I am getting my ride ready for Eroica in April, and I just bought a first generation chorus partial groupset. I need advice on BBs. I used to just stuff one in and go, but with all the reading I have done lately, I am less suref of what I need. I have a cartridge BB I took off my Allez when I put the triple on it years ago, can I just get Italian cups and go from there? Do I need to worry about BB shell width differences? Do I need to do a bunch of measuring? What length spindle is right? If the BB shell is wider on my Italian bike than it was on my Allez, do I need a longer spindle? And lastly. Anyone have a set of cartridge compatable cups that will fit Italian threads and my BB cartridge that I can buy or trade for? (assuming I can use this BB cartridge) .all I need is cups and maybe crank bolts.

Thanks in advance.
Mark

are you looking for an Italian thread square taper BB with cups and spindle, or just Italian threaded cups for a campy exa drive BB ?

if the latter, I may have a set that I'd offer you for a pretty reasonable price

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island WA USA

this is square taper stuff. first things first though, i need to figure out if the existing cartridge BB (first gen chorus is classic square taper) i have will work, and move from there. to be honest i dont even know what exa drive is!

BTW the BB I have is from a 1990s Stratus groupset that came with the Allez i bought back then.

Ok, now I'm following. When you are doing a mix and match like this you probably will have best results with a Phil BB because you have some lateral adjustability to get the chain line right. Hard to tell how or if a combination of a mid-gen Campagnolo cartridge and later Chorus arms will line up.

what you are trying to achieve is something like this - the center of the rear FW should lie in a plane equidistant between the chainrings. You can imagine sighting down the barrel of a gun. This alignment will ensure smooth running and easy shifting.

https://petry.org/pics/ideal_chainline.jpg

The Phil BB gives you 4-5mm of lateral adjustment.

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA USA

Yeah, I guess that is the right way to go. I didn't mention however, the budget has been blown, and I am already to the point of hoping the boss won't notice the boxes I am getting.. I have been very vague about "spending money" to get ready for Erocia. I need to "keep the chickens from coming home to roost" so to speak.

First things first, as you said. What frame are you going to build up, and what is the width of the BB shell, and has the BB shell ever had any major re-working? What is the BB that you took out of the frame, if you did remove one? The first-gen Chorus double uses the Campagnolo 111 mm Centaur cartridge BB, and with this in British threading it fits a (in my case) 1984 Trek frame (BB shell width 68 mm) perfectly. If you have an Italian threaded frame (70 mm BB shell width), a Campagnolo 111 mm Centaur cartridge BB in Italian threading should be perfect.

I would determine what BB shell you have, then spend time searching for the appropriate Campagnolo BB cartridge. Do not mess around with much else, it is not necessary and there are a lot ways mistakes can be made.

measuring it is. i will get back when i know more