Threaded bottom bracket

I've not investigated it yet - but the second hand frame I bought came with the bottom bracket threads damaged.

Argos cycles quote £70 to sleeve and rethread the BB, or alternatively should I get a threadless bb? Does anybody else use threadless BB's and what do you make of them?

I used a YST threadless BB and it was pants, it kept coming loose which meant I had to keep removing the cranks to tighten it up.

I bought a Velo Orange Grand Cru Threadless and it was much, much better. It never came loose, but even if it had, one could tighten it with a lockring spanner, without removing the cranks. Overall the quality felt excellent (as with all VO products).

Depending on how bad the threads are you can get away with a Shimano cartridge unit and locktight.As long as there is some thread it works.A cartridge unit puts much less stress on the threads than a cup and cone.I haven done this on several bikes that were considered unuseable.jm.

frinkmakesyouthink":1h646lsu said:

I used a YST threadless BB and it was pants, it kept coming loose which meant I had to keep removing the cranks to tighten it up.

I bought a Velo Orange Grand Cru Threadless and it was much, much better. It never came loose, but even if it had, one could tighten it with a lockring spanner, without removing the cranks. Overall the quality felt excellent (as with all VO products).

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Not heard of that brand before, looked at a couple of reviews and they seem positive, just going to find a uk supplier and check the price.

I contacted Bob Jackson cycles, they wont do a sleeve and rethread, they offered to cut the shell and weld it tighter and rethread but no guarentees for about £30 which I'm not keen on, or replace the shell completely for £110 - which is way to much to spend on an old frame project.

So considering that I'm unlikely to do massive miles on the bike I think the threadless is probably the way to go.

JM that is a good idea, I could try it with a scrap one to see if it will fit.

I bought a Velo Orange threadless bb earlier this year, when I found my NOS Raleigh had a french threaded BB shell.
It looks and feels like a good quality product and, as frinkmakesyouthink said, it is very easy to fit.
I've done a few hundred miles on it and it has remained tight and smooth.

Not cheap - I ended up ordering mine from VO in USA, so had shipping costs, duty etc to pay. I think the total bill came to around £60 ish.

Good luck,

David

I've found these suppliers in the UK

http://www.freshtripe.co.uk/Freshtripe/Home.html

Still not exactly cheap but if it solves the problem...

They only seem to do a few spindle lengths though

How badly threaded is it?

Could you clean and re-tap the threads, and get away with using a loose ball bottom bracket and oversize cups?

This is what I'm hoping will work for an old frame I have. Although the threads aren't totally destroyed on it. It's of an older vintage so was planning to use a cottered crankset, but should be the same principal for cotterless? I'm using oversize cups that were made by TDC in the 50s / 60s and I think were for this exact purpose. You'd have to make sure you got compatible size bearings and an axle designed for the same size bearings.

Of course, if it's really badly stripped I guess not an option.

Also, I've not done this before, so I may be missing a vital detail regarding using oversized cups!

I've also seen a couple of frames bottom brackets being 'sleeved' in my LBS very successfully. For a little bit cheaper than £70 Argos quote as well. Around £50 I think. Maybe you could find a LBS that would be less than Argos? You'd then have the option of cheaper bottom brackets than the VO threadless one, with more axle lengths. if you're going to have the frame a while, it might be useful if you ever need to replace the bottom bracket or want to change crankset and need a different axle length.

Not sure how bad it is until I get the cranks off (see my other thread). I'm guessing not great as there is a load of gunk around the drive side of the bb, guessing it's something to try to hold it.

When you say use oversize cups, do you mean of a slightly larger thread diameter?

Sleeving could be an option, but does seem expensive. One lbs I rang suggested the only option was to replace the shell, the other is manned by young lads, whilst a friendly bunch i get the feeling it's not a place for old bikes! Argos want £75 and Bob Jacksons won't do it as they think it doesn't work very often.

I could do with finding somewhere in the midlands who can do it, failing that I think the threadless is the way to go.

retro-rich":2zegyzdj said:

When you say use oversize cups, do you mean of a slightly larger thread diameter?

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The oversize cups would just be slightly larger in diametre than normal ones. They have the same threading - TPI (threads per inch). So when you retap the frame's bottom bracket shell, it'll make it ever so slightly larger. If that gives you good enough threads, then the oversize cups take up the 'slack' produced by the re-threading enlarging the inner diametre of the BB shell.

Hope that make sense!

The TDC ones were marked 'O' for oversize, but I'm sure there are others. You might also be able to use only one, if it's only the driveside that's threaded. Not sure if using a mix of oversize and normal cups would have compatibility issues? I assume that the oversize cups 'walls' are just thicker, so are the same dimensions internally, so it wouldn't matter.

Cheesedisease":kjzjkwlh said:

The TDC ones were marked 'O' for oversize, but I'm sure there are others.

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Campagnolo used to make slightly oversized (0.5mm oversized, I think) cups for the same reason.

As an alternative, it might be possible to recut the threads to Italian (36mm x 24tpi) standard. That would be a cheaper option than sleeving the existing shell.

retro-rich":kjzjkwlh said:

I could do with finding somewhere in the midlands who can do it, failing that I think the threadless is the way to go.

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Have you tried Lee Cooper?

http://customcycleframes.blogspot.com/