or press them in with red locktite stud and bearing mount...

That is a great idea, but I think I'll just live with it as is for now and see how it goes. I am thinking about painting the frame somehow next spring. I don't plan on taking it apart until then.


Unless I notch the adapters they can't be pressed in any further than they already are due to the inner sleeve that we've been discussing for this entire thread.

I used the bike for my 5.5 mile commute this morning and everything worked great! I was expecting at least some creaking or something, but it was smooth and silent. The parts bin pedals leave a bit to be desired, but other than that it was a surprisingly great ride.

Excellent thread for tall folks considering a Truvative BB kit for a tall Continental or Varsity:

Don't do it.

Looks as if the old-style conversion kit still has a use.

-Kurt

Atoms,
What size is your frame?

Pics?

Need to feed the hungry!

I would agree, but it seems like the vast majority of tall Continentals and Varsitys do not have the inner sleeve problem. Now that it is done I'm glad that I'll be able to swap in new cartridge BB every few years, but if I had it all to do over again, I'd definitely use the old-style conversion kit.

I dunno what the size the frame is. I'll measure it when I get back home tonight. The pic that Pastor Bob dug up earlier in the thread is my actual bike - at least as it looked when I got it. Here is is again:



Vintage purists will NOT want to see the After photos...

Using the center of bottom bracket to center of top tube method, I get a bit over 24".

Here are the two channels I filed:




Here I test the two screws to make sure they clear all obstacles before pounding in the non-drive side adapter:

They threaded in clean with plenty of clearance in case I didn't get the second adapter exactly lined up.

Here are both adapters installed:


And here is the Shimano UN54 installed:


add some (used Sugino $20 at LBS) cranks:


and some parts bin pedals:


and viola, a couple solid days of work and my twenty minute upgrade is done:


The commute home was fine today!

Ain't that always just the way it goes?!

Congrats on getting the problem licked.

Great work around. Does the ride feel any different?

Well it is hard to say exactly since I spent two weeks riding a different bike. But the short answer is Yes.

The old BB was in need of an overhaul and there was a bit of slop in the old pedals - all that has been replaced with a nice tight solid feeling.

The parts bin pedals though are one sided, which is kind of a PITA. The whole project actually started with a desire to upgrade the stock pedals so I could add clips... did I ever tell that part of the story?

There were TWO right pedals on the bike - the one on the left side was just forced on somehow... perhaps at the factory? Well anyway, in the process of trying to remove it, I broke the spindle off - because I didn't realize it was a right pedal until after I broke it - the threaded end of the spindle remains stuck in the crank, forcing the issue of upgrading the cranks. (I know one can buy replacements, but it seemed like a good time to upgrade anyway while I had it apart.)

Now that's perseverance.

Nicely done!

Now that you have all this experience upgrading a Schwinn BB to three piece, maybe it's time to find a Super Sport frame. The 26" versions are less common but sell for less than the 24" versions.

wow! Never heard of the Super Sport, or if I did, I was not aware that it was part of this whole class of Filet Brazed old Schwinns that I was unware of!

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/schwinn-braze.html

Having my Continental on the bench for two weeks made me realize that I'd like to have an alternate bike that isn't as fancy and delicate as my early 80's Trek 500. (I love that bike, but it just seems too nice to ride fully loaded on Chicago's bumpy streets in winter or in the rain.)

Perhaps I would be committing a crime against history if I converted a filet brazed Schwinn to a SS/FG commuter though?

Hi Guys

I just moved back to the US having lived in Taiwan (where my bike was my only mode of transport) and Tokyo where I got fat and lazy using trains and subways. I decided besides riding I wanted to learn more about how a bike works like many of you. So I found an old Schwinn Traveler '71 for $20 which I want to convert to a fixed/free gear bike. So now I am learning. After stripping everything off I now have learned more that I ever wished to know about Bottom Brackets. Mine also has a Ashtibula and I will get a Truvativ from Harris Cyclery to modify it for a much better cartridge BB and Crank. I think my BB is much more flush than atoms and perhaps the bolts will slide through. My question is about the kickstand bracket. Since I am going to have it blasted and repainted do you think it can be cut off (how?) and polished some to look good without affecting the reliability of the frame?

Don't cut it off. It is a part of the frame which stiffens the chain stays. Even when there is no kickstand holder or adapter, there is almost always a brace connecting the stays just an inch or so behind the BB shell.

This is the one on my 1939 Schwinn New World.

+1

Don't cut off the kickstand bracket. Like Pastor Bob says, functionally it replaces the chain stay bridge and helps stiffen the rear triangle.

You can however remove the kickstand leg itself fairly easily, if you don't want the extra weight and don't like having a kickstand (I do, most don't).

Thanks guys, I won't remove it. Nice to have a responsive group to ask. Mos6502 "remove the kickstand leg itself fairly easily"! well now that I know how to do it and borrowed a tool from the nice guys in the Schwinn dealer -- yes.

Sorry to zombie this thread, but what size and brand/model bottom bracket did you guys use on your conversion using the Truvativ adapter? 68x 110 or 73x110?

I am thinking of using a Shimano US55 bottom bracket, since it has an alloy left cup. This work is for a 1979 Schwinn Varsity. I plan on using an alloy crank from the 80's and keeping my existing Schwinn Stem shifters and derailleurs.

Be careful about relying on bonding or press-fit.

Will the chosen bb hold the cups in, or will it try to push the cups out as would a cup/cone or Shimano cartridge bb assembly?

The 68mm Shimano BB should work. I have found though, that with the adapter in place, the length of the BB spindle is very dependent on the cranks used. Be prepared to use a longer one if the 110mm is too short.

American bb shell is 65mm, the shims seat deep enough that the cups of the english BB only extend 1.5 mm out from there.

I just had a nightmare of a time with one of these on some old gaspipe tubed frame at the coop recently. The interior of the BB shell was a mess of horribly terminated frame tubing, the same plate that the OP was running into (you can see in his pics). In the end, after we milled the adapter down to a thinner depth, we could only use one of the bolts of the adapter and decided to scrap it. Seems to me that these adapters are awesome for something like a BMX frame which has american cranks but also may have been built with more than absolute speed and lowest possible cost in mind.

lessons I learned:
- Remove the old cranks before you even order the adapter to see what kind of sloppy nonsense is going on in there?
- Be prepared to file. and file. and file.
- Know the depth of the adapter, because you're either removing material from the plates tacked to the ID of the BB shell, or you're filing down the sides of the shim.
- Just because you can press the shims in with a headset press doesn't mean you should- the bolt holes have to line up, use the bolts to press these in.
- Use a cartridge BB, because you'll never get the fixed cup to seat right otherwise, the wrench interface winds up recessed in a dip in the shim.
- have a cup ready to make sure you know which side of the shim is which- I'm pretty sure the three bolts thread INTO the drive side, but again, just check it.
- PREPARE YOURSELF TO DO THIS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME- the adapter is aluminum, and strips VERY easily, which could render the entire setup useless.

^
Follow this advice. Period.

Thanks for providing the voice of experience, Dan.

-Kurt

I would add that you shouldn't rely on the three long machine screws to pull the adapter pieces into the bb shell. There is often too much resistance for the strength of these pieces. Assist them along with a press of some sort until seated and then finish tightening up the screws. Also, don't be surprised if the adapter sides don't seat completely into the bb shell. There is often a small gap left.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will definitely follow the much appreciated inputs.