The other alternative is to use a Shimano UN-72. It _must_ be the UN-72, or perhaps the MTB equivalent. You can not use the UN-73. Here's why...
You're going to take the UN-72 and remove - i.e. knock off -
the drive side mounting cup (which is not removable on the
UN-73.) Then, in place of the Shimano mounting rings, you use
a couple of Phil Wood mounting rings.
Good luck,
Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
> Hi Richard,
>
> Ouch! ~ Tough call.
>
> Although I know Stronglight (and Speidel) DID make some
> French threaded
> cartridge bearing sets by the late '70s / early 80s these are
> tough to
> find, and very expensive, and would likely NOT fit a Japanese
> crankset.
> I'm afraid that French threaded bottom bracket cups (for the
> most part)
> have not been produced for almost 25 years.
>
> HOWEVER, you can still buy a beautiful new Phil Woods
> cartridge bottom
> bracket and can specify French threaded lock rings for it -
> Sheldon
> Brown has these available at Harris Cyclery.
>
> Unfortunately, it's not a cheap way to go. Figure maybe $100
> - PLUS the
> cost of the pair of the French thread lock rings, PLUS cost
> of a pair of
> the Phil's unique splined lock-ring tools - which are similar
> to
> Shimano's splined BB socket tools... uh... only different.
>
> And, to use your dust-gathering 600 crankset, Sheldon would
> probably
> have to know EXACTLY which model this is, as the spindle
> length (as with
> the Japanese specific tapers) for a specific Phil Wood BBs
> would depend
> on this.
>
> If you're really wanting to replace the BB anyway, you might
> just want
> to consider a Phil Wood BB... AND, a "different" completely
> new
> crankset. Perhaps something really Kool, and one best suited
> to both
> the bike and to the type of riding you'll be doing on it.
>
> ~ Other alternatives would be [and, I'm sorry, but I can't
> remember now
> whether you'd initially said that your original BB was
> totally shot] :
>
> 1.) Have your frames BB shell re-threaded to accept a more
> common BB.
> It can be done by a competent framebuilder or a top notch
> bike shop,...
> BUT, would you really want to mess with this now on a newly
> re-painted
> frameset?
>
> 2.) Keep the existing BB and see if the Shimano 600 crankset
> will fit
> "adequately" on this, for now.
>
> 3.) Use the original BB and the original crankset - until the
> questionable crank finally just busts apart.
>
> 4.) If necessary, buy a new "TA" French threaded
> NON-cartridge set ~
> again, from Sheldon.
>
> 5.) You can often find NOS vintage French-threaded BBs on
> eBay, ... or
> perhaps also from other List Members, as well.
>
> ~ [Sorry, I just checked - Thought I actually had spares from
> Stronglight, TA and/or Campy, but they now all seem to be in
> use on my
> own little French herd]
>
> Good Luck!
>
> Bob Hanson (a Motobecane Lover) in Albuquerque NM, USA
>
>
> Richard Long Wrote:
>
> "... I consulted the Harris section on French bikes and found
> the truth
> of the bracket. French!! Now I have a different issue :-( I
> checked
> the crank carefully and found a cracked piece inside the bolt
> hole of a
> spider. It's about a 3mm rectangle, not that it matters.
> I'm not
> really sure how to proceed at this point. I would like to
> replace the
> existing standard bearing with a cartridge. Now I have to
> find that and
> a crank. Since the crank is already Japanese (SR) I thought
> I might use
> a Shimano 600 I have collecting dust. I need help with this
> one, I
> just want to ride the bike at this point. I should be back
> from the
> painter today or tomorrow."
>
> Sincerely,
> Richard Long
> Temecula, CA
>
> _______________________________________________
>
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