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Lambert of England, square VS square taper?

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Lambert of England, square VS square taper?

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Old 08-27-18 | 10:00 AM
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Lambert of England, square VS square taper?

How can I tell if my Lambert of england are sqaure or sqaure tapper fittings? I know many of the earlier models are sqaure with no taper. There is no date code on my cranks. They came off of a sqaure taper spindle (from what I can tell) and they rode fine on it. I only rode the bike about 6 miles before taking it apart for parts but everything felt fine on it.
I'm unsure whether the previous owner just cranked them down on a taper or if they were one of the later models that were designed with it.
I'd like to put them on a project but I dont want to deal with the retightneing bussiness, or the finding of a sqaure spindle, if they are not tapered.


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Old 08-27-18 | 10:52 AM
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If they came off of a tapered spindle and with the chainrings running true at the time, then I think that you can be pretty sure that these cranks are tapered.

The taper is visibly pronounced if you look in the opening from different sides, like with the two arms sitting side by side to compare.
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Old 08-27-18 | 10:57 AM
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Isn't that a rebadged Stronglight ?

"... How can I tell if my Lambert of england are sqaure or sqaure tapper fittings? ..."
Measure both ends of the square opening. Taper will have different measurements.

Is there such a thing as square non-tapered ?
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Old 08-27-18 | 11:12 AM
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Originally Posted by Homebrew01
Isn't that a rebadged Stronglight ?
No, it's a copy of the TA Pro-5 arms, made in England for Lambert/Viscount.

"... How can I tell if my Lambert of england are sqaure or sqaure tapper fittings? ..."\

Measure both ends of the square opening. Taper will have different measurements.
Yes, that's the definitive proof.

Is there such a thing as square non-tapered ?
Unfortunately, there are. Some Lambert/Viscount cranks and spindles were square, but untapered. As you might expect, they had a tendency to spontaneously loosen.

Last edited by JohnDThompson; 08-27-18 at 11:15 AM.
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Old 08-27-18 | 11:15 AM
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I'll it looks like it may have a slight taper on the inside but it does not seem very pronounced. That's why my concern is that the cranks were out on a taper but built for it. Gears changed pretty well from what I could tell but it's tough to judge when the ride is so short. If I'd known I needed to watch for it I would have ridden it longer before parting it.

To the second poster.
That's the ticket!
I'll do that once I'm home.
thanks!
Tragically they where made.
youd think some aerospace folks would have known better.
"Most of them, unfortunately, used a badly designed crank/axle fitting with a non-tapered square fitting, rather than the normal."
From sheldon
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Old 08-27-18 | 11:46 AM
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Lambert/Viscount made both square non-tapered and square tapered cranks. Note that of all the L/V spindles shown below, only the two on the far right are tapered. Measuring as noted by Homebrew01 (crank or spindle) should determine which of them you have.


Lambert/Viscount Bottom Bracket Spindles
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Old 08-28-18 | 07:37 AM
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They are tappered!
going by a highly inaccurate tape measure outside end is 1 inch and inner is 1 inch and 1/4 or so. Definitely a difference but cant tell how much without more accurate tools.
compared them to a set of Shimano 600s I've got and man are they light. Are the lamberts on the lighter side compared to a standard crankset or are the shimano 600s just bricks?
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Old 08-28-18 | 08:21 AM
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Pre-1997 600 cranks were indeed heavily constructed, suitable for the largest riders.
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Old 08-29-18 | 03:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Homebrew01
Isn't that a rebadged Stronglight ?

"... How can I tell if my Lambert of england are sqaure or sqaure tapper fittings? ..."
Measure both ends of the square opening. Taper will have different measurements.

Is there such a thing as square non-tapered ?
I have trouble imagining that a zero taper crankset/spindle interface can work. The taper has the effect of locking the crankset to the spindle once it is torqued, and a parallel-faced square-hole fit will not do that.

Measure it.
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Old 08-29-18 | 03:50 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnDThompson
No, it's a copy of the TA Pro-5 arms, made in England for Lambert/Viscount.



Yes, that's the definitive proof.



Unfortunately, there are. Some Lambert/Viscount cranks and spindles were square, but untapered. As you might expect, they had a tendency to spontaneously loosen.
Ok, I stand corrected! As a former aerospace engineer, I am shocked.
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