip. The chainline stayed the same, so just the crank arm was moved outboard relative to the spider. The spindle length was increased to reach the new crank arm position. So mixing pre and post CPSC parts may cause chain line and derailleur clearance issues. You will definitely want to use a non-lipped derailleur with your 74 crank. If you use a post-CPSC X3 spindle with your 74 triple crank, the derailleur may have difficulty reaching the outer chain ring.

I think I found a few X3 spindles from CR members, but most from ebay. I set up some daily searches and watched for a year or two, but I needed several.

Here's another mix-n-match trick that will work for many bikes with 68 mm bottom bracket shells. A pre-CPSC crank installed on a post-CPSC Nuovo Record (thick cup) 70 SS bottom bracket will give about the right chainline for a triple if you use a 2 mm spacer behind the fixed cup. This 70 SS is about the easiest bottom bracket to find, much easier than finding an X3 bottom bracket. I did this on a couple of bikes.

norskagent

I mounted a pre CPSC campy triple on my Mclean with thin cups, but the spindle I had was 118mm for 70mm BB shell...I used a 1 mm spacer on the drive side and it has worked well for years now.