I've got a 1970s PA10 that is need of a new crank. I was considering going cotterless, especially since I came across a Stronglight Crankset on eBay that advertises it as French Threaded and appears to be a decent price.

My question is, will a Stronglight Crankset work with a Grand Cru French threaded bottom bracket from Velo Orange?

Crankset: https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=320507341762

Bottom bracket: https://www.velo-orange.com/grcrufrthbob.html

Aside from pedals, is there anything else I would need to get?

Thanks.

Oh, well I was going to take the opportunity to upgrade to clipless pedals. The Stronglight would have the standard 9/16" pedal holes, right?

No. The the French threads referred to in the ad would be the pedal threads.

Oh, well that's not good at all . My current pedals, I believe, are 9/16", at least that's what I've been told.

My PA10 takes 14mm French pedals. A shop can tap your pedal threads to 9/16". I have tapped all of mine.

Yes you can tap them to 9/16. It will work just fine if your shop has the tap. You can buy them too. I also tapped my French threaded Stronglight to english, like 30 years ago, and it's still goin strong (light) Ha....

Hmm, is that what you would recommend? I have the standard bottom bracket on my PA10, and it's cottered.

I'm guessing I should upgrade to the Grand Cru French threaded BB, but what sort of crank would you recommend? Would there be any that would go with the Grand Cru BB with standard pedal holes, or should I just get a French threaded crank and get it tapped?

This is what you need. https://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-STRONGLI...item1e5b3675d1 It's the same BB that came on my PX10. They last forever if you maintain them. It's a perfect match for a Stronglight 93 crank. The VO BB is not a good match because it has JIS tapers and you need ISO for an old crank. The pedal threads are no big deal. A shop might charge you $10 to tap them. I do it for free for anyone that asks.

Your PA10 can look like this with a Stronglight 93. I like the 49D better, by the way.

Thanks, that's very helpful. That auction says it doesn't come with dust caps. What exactly does that mean?

My crank doesn't have the dust caps. They're hard to find and expensive when you do. You can see in the picture that I'm using polished titanium bolts for a bit of bling.

+1 Find a vintage french threaded bottom bracket, or better yet, a donor bike. I picked up a beater UO8 last year that had been upgraded to a stronglight bottom bracket and stronglight crankset.

This auction says "English threading," but I'm hoping they are referring to the pedals only:

https://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-Strongli...#ht_500wt_1182

If this fits my bike it would be absolutely perfect. The crank and the bottom bracket in one package!

It's clearly English threaded. The BB cups will not work on your bike.