French Bottom Bracket question
 

Does anyone know what spindle length I'd be looking for in a VO bottom bracket if I wanted to run a TA Pro Vis Crank with a single ring (it's for my Peugeot Rando)?

Thanks a million!

Pretty puh-leeze...

I can't answer the question, but just for clarity- is this the Crank you are referring to?

http://velobase.com/CompImages/Crank...F2F0C6C81.jpeg

From what I gather on this site, it would be a 111mm Spindle.


http://www.specialites-ta.com/produits/trans_gb.htm

http://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?g...geViewsIndex=1

I'd try a 113mm, but that's mostly a guess. Or go with a 111mm and have a couple of spacers on hand.

That's the one, Auchen, and thanks Michael Angelo and nlerner - I think I will go with 113 because I'd rather have too much room than too little. Thanks for those links Michael Angelo. I think if the crank were brand new 111 might work, but it is from the 60's and has been on and off many a spindle, so I think it might sit a little farther down than it used to.

Many thanks!

On the French bikes I have set up with a single chain ring I have went with 111/112 for single speeds and gone with a 113/114 spindle length for geared bikes and everything has seemed to work out fine. Before I would pay the money for a VO I would rebuild the origina BB if the cups are good using a new spindle and new loose balls will run as smooth or smoother and save you a few bucks.

This was my first option, and I've done it a couple of times with no issue, but my understanding is that the early Peugeots used proprietary sizing and you can't just swap out the spindle.

I'm a little confused by this statement. Now cups from different BB manufacturers may require different spindle shoulder spacing; but that's not a Peugeot-specific issue.

I'd have to look it up to be certain, but I think there's also a diameter issue with Peugeot.

I haven't tried it in a long time.

Edit: read this short thread which was written with book in hand.
The diameter issue only arises when you try to swap out a cottered
Peugeot spindle for something else.

I still think the VO thing is a good deal for what it is.

I ran into a similar issue when trying to reuse Puegeot Cups, although mine may not apply because the original spindle was for a cottered crank. The races were farther apart, so a standard 68mm spindle did not work. I then tried an italian spindle thinking it would make up the difference, but ran into an issue of different bearing race diameters (the new spindle was larger and the bearings would not seat onto it). I ended up then tracking down some used french cups (one campy, on sugino) from parts bins, and then was able to use the standard 68mm spindle. Quite the learning experience. haha.

Thanks all - I ran into some of this information when I was initially planning the switch from cottered to cotterless, which is what led me to believe the VO solution was the best. Honestly bottom brackets are the one area of a bicycle where I don't care if it's vintage, I just want it to work.