1980s UNIVEGA with Tange bottom bracket Shimano 68/116 ,52. FB Spindle

Cold weather riding (Central Texas 50s) gave a fleeting klunk like spoken tunk like sound when climbing hills - Checked rear wheel alinement, seat, seat post, wheel, spokes, crank and freewheel, derailleur pulleys, then gave the bike a very good detailing (sometimes just a good cleaning can eliminate a strange sound) - Great no klunk tunk sounds - Then a few rides latter a faint return... OK - Now for the bottom bracket... These erosion's are more shallow then they look in the picture - Sure hope this is it but I won't know till I replace the spindle - We'll see...



Oddly the bearings and cups are in perfect shape even after examining with high magnification...

I take it the BB hasn't been serviced for a while? The same thing happened to my first Bianchi after a couple years of ownership:



Who knew that they needed to be relubed and adjusted on a regular basis?

Those mid level japanese spindles just didn't last. I have tossed 100s of these that look exactly the same, replaced with shimano cartridge and wipe my hands.

I also found a few drops of water when taking my bottom bracket apart - Makes me wonder just how important a vent hole is - My bike is stored indoors and I can say I never intentionally ride in rain...

You say you won't know until. Actually, we already know that the spindle is completely toast. I'll be surprised if it isn't the sole cause of the noise, but it certainly is one cause of it.

Boy, that is the truth. I have pitched a fair number of them, myself. And, to the OP...

At the very least,replace the ball bearings,along with the spindle, even though they might look just fine. Chances are they did experience damage, even though you might not be able to see it. You might want to closely inspect the cups, also. Generally, damage, like that pictured, does not localize itself completely.

Water corrosion damage. Does your frame have a bottom bracket drain hole? If not or if it is clogged water can build up and take advantage of any gaps or degradation of the grease inside.

+10 Typical. I just tossed a spindle on the Cimmaron I posted on the drop bar conversion thread. Cups were fine, so they went into the bin as parts. Replaced with a cartridge bb.

+1

That's nice to know about Japanese spindles. I don't think I've heard that about them before. The only one I have is on my wife's Fuji. It's the one that originally came with the Shimano 600 Arabesque crank.

I never reuse bearing balls. It doesn't make sense when they're so cheap.