At the tail end of my PX-10 teardown, I noticed there were no washers under the crank fixing bolts (Stronglight 93, if that makes a difference). There should have been, right? Thx...

I haven't checked the threads yet, but drilling holes in one of the dust caps to get it off (wow, it was on there!) I dinged up the bolt underneath. I imagine it will still do the job, but if the threads match one of my Sugino or Campy bolts, I might just substitute them. My experience with the Stronglight stuff so far (fixed cup wrench size, dust cap thread diameter) suggests the odds are good that the crank fixing bolt threads will be unique as well...

I am fairly certain they used standard crank bolt threading. Just the dust cap/puller threads are unique.

If you tighten hard enough, Skip, they'll work.

No doubt, but the bolt head would tend to chew up the much softer aluminum, right? I suspect that's the main reason for the washers.

I was being facetious regarding "making these threads work," but I agree with you. I'd put a washer in there no matter what. I always do. Lately I use the combo cap/bolt.

Yes, best practice would use a washer under the bolt head to prevent bolt from marring the face of the arm. And while Stronglight extractor threads of that era were proprietary, the thread on the mounting bolt is quite standard 8mm x 1mm.

But it won't look right without those Simplex 16 mm bolt heads in there.

I used a 15 mm socket to remove them, so it would appear they were replaced one once upon a time. All the more reason to use a pair of my blingy Sugino bolts.

Skip, before you settle on an approach, make sure you can use a reasonably normal socket to remove the bolts next time.

Yeah, I just grabbed my usual 15mm thin wall socket. Not sure if that's "reasonably normal" or not, but that's what I typically use.

Boy, I'm glad I read this thread. My old Trek 412 came with a Stronglight 99 crankset, and I was planning to transfer it to a certain ethnic Peugeot, once it arrives, since that crank really was stock on that bike. Is that crank extractor pretty easy to find, or should I start scouring the net? Thanks.

I borrowed a Stein extractor from a friend. I'll probably buy one from VO for future use:

JA Stein Crank Puller for classic Stronglight or TA Cranks - Tools - Accessories

Not terribly cheap, but essential for working with Stronglight cranks.

Thanks much, you probably saved me from a heartache, of some sort.

Later version Stronglight 99 cranksets used a standard puller. You might get lucky!

Huh, that's interesting, thanks. I'll size it up tomorrow, it's been a long enough day already.

I don't know about your PX-10 but, I remove the crank arms off 80's vintage Japanese bikes all the time to re-build bottom brackets. Never seen any washers on the crank bolts. Remember: it's a square taper "press - fit" arrangement. You simply tighten the bolt down until the crank arm lines up to the drive train. That's it, that's all - done deal.

My experience is there is little problem using a standard socket on the 16mm Stronglight bolts as the opening is a wider than standard at 23.15mm. The clearance problem with 16mm bolts arose with Zeus cranks, as they had a standard 22mm diameter opening.

The post-1982 mod. 99 arms with standard extractor thread can be distinguished from the older ones in that the spider has recesses that are not seen on the old arms that require the proprietary puller.

New style arm:



Old style arm:

I bought my puller directly from Jim Stein and saved a few bucks;

TA_Extractor

As mentioned- the newer Stronglight 99 crankset uses a normal extractor.

For me, the easiest way to tell is the 'divots' on the spider arms.

Ha, mine is the newer type. There's my dumb luck again. Still, it's good to know about those older ones, in case I ever run into one. Thanks guys.