[CR]French Fixed Cup - How tight does it have to be? Other question too.

(Example: Framebuilding:Technology)

From: "Dan Kasha" <kasha.lists@cox.net>
To: <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 15:37:56 -0500
Subject: [CR]French Fixed Cup - How tight does it have to be? Other question too.

I took my Peugeot out for the first real ride today. Several miles around town. Felt GREAT. But the fixed cup I put in came loose. How tight does it have to be? Here is what I did to instal it.

It is a Stronglight, with something like a 38.5mm hex (or is it octal?) faces. So a regular BB tool wont work. I did the Sheldon Brown universal tool thing with bolts and washers which seemed to work very nicely. But I did not want to go too tight, so I probably went to 30 ft-lbs of torque. It came loose. So, the questions I can think of are:

Is 30 way too loose?

Should I be putting any locktite in there (I have red handy)?

Does this bolt/washer technique really work?

The only other problem I had on the ride is that the chain (whatever Sachs/sedi calls themself now, sram or something chain) got stuck on the tips of the teeth of the cog on a shift or two. I have an Atom (I think) 5 speed freewheel where each tooth has a small groove in the center of it. And this seems to let the chain settle in, it is almost like having a forward freewheel - not good on a hill. Is there a technique (shifting, different chain, etc) that will avoid this, or is it just part of the feel of the era.

Finally, my favorite part of the bike: It really tracks nicely in the turns. And that Ideale 80 seems far more comfortable than my Turbo or my Brooks Pro on my other bikes. My bike can be seen at: http://members.cox.net/kasha.lists/peugeot/peugeot.html Thanks for everyone's help!
Dan Kasha
Providence, RI