taystroh

hey i know there are soo many of these threads, and i am new to this forum, so go easy on me! to my defense, i could not find an answer to my particular question. i have just inherited a motobecane in great shape from a friend, it has a lot of sedimental value. however, i am trying to replace the crankset and i cannot tell what kind it is. i do know that it is a cotterless crank, and has sakae dust caps, however on the crank arms it says "made in france." i want to replace this crank with a single speed, and was wondering if anyone knows whether bottom bracket can accept todays standard crank? the bottom bracket seems to have the standard square taper, however i do not have a crank tool to remove the crankset. any help would be awesome!

Chombi

Most likely a Stronglight crank. do the dust caps actually say "Sakae" or is there just an "S" on it? If it's just an "S", they are Stronglight dust caps and the cranks would most likely be Stronglights too. If they are Stronglights, you will need a French sized crank puller because the threads would be different from cranks from other countries/makers. a good bike shop should still have the right sized puller to take them off. Stronglight crank puler tools also come up at eBay regularly, but they can sometimes get a little expensive at mid season when everyone is working on their classic French bikes.

Chombi
84 Peugeot PSV

taystroh

thanks a lot chombi, but the dust caps actually do say sakae on them. there is a little logo on the crank arm with an "s" inside a shield looking emblem (i will have to double check this logo though).

Chombi

The Stronglight symbol consists of two crossed feathers under an "S" with three crosses below them. The logo does look like a sheild from a distance.
Sakaes are made in Japan so I'm 99% sure you have a Stronglight crank on your Motobecane.

taystroh

ok, just checked it out again and on the arms it says "e3 made in france 21" and the dust caps do in fact say "sakae" with an Sr logo on them.

dannyg1 

Have a look through the French section of Velobase.com and you should be able to find them.

JohnDThompson 

If this is the case you probably have one of the newer Stronglight cranks that use a standard (22.0mm x 1.0mm) extractor instead of the funky 23.35mm one. Sakae never made anything other than 22.0mm cranks, so if those caps thread into the arm, the arm is also 22.0mm.

taystroh

chombi, danny and john thanks a lot for all the help, i will definitely check velobase.com and john, i hope your right, i was thinking the same thing since the caps thread on very well.

RatedZeroHero

and the grammar police left this one alone?

SENTIMENTAL ...

taystroh

helping me with not only bike parts, but grammar as well. god this forum is awesome.

dbakl

No, I think he meant sediment...

RatedZeroHero

I get hammered for it all the time... as should you...