Super Record Bottom bracket mayhem! Help! Lol!
 

I am in the process of restoring a 1983 DeRosa super prestige. All the original parts are present and in good condition. The cranks and drivetrain are Campagnolo Super Record. As I began to “mock up”the bike but I noticed the inner ring was dragging on the chain stay. I also noticed that the bottom bracket cups appeared to be backwards? The side with a lock ring was on the drive side. I don’t have the correct tool to remove that cup so I removed the opposite side and took out the spindle. It measures 110mm and is marked 70 ssa . After doing some reading it seems that super record cranks should have a 115.5 mm spindle for Italian threads. Is this correct? Could it be because the bb is installed backwards that it is rubbing and the 110 mm is correct? It is symmetrical btw! And the crank is marked Strada 1 and is pantographed

Bb for these are very expensive, I don’t want to buy if unnecessary... if you are a campy expert .., HELP! Lol!

I don’t think having the cups ‘reversed’ would make much difference. Sounds like you just need a 115mm spindle.

Was the BB retapped?
Was this bicycle imported from Europe, as opposed to sold in the US?
Was this a custom build or team bike?
Spec's can be different.

There is a "Swiss" named thread(35 x 1G- Same as the French gauche/left), where both sides are threaded with the same tap.
If the threads were damaged, this tapping arrangement may have been a solution.

Generally, BB threads are designed to allow the cups to tighten as you pedal forward.
Hence the need for the lockring on the adjustable cup.

I am not certain if the offset from the face of cup to bearing race is the same on both types of cups,
which would affect the amount of spindle protruding, I would suggest mounting it with the adjustable
cup on the non drive side. That way, if it loosened you could adjust without taking the crankarm off.
As to the spindle, make certain it is in the bb with the logo readable from the saddle- if you could see it.

Dimensions and tolerances are pretty tight, and there are many options available.

rusty

It's a DeRosa, so Italian, especially considering the 70 marking, not Swiss.

A De Rosa is likely Italian thread (36mm x 24tpi), so it is possible to install the bottom bracket cups backwards without damaging anything.

Most 80s road bikes sold with "Super Record" components used a Nuovo Record bottom bracket. You can check for this with a magnet: a Nuovo Record bottom bracket has a steel spindle and is magnetic; a Super Record bottom bracket has a titanium spindle and is non-magnetic. Super Record bottom brackets use smaller balls than Record/Nuovo Record bottom brackets.

Campagnolo bottom brackets can be a hot mess. Campagnolo USA published an article explaining the various spindles and where they are used:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/campy-BB-specs.pdf

This bike was purchased from the original owner and was ordered by them ,from the Factory,in 1983. They had mentioned that they had to replace the original titanium spindle with a steel spindle because of excessive flex.
Apparently, DeRosa sent a hand written letter apologizing and explaining there was a problem with the campagnolo TI spindles!

There is rub on the chain stay from the inner ring, so I think this bb was always too small. I don’t know who reversed it, but it is definitely Italian threads! I think the bike sat most of its life or this would have come up sooner!

I think it was simply replaced with the wrong spindle and unfortunately I am going to have to buy a new one.
Now I am wondering if the bb that is in the bike will fit my “c record “Chorus groupset I have. If so maybe I can make use of it

Was the _spindle_ reversed as well?

^^this

Considering it is 1983, the spindle being reversed is the most likely cause for the situation.

If it turns out you need a spindle, I believe I have a couple you could have pretty cheap. I only have one Italian and for some reason I have several Italian spindles.

If I remember right the titanium spindles had some issues with breaking. I want to say Lauren Fignon was on the receiving end of a titanium failure during a sprint and crashed pretty hard.

I re-inserted it both ways and no difference. the spindle is not offset , it is symetrical. I'm pretty certain, thanks to everyones help, that it is simply the wrong part.

Thank you Lynn... I might take you up on that!

I recall when I worked on my De Rosa, the C Record inner ring also contacted the chainstay with a campy record cartridge bb installed. Believe the campy axle length was 109mm, so I went looking for a slightly longer axle bb to clear the stays. Ended up installing a Miche ITA cartridge bb, 111mm length and it cleared it by 1.5mm!

Yeah, wrong spindle. 80s era Super Record used an asymmetrical spindle.

The later 70-SS spindle should work, 56mm between bearing shoulders, 28mm left side, 31.5mm right side, overall length 115.5mm. Use the later thick rifled cups. Should check whether needs 1/4" or 3/16" ball bearings.

The older 70-SS-120 +1, 1.5 should also work, similar dimensions.

Show us pics of what you currently have so we can see the threading, cup thickness, and bearings that are already in there. Can you measure the diameter of the bearings using a pair of digital calipers?