Yeah I agree.That looks like for a large majority of it's life it was well cared for, which would make sense given how much it must have cost new. Lovely lovely thing.
TA used a larger diameter threaded crank remover. I’m not sure if they might help here? I have one you could borrow for return postage costs.
That spacing looks about right. I measured 118mm and 98mm so that’s about the same. Axle diameters are 9.5mm rear and 8mm front. No issues with the hubs and they spin smoothly, so they’re salvageable.OLN spacing will most likely be around 118mm for 4 speed and 96mm for the fork. Hub axle diameters smaller too; so absolutely try to salvage the hubs.
The crank puller thread looks to be about 21.7mm ID and the pitch is around 1mm. Assuming it’s metric, is that going to be about M23x1?Stronglight used a larger still crank extractor thread different again to TA. Stronglight invented the square taper, and I do not know who made these cranks for RH. Period wise, it's early for square taper so yeah, proceed with caution.
It doesn’t seem to be a shim. It is about 45mm long and it’s quite a step though. I’ll try and measure the tube ID with some outside callipers.I'm very very surprised at the seat-post diameter. Seat-tubes have been fairly standard at 28mm OD - a seat-post with a diameter of 26.2mm usually indicates a lightweight frame, and 25mm errr ..... not lightweight.
Is there not a seat-post shim in there? Would be about 45 - 50mm long. Or did RH actually braze-in something which is the butting you are talking about?
Had another look and couldn’t see anything!Frame number could be anywhere. Rear drop-outs (inside or out) or top of seat-stays too was fairly common.
No spanner flats at all - it’s a pin spanner fitting on the top nut!You can expect loose balls in the headset. French headsets have a wonderful locking mechanism, and typically no spanner flats except for the very top locknut.
Like I said earlier, it’s a bit crusty on the outside but feels completely sound! It’ll look much better after a rub down with foil and WD40, but I’m not expecting much of the chrome to remain adhered.Fingers crossed for you the frame is in good condition
You don’t need a reason…@Imlach Do I need to deploy the chicken
Thanks for those. Hmm, there’s not much difference between the 23mm and 23.3/23.4mm sizes then. I’ll have to see if I can find a thread pitch set to check a bit more closely so I don’t end up with the wrong one. I’m just checking with a pal in case his crank extractor is double-sided like the VAR one you linked to.This will cover TA and Stronglight, mine is a VAR, bottom link. I can't remember where I bought mine though.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27428606...AB3F76oVBjg1woNTLQqUuD4mI=|tkp:Bk9SR-Lfh8j_YQ
https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m13b0s72p2681/J-A-STEIN-Stronglight-49D-Crank-Extractor
https://www.hubjub.co.uk/var-crank-extractor-tool-pe-39300-4927-p.asp