I'm rebuilding a couple of old Raleigh bikes, both have 26TPI BB shell threads.
One of the BBs is in good nick and re-usable (oddly the older cottered one) but the other (cotterless) spindle is very worn... so I'm hoping to replace this and re-use the old cups which are fine. All the dozen or so old cup & cone spindles I have in a box are too narrow measured between the cones - all are stamped witha '3' so clearly they are all 68mm x 24TPI and none of them are Raleigh width. After reading this...
http://sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html
(specifically, "Not all spindles will fit, unfortunately. Some of them are just a bit too thick to fit the slightly smaller inside diameter of the Raleigh cups, even though they all are made for 11 1/4" balls on each side. Sometimes you can make the thicker spindles work by using slightly smaller 15/64" balls. Japanese spindles will usually fit with the correct 1/4" size. Raleigh bottom bracket shells are wider than the standard 68 mm width of B.S.C./ISO bottom brackets, commonly anywhere from 71 mm to 76 mm. As a result, you'll need a longer than normal spindle. Japanese spindles are generally designated by a simple code consisting of a single digit followed by one or more letters.
* If the digit is "3" the spindle is made for a typical B.S.C./ISO 68 mm shell, and won't work in your Raleigh...the adjustable cup will sink in too far, so you won't be able to use the lockring.
* If the digit is "5" the spindle is made for in Italian-sized 70 mm shell, and may work in your Raleigh if it has a 71 mm shell.
* If the digit is "7" the spindle is made for an "oversized" 73 mm mountain bike bottom bracket. These will generally work in most Raleigh BBs. "
... I realise my options are limited... can anyone help? When I say help, I mean direct me towards a source of either of the spindles highlighted in bold above from SB's quote! The one I have is stamped 5S
One of the BBs is in good nick and re-usable (oddly the older cottered one) but the other (cotterless) spindle is very worn... so I'm hoping to replace this and re-use the old cups which are fine. All the dozen or so old cup & cone spindles I have in a box are too narrow measured between the cones - all are stamped witha '3' so clearly they are all 68mm x 24TPI and none of them are Raleigh width. After reading this...
http://sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html
(specifically, "Not all spindles will fit, unfortunately. Some of them are just a bit too thick to fit the slightly smaller inside diameter of the Raleigh cups, even though they all are made for 11 1/4" balls on each side. Sometimes you can make the thicker spindles work by using slightly smaller 15/64" balls. Japanese spindles will usually fit with the correct 1/4" size. Raleigh bottom bracket shells are wider than the standard 68 mm width of B.S.C./ISO bottom brackets, commonly anywhere from 71 mm to 76 mm. As a result, you'll need a longer than normal spindle. Japanese spindles are generally designated by a simple code consisting of a single digit followed by one or more letters.
* If the digit is "3" the spindle is made for a typical B.S.C./ISO 68 mm shell, and won't work in your Raleigh...the adjustable cup will sink in too far, so you won't be able to use the lockring.
* If the digit is "5" the spindle is made for in Italian-sized 70 mm shell, and may work in your Raleigh if it has a 71 mm shell.
* If the digit is "7" the spindle is made for an "oversized" 73 mm mountain bike bottom bracket. These will generally work in most Raleigh BBs. "
... I realise my options are limited... can anyone help? When I say help, I mean direct me towards a source of either of the spindles highlighted in bold above from SB's quote! The one I have is stamped 5S
