weavers

i recently bought a 1977 Gitane Olympic Record II road bike, 58cm, off of ebay for a decent price. (i spent months on cragilist for an 80s road bike with no luck, always sold or wrong size.) anyways i got the bike in the mail and i noticed that the bottom bracket has a ton of play on it. i can wiggle the crank arm with my hand and it goes up and down. it doesn't feel safe to ride over 15mph. maybe a bolt isn't tight enough, more liklely i think the square taper has rounded off. either way i don't have those tools replace it myself.

Question, what size is a '77 Gitane bottom bracket?


i have a Truvativ ISOflow crankset and bottom bracket. i know that is english threaded, i'm guessing the gitane is the french one with smaller diameter.

is there a cheap and easy solution to my problem?

jtarver

The French BB...where to begin. You're semi-screwed, maybe. Hopefully you can salvage the cups. They are super hard to find, even on Ebay. Phil Wood makes the for $200 or so. Anyway, look here:https://sheldonbrown.com/velos.html#bottom

soderbiker

@ weavers
just as jtarver put it , Gitane = french .
I have 2 used Stronglight Competition cups i would give you . if you pick up the shipping .
35X1 2 cups . drive and non drive side + the lock ring . im sorry but i dont have the axel or bearings for them but you should beable to get bearings at your LBS without a problem .
i hope its not your axel that is rounded . i'll ring a friend now and see if he has any axels for this BB . be right back !
Cheers
T

Noah Scape

You are likely correct... the taper hole on the crankarm is probably rounded out. In which case, you need to replace the crankarm at a minimum. The issue of spindle length may develop depending on the replacement crank you select.

big chainring 

First I'd find the problem. May just be the BB isnt adjusted and is loose. Back off the lockring on the non-drive side and tighten the BB cup. See if the play goes away. BB's loosen up all the time and on an old bike like that It may not have ever been adjusted. Also tighten the crank arm bolts to the spindle. See if these two simple things solve your problem. Good-luck

soderbiker

. hi no axels left over .
im sorry but i tried . and yes as BIG CHAINRING said .
check it throughly to make sure the cups arent loose , if they arent go to your LBS and buy / borrow a crank arm puller and check the crank arm .
then you will know forsure .
Cheers
T

cbigsb

i don't know about you but i just bought the olympic record ii and mine was made in Japan. I'm guessing by Panasonic but I don't know. I do know it's all sugino and suntour with a made in japan sticker on the downtube.

VintageR

Wrong [most probably].

BSC/british/ISO, whatever you like to call it [most probably].
1.37(5)" x 24 tpi.

Yes, I know, Gitanes are french.
No, that doesn't mean they used all french threading - just like they didn't use all french parts (at that time).

Yes. This: