Tell me about bottom brackets... old ones!

[Mowgli]

Can anyone summarize, in very_simple_terms, how to tell what standard of bottom bracket I have? English? French? Italian? It'smade by Bayliss wiley, and is possibly up to 63 years old. The bearings feel a little rough and the cups are a bit worn. I don't know if just replacing the balls will make it good again. Thoughts?
Cheers
Gareth

 

[one-eyed_jim]

It's English-threaded. Bayliss-Wiley wouldn't be making parts for any other market.

If you want to be sure, confirm that the fixed cup has a left-hand thread.

 

[monty dog]

Italian thread is 36mm and both sides are RH thread - too big to screw into a British BB shell. Things get more tricky if it's French as similar size, but both sides RH thread again.

 

[Steve Kish]

... and the reason why English 1.37 x 24tpi ones are the most popular is that with Italian (36mm) and old French (35mm) threading, you have to get Schwarzenegger in to tighten up the fixed cup, as R/H threaded ones tend to work loose.

 

[one-eyed_jim]

It's just occurred to me that BW might have made Raleigh-threaded parts as well as BSC. The difference is in the thread pitch: 24tpi for BSC and 26tpi for Raleigh.

I think it's unlikely to be Raleigh-threaded, but if you have problems fitting it to a BSC frame, it's worth checking with a thread guage. If you don't have one, you can use a known BSC cup to compare.

 

[Steve Kish]

The diameter is fine, as the Raleigh is 1 3/8-inch (1.375) but with 26tpi pitch, this will start OK but bind after a few turns on a 24tpi shell.

 

[Mowgli]

Thanks guys. I guess it must be English.

The bottom bracket shell is only 66mm across. Does this mean I'll need a 2mm spacer to fit any kind of modern BB in there? I'm hoping to refit the Bayliss Wiley, but the cottered chainset I have is a nightmare to fit!
Cheers
Gareth

 

[Mowgli]

Also, I've just replaced and greased the bearings, and it's still pretty rough to turn. The threads in the bottom bracket shell are fairly worn, so I think I'll need to install a cartridge BB instead of loose balls.

Any suggestions?! Getting fairly hacked off with this... :x

 

[jeffcapeshop]

on the old (bayliss wiley too as it happens) bottom bracket tip - i have a suspicion that my spindle is bent - is there a way to check without removing the cranks? it's cottered and i don't think i can take the hassle..

the reason i suspect it is that it feels slightly.. "wrong" when pedalling but perhaps there could be other reasons for that too?