Tom, I think there are two issues here. One is the BB width, the other is whether the axle is made for thick or thin cups. I think most NR were thick cups but a lot of GS BBs had thin cups. If the axle was made for a 68mm BB shell and thick cups, and you are using thick Italian cups, you should of course be able to solve the problem with the proper axle made for these thick Italian cups. Another trick, which I haven't tried, but which Bill Ward told me will work, is to use an axle made for a 68mm BB with thin cups. Bill says these work nicely with Italian thick cups, if that is what you have. Only the other hand, if your English axle is made for thick cups and you are using thin Italian cups, they are mismatched on both counts, so it's not surprising it doesn't . As a humble Francophile, I don't know how to tell offhand whether a Campy axle was made for thick or thin cups, but maybe one of the real Campy mavens does.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Tom Hayes wrote:
> I am attempting to rig up NR bottom bracket Italian cups with a NR triple
> spindle marked "68" that would normally go with an English threaded bb. I
> can't get it to work: the adjustable cup doesn't go in far enough to
> eliminate the wobble in the spindle. I thought about adding spacers to the
> fixed cup, but with the amount of wobble (looseness) in the spindle I would
> guess it will require three or four of them.
>
> The bike is probably from the sixties, very early seventies at the latest.
>
> Any help? Are NR triple spindles compatible with Italian cups readily
> available? Or would I just be better off to get some Italian rings for
> Phil Wood and work it that way?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Cheers.
>
> Tom
>
> Tom Hayes
> 18585 Munn Road
> Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44023
> hayesbikes@nls.net
> hayes@jcu.edu