The cotters were loose when I received it. I think the seller just wanted to get rid of the bike. I didn;t pay much for the white Gitane so I'm not complaining about the bit of research I need to do.
A nice CR lister has helped me out with the proper cotters, so I think I'm in the clear. I'll know Tuesday. thanks again.
Tom Martin Washington DC
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 2:55 PM, verktyg <verktyg@aol.com> wrote:
>
>
> Tom,
>
> The early version Peugeot cotters had a flat the length on the 9mm
> diameter. Later ones were standard French, for the most part.
>
> If your existing cotters are the old style Peugeots then you're "threaded"
> until you get some new 9mm French cotters.
>
> BTW, were the original cotters tight when you removed them?
>
> Chas. Colerich
> Oakland, CA USA
>
>
>
> Tom Martin wrote:
>
>> At the Cirque swap, I picked up a Gitane Mixte. It was in good shape and
>> looked like it just needed a good washing, bearings adjusted, and the
>> cotters tightened or replaced, etc.
>> I have a bit of experience with cottered cranks, mostly British Raleighs
>> and
>> janky American/ Taiwanese/ Japanese bikes and thought this would be a
>> quick
>> repair/rehab, and maybe add fenders and a rack for a nice ride for DC
>> excursions. I was hoping I could get it done for the upcoming DC
>> Seersucker
>> Social, but that's not gonna happen....
>>
>> I removed the cotters, cleaned the spindle and crank cotter holes. The
>> cotters look new. I re-installed the original cotters, as I didn't have
>> any
>> new cotters in the correct dia.They just slide right through. They don't
>> wedge the crank arms to the BB spindle. The original cotters, as far as I
>> can tell are 9mm. I understand there are 2 different 9mm French style
>> cotters- Peugeot, and 'everything else'. What are the differences between
>> the 2? The flat angle? the length of the cotter?? Bikesmith Designs and
>> Harris both list 'French' cotters but don;t specify whether it's Peugeot
>> or
>> the other type. Although it's only 3-6 bucks for new pins, I'm loathe to
>> spend that, plus shipping only to have the same problem.I'm also not sure
>> whether the cotters are the issue. Could it be the crankarm/ BB spindle
>> interface- are all cottered BB spindles the same, with the only difference
>> being the crank cotter bore?
>>
>> What do you all think I should do?
>>
>> Tom Martin
>> Washington DC