nickykmt

What have I done? Bottecchia my old friend was stolen last summer. I looked and looked and finally found a $200 Stella frame I knew nothing about and bought it. It's in good shape except that it's a Stella. I mean it's a great frame, quite interesting lug work, columbus tubing, chrome fork ends front and back. But everything else presents problems. Even the paint. Actually it came with a head set that works well, and a bb (nevar) that's ok. But keep the square Nevar?? I've been riding a bike since the '70, now I'm oldish and have a bad knee from too much motorcycle crashing. Well, just once, but that's all you need. So I want a decent drive train, probably with 165mm cranks. BTW I've learned A LOT from the sheldon brown web site. I realize I'm in for a huge project. So drive train. And rear wheel spacing. Cold set to a wider space? Do I really want to do that? I'm I just being squeamish or is it really a good idea to jam something wider in there, and if so how much wider than the current 120mm will allow. I can get it to 126mm with force, but .. really? And to what end, as I still have the issue of that french bb? Ideas?

Thanks a mil.

dbakl

You can find French bottom brackets and headsets on ebay or new ones from Velo-Orange. Other than being French, they work just like any other bb or headset. Do not be afraid.

rootboy 

Lots of questions. Many of which are personal choices. If it were me I'd squeeze a 126 - 6 speed in there and call it good. Keep the BB and find a nice old cotterless crank to go on it. Maybe find it here in the ISO thread. Do you really need more than 12 speeds? If so, I'd start a different bike.

Wildwood 

+1

nickykmt

126mm for a 6 speed is better than keeping at 120mm and using an ultra 6?

I think I want a new 165 crank - I hear they're smoother, and I'm 5'7" w/ a bad r knee.

Also, Also I need "long reach" brakes for 700c wheels, as I'm not planning on rebasing the rear brake bridge, or getting a new front fork. Any knowledge out there if these would be long enough?

Bianchigirll 

Any pics? I agree witht he others nothing wrong with bikes, now french people..... OH back to the bike, any pics?

I would check the demensions of the spindle and see what cranks you can run on it. You should be able to find a crank that will fit the bill. 165 seem real shoer you must be quite the spinner. What gearing was on your Bottecchia?

Depending on where you live a 28/38/48 triple may be a bit too compact but paired with something like a 6spd 13-25 should give plenty of low gear and adiquate high unless you want to race, or do fast club rides.

This VO crank would look great on a vintage Frenchie.

It comes in 165 and paired with there threadless BB isn't something you have to leave behind if you move on from Stella.

https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...24x34x48t.html

BB https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...-brackets.html

You may even want to lok at their build kits. Somme guys here really drink the VO koolaid

Bianchigirll 

I just built a "10 speed"


Forget those! If you need long reach brakes, nutted mount too right? Just go with Tektro or even thos schmool DiaCompe centerpulls. I would have used these on my Hetcins in a second if they were the right reach.

3alarmer 

The simplest way to figure out if your chosen brakes have
the correct reach is to insert your wheels of choice into the
frame in question, and use a caliper to measure from the
center of the brake bole hole to the center of the rim in the
frame. The brakes you select should include that distance in
their stated range.

Short of doing that, no one here will be able to tell you much.

You can buy a usable plastic vernier caliper at Harbor Freight for $2 and tax.



Try to remain calm, at least until the zombies come.

nickykmt

wow such awesome help for everyone - thanks! I'll mull it all over and get back with a frame pic later after work

dbakl

Slight info:

https://www.classicrendezvous.com/Fra...a_bicycles.htm

I'd guess those Weinmann brakes could be called long.

Bianchigirll 

Your welcome. We just love telling other people what to do and how to spend their money

Grand Bois

You don't have to spend $350 for brake calipers and a crankset. There's still plenty of good used vintage parts out there and tracking them down is half the fun.

obrentharris 

Stella made some very nice bikes. If I were in your shoes I would equip it with some old Nervar or Stronglight cranks that will work with the bottom bracket you have and are available at reasonable prices. Just make sure the teeth on the chainrings are good since finding replacements can be time consuming. TA cranks are another fine French possibility but tend to be more costly. Check Sheldon Brown to figure out whether your bottom bracket spindle is for double chainring or triple so that you get the right replacement. My recollection is that most of the Nervars were doubles.
Brent

John E

I have converted all of my 10-speed bikes to either 12, 14, or 15 speeds, in order to get sufficient range w/o undue gaps in the ratiometric progression. My favorites among my current setups are 50-42/14-16-18-20-23-26 and 45-42/13-15-17-20-23-26. The latter gives up just a bit on the top end, but serves me extremely well for commuting and general transportation. (I have never been a fan of really tall gears, anyway.)

If you can fund a Nervar Star crankset, it would complement the Stella nicely, and you can always adapt a road standard 130mm ring to the Nervar spider's proprietary 128, if you ever need to (been there ... done that ... works like a champ).

nickykmt

As promised - pics. Maybe they can get bigger if desired. There is a nice looking nervar crank set I have my eye on. It'll look proper. Long reach brakes seem to be in my future. I have a friend who makes an excellent case for Mafac Racers, but I don't like the wire hanging right down the middle of the head tube, and too many past times have I gotten my thumb poked in the frayed end of it, so I want a side pull solution, long reach. Once I understand the advantage of cold setting for a 126mm hub w/6 speed free wheel as opposed to staying at 120mm spacing and using an 'ultra 6' I'll proceed with all that. But unless cold setting really means not having to deal with a tight squeeze every time I remove the r wheel I'd just assume go ultra 6, or even 5 speed free wheel. I'm not racing, just a regular rider, who'd really like a lovely smooth drive chain to get me from the suburbs into nyc and home again on my trusty vintage bike. As for derailleur, seat, stem/quill, handlebars, break handles (definitely new egro ones that I can steer with safely), and paint - that'll come, and it'll be exiting to see.
Thanks.

nickykmt

oh and wheels! not a minor issue!! I guess it's a matter of budget even for used stuff, and I'm just getting my head around it all. Feel free to ad comments!

Cheers.

nickykmt

oh and wheels! not a minor issue!! I guess it's a matter of budget even for used stuff, and I'm just getting my head around it all. Feel free to ad comments!

Cheers.