Re: [CR] Stronglight Cottered BB's

(Example: Humor)

Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 07:47:40 -0700
From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>, <Stronglight49@aol.com>
Subject: Re: [CR] Stronglight Cottered BB's


Thanks, Bob, this list is amazing! The axle that fit one set of arms, but was too short, was marked 127, no A, just as the one in the photo. You say that is for a single, which is obviously why the double rings would not clear. That crank had the old large diameter 152? alloy rings attached by the "ring carriers". The setup I want to use is double 116 BCD rings attached behind the arms, those would have been even worse with the 127 axle. So, if some arms used English axle diameter, can we assume those arems would have English pedal thread and would also use English-size cotter pins? Would it then be possible to use these arms with an English-made cottered BB axle?

Anyone have a 132 mm Stronglight cottered BB axle for sale? Or maybe an English-made cottered BB axle in double length?

Regards,

Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA


--- On Mon, 6/1/09, Stronglight49@aol.com wrote:


> From: Stronglight49@aol.com <Stronglight49@aol.com>

\r?\n> Subject: Re: [CR] Stronglight Cottered BB's

\r?\n> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net

\r?\n> Date: Monday, June 1, 2009, 3:19 AM

\r?\n> "Educational" is a very gentle way to

\r?\n> phrase it, Jerry. 

\r?\n>

\r?\n> There  were indeed two different dimensions used for

\r?\n> at least some of

\r?\n> the Stronglight cottered axles and cranks. 

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Those intended for  British dimensioned crankarms -

\r?\n> for the export

\r?\n> market (presumably with British pedal threads, too) - used

\r?\n> 5/8" axles

\r?\n> to match the British bores.  French domestic axles

\r?\n> were 16 mm.

\r?\n> diameter which is ever so slightly larger to match a 16 mm

\r?\n> bore on

\r?\n> their crank arms.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> There is just enough difference that the French  axles

\r?\n> will not fit into

\r?\n> the smaller British crank arm bores... I don't know if this

\r?\n> is making

\r?\n> any sense or whether this is your particular issue.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Here are some  photos of a very nice old Stronglight

\r?\n> crank set:     

\r?\n>

\r?\n> http://www.flickr.com/photos/stronglight/sets/72157605127348395/

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Notice  the photo showing the two axles alone. 

\r?\n> You can see an

\r?\n> "A" prefix stamped into the longer axle.  This stood

\r?\n> for "Anglais"

\r?\n> (English) and the diameter differs from the standard French

\r?\n> axle

\r?\n> beside it.  In this case it is a slightly loose fit

\r?\n> into the French 

\r?\n> crankset

\r?\n> and the shorter French axle is a noticeably nicer

\r?\n> fit. 

\r?\n>

\r?\n> To  complicate matters even further, by the 1970s, I

\r?\n> know that at least

\r?\n> NERVAR was making cottered cranks for either:  French

\r?\n> axles &  pedals

\r?\n> ... British axles & pedals... AND... combinations of

\r?\n> BOTH - on the

\r?\n> same crank arms!  So, if you were cheap (or insane)

\r?\n> you could

\r?\n> cobble together a crank and pedal set with a variety of

\r?\n> parts which

\r?\n> you simply had on hand in your shop... and then drive the

\r?\n> next

\r?\n> owner nuts trying to figure out what they had on the bike.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> It is  also possible that with the particular

\r?\n> chainring set you are using,

\r?\n> the crank arms required a slightly longer Stronglight

\r?\n> double length

\r?\n> axle. There were a couple lengths available, and I assume

\r?\n> this would

\r?\n> be for different "styles" of double chainrings which could

\r?\n> be fitted -  to

\r?\n> either the 3-arm or the 5-pin steel cottered cranks.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Again,  refer to the photos to see how the outer

\r?\n> chainring on this

\r?\n> particular example seats the outer chainring on the same

\r?\n> plane as

\r?\n> the 3 arms,... although fitted with the additional 6-pin

\r?\n> bridges.   

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Some chainrings, if fitted directly to the "insides" of the

\r?\n> three crank

\r?\n> arms would have required additional spacers between the

\r?\n> rings -

\r?\n> which would have pushed the chainrings further inward

\r?\n> toward the

\r?\n> chainstay.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> So many confusing variables... Oui?

\r?\n>

\r?\n> BOB HANSON, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, USA

\r?\n>

\r?\n>

\r?\n> -------------------------------

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Jerry Moos a ecrit:

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Well  these pre-60's projects are always educational,

\r?\n> though maybe "fun"

\r?\n> only if  one has a masochistic bend.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Tore down the BB today on the 1954  Duravia. 

\r?\n> This went surprisingly

\r?\n> smoothly.  With the cottered BB  cleaned,

\r?\n> greased, reinstalled and

\r?\n> adjusted, checked the fit of the old  slender

\r?\n> Stronglight steel cottered

\r?\n> crank I plan to use.  The  Stronglight arm would

\r?\n> not go on.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Searching the parts bin, found a  Stronglight BB

\r?\n> (missing the fixed cup)

\r?\n> bagged with a different Stronglight  cottered crank.

\r?\n> Happily, the

\r?\n> Stronglight axle worked with the cups in the 

\r?\n> Duravia.  However, the

\r?\n> original Stronglight crank I tried would not go  on

\r?\n> the Stronglight axle

\r?\n> either.  The Stronglight arm the axle had been 

\r?\n> bagged with did go on, but

\r?\n> there was not enough chainstay clearance for the 

\r?\n> double chainrings.  And

\r?\n> even this Stronglight arm would not go on the 

\r?\n> original axle from the

\r?\n> Duravia frame.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Sutherland's is no help here,  as it implies all

\r?\n> French cottered BB's used

\r?\n> basically the same axle  dimensions.  But clearly

\r?\n> Stronglight themselves

\r?\n> used two different  cottered axle diameters, and

\r?\n> neither one is the same as

\r?\n> the unknown brand BB  in the Duravia, which one

\r?\n> presumes is French made -

\r?\n> at least it's French  thread.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Does anyone understand this?  Did Stronglight use

\r?\n> two  different axle

\r?\n> diameters for cottered steel arms that appear to be

\r?\n> otherwide  identical? 

\r?\n> Were both different from typical French cottered axle 

\r?\n> diameter?

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Anyone have for sale a double-length Stronglight

\r?\n> cottered  BB?

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Regards,

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Jerry Moos

\r?\n> Big Spring, Texas, USA   

\r?\n>

\r?\n>

\r?\n>

\r?\n>

\r?\n> **************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours

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