Buying a French frame - what are the implications ?

Hi there,

I'm interested in swopping one of my bikes for a French frame.

The advert states that the headset is French and that the BB is French, 'adapted for the Mavic style threadless'.

I'm concerned about what 'adapted' might mean, and what implications might there be in choosing a chainset ?

Would it not be possible to have the BB 're-threaded' (i'm not sure of the technical terminology) to take an English BB ?

Although the thread is different, will the diameter of the BB still be 68mm ?

I really like the frame which is Columbus tubing, but I don't want to buy something for which it is very difficult to source parts.

Are there any implications/pitfalls of which I should be aware ?

Any advice, gratefully received.

Only thing I can think of re. the bottom bracket shell is that the outside faces have a 45-degree bevel on them to allow the threadless BB cups to seat properly (I think this was how the old Stronglight JP1000 worked, at least). Threadless BBs are still available from YST, Acor and others if you want to go down that route.

David

I should clarify that the frame has already been chamfered and comes fitted with (presumably) one of these

http://www.bikepro.com/products/bottom_ ... avic.shtml

The deal would include seatpost, headset and the threadless BB.

I'm wavering , but not quite enough to decide to buy it.

Looking at the picture of the mavic bottom bracket I would think that not too much of the thread has been removed and that you should still be able to fit a normal bottom bracket in the future.

As always, Sheldon has an article that tells you everything you need to know.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/velos.html

A French headset means the odd 22mm stem quill size, rather than the standard 22.2mm (7/8"). That will also normally mean 25mm bars.

Most French bottom bracket shells are 68mm width (not diameter). A shell with the MAVIC chamfer is normally fine for use with a standard bottom bracket, but of course in this case that means a French threaded unit. Retapping to BSC isn't an option, but if the shell isn't particularly flimsy, you might consider having it tapped out to Italian (36mm x 24tpi).

Those MAVIC bottom brackets are very durable though.