TA and Stronglight arms usually bottom out on Campy axles and clones, so the preferred BB axle for these arms is either TA or Stronglight. However, JIS standard Japanese axles will work as well, except a JIS axle of the same length and offset will position the TA or Stronglight chainrings 1 or 2 mm further out from the BB. JIS axles were found on mid-range cranks like the Sugino Maxy and maybe some cheaper Shimano models. Top models like Dura Ace and Sugino Mighty used Campy-compatible tapers. Until recently a good selection of JIS axles was available from places including Harris Cyclery.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Houston, TX
Daniel Artley <dartley@co.ba.md.us> wrote: I'm in the process of swapping cranks on my old classic tourer. I'm taking off my Campy triple, and putting on a TA Cyclotouriste set of rings with a Stronglight 49 set of arms. Of course the BB that worked with the Campy doesn't work with the TA or Stronglight arms as far as length and offset goes. So I'm working on that. My original first issue of Sutherlands shop manual states that BB axle tapers vary between manufacturers and may have to be filed to provide a proper fit. Would someone on the list be able to state how the tapers of BB axles match or don't match between the older Campy, TA and Stronglight brands? I don't want to venture into off topic BB's, but because of the difficulty in finding a period correct triple BB for the Stronglight crank, I can almost certainly find some kind of user modern BB set if the tapers are correct. I've also heard about ISO and non ISO tapers. Could someone explain these as well? I'm just trying to learn what's out there. And I've got to get this build together by the Cirque'.
Dan Artley in Parkton, Maryland