Maybe this inconsistency is because the Bethets were made for many decades and dimensions changed over time. I've had no trouble switching axles on Lyotard 45Ds. I think I even put a 45D axle in an Atom 700 to get the correct thread. The 45D axle was a little longer, so I had to put a spacer under the Atom dustcap so I could tighten it without bottoming on the end of the axle.
I've never seen "D" & "G" Lyotards that weren't French or "L" & "R" that weren't English, though I wouldn't bet that always holds, and there is no way to know what thread the unmarked ones are without trying them or measuring very accurately.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX
> Couple of weeks ago, George found out about 14 mm vs. 9/16" pedals, by
> asking our esteemed listmates why his Berthets had trouble threading
> into his cranks. Having long ago tapped all my Stronglights and TAs out
> to 9/16ths, I was happy to offer to trade pedals or spindles, so I could
> get George's 9/16th and he could get some proper 14 mm. I even offered
> to swap out the spindles if his pedals were much nicer than my sets.
>
> Unfortunately, they were. Much nicer than mine. So, I took down one of
> his pedals (with nice, new, Phil greas), opened up one of mine, cleaned
> all the parts from mine, and swapped the spindle. "Mine" (9/16) was
> over 3 mm longer than his, with nominally identical bodies. By the time
> it was all over, I had measured 7 spindles, and figure that all of them
> were made Monday. Or after a good French lunch. From 72.3 (two at
> that) to 75.5 mm. To get the 14 mm spindles to work in their new homes,
> I had to grind down the ends -- and deepen the washer groove on one. To
> get the 9/16 to work for me, with their short spindles, I had to use
> 1/8" balls instead of 5"32 on the inboard side. Yessir, the parts
> interchange about like those from Eli Whitney's first rifle factory at
> Harper's Ferry. Stamp them, forge them, machine them, and then file to
fit.
>
> By the way, I found no correspondence between pedal thread size and the
> presence, absence, or language of any letter stamped on the wrench
> flats. Any of the rest of you occasionally surprised with this vintage
> stuff, when the 6 mm allen key won't find a purchase on the end to pull
> the pedal off? :-)
>
> Memory may trick me, but this stuff comes from an era when pedals did
> get worked on, when shops saved parts, when folks didn't have money. My
> memory does not include comparable issues with even the early Japanese
> products. Good prices and better quality, even as low as the Shimano
> "Lark" derailleur.
>
> End of rant -- and please, this is not George's fault. I made the offer
> to swap, and I'm glad to have another set of English berthets. I was
> just surprised at the discoveries.
>
> harvey "likes stuff machined better than I can do with a file and
> grinder" sachs
> mcLean va