Need help with bottom brkt problem
 

My friend is trying to convert his peugeot carbolite framed bike into a fixed, to get the cottered cranks off we're basically gonna have to destroy them to get them off, there's no other way believe me. I was wondering if the bottom bracket is french threading on these bikes or not? I dont know much about peugots so hopefully someone can help?

depends on the year. some are english, some are french, and some are swiss. go to sheldon brown for help. and you will ony have to destroy the cotters which are easy to replace

Any advice on getting them out? We've beaten on them till we can beat no more, and one of the local shops couldnt get them out either.

options:
soak them in penetrating oil, then using a piece of strong steel as a nail, hammer them out.
heat them with a torch and do the same, but dont use oil: heat plus oil is bad
in either case, use a 2by4 with a v shaped cut in the end to support the bb while hammering, otherwise you can destroy the frame
drill the cotters out using an expensive drill bit ( carbon steel or diamond tipped)
save the bb cups at all cost, as the only other option is very expensive. you can replace the axle to use normal cranks.

It should be really easy. If you don't care about saving the cotter pin, remove the bolt and then put a nail into the small side of the cotter... space...thing in the crank, so the point is touching the skinny side of the pin. Give the nail a couple of whacks with a hammer and the pin should be ejected. Maybe put a can or something between the pedal and floor, if you want to get fancy.

Edit: Whoops, beat to it.

trust me, we tried almost everything besides drilling out the cotter pin. That's the only option left i think. Can someone post a link to an axle for the bottom bracket, i've never really looked for those.

One of the guys at the shop I work at was trying to remove a cotter pin that was bent (really stupid technology). It wasn't going to happen, either. We ended up taking a hacksaw the spindle after initially dremeling the poop out of it to create a rough groove. Those spindles are super-hard. He went at it for about 20 minutes before we could bend it and break it.

you are going to have to measure the spindle and order one from qbp, otherwise you might get the wrong size.

save yourself the headache, and keep another crappy road conversion off the streets. throw the bike into the ocean and hope a coral reef grows on it years later.

An angle grinder and about 10 minutes of ridiculous quantities of sparks will do wonders.

Just don't burn yourself because everything touching the grinding area will be hot enough to.

No doubt he'll learn to ride on the handlebars to greatly increase cycling efficiency, showing you who really owns the streets.

not without wrecking that piece o crap first. by the time he learns how to do that, he'll be on a new frame. by the way, what can you do?

why the hate on the road conversions?
if its french, dont bother, if its english you can get a new BB fairly cheap.
a piece of steel pipe and a hammer has always worked for me when removing cotters.

Clearly, you must be an idiot for trying to convert a bike actually designed for the road. Instead, you should be dropping at least a few hundred bucks on a new bike stripped of the road-friendly touches you likely have on your conversion. And don't get me started on old steel tubing -- it explodes when you look at it. Instead of answering your question, I should post a snaky, condescending condemnation of your efforts. But I digress.

Check out Sheldon's site for info on the bottom bracket threading. If you have a French bb, keep the existing cups because they're unavailable and you definitely don't want to pony up for a Phil Wood. If I recall correctly, the french bb is 68 mm like a standard (ISO) bb, but the cup walls are thinner, so you may need a 70 mm Italian spindle (I think Yellowjersey had some listed on their site). Again, check Sheldon's site for details. It's probably worth the trip to a knowledgeable bike shop to see which flavor of spindle you need, and then you can worry about finding the right spindle length, and chainring/spacer placement to nail down the chainline. Obviously, you'll want to go cotterless if you end up replacing the spindle.

If your friend likes the bike, ignore the hate. But be aware that the bb could be a fixed gear deal-breaker if the cups are shot or you can't locate a suitable spindle. I'm obviously a fan of converting and reusing old frames, but it might prove far easier and cheaper to find an old Japanese, British, or American bike if the bb is a no-go; French bikes suffer from several compatibility issues.

agreed.
Glad to know I'm not the only person on the face of the earth who finds converted road bikes acceptable, or even, dare I say it, USEABLE.
Sheldon has great info on old bottom brackets, thats always a good place to look.