Anglo-Italian Bottom Bracket

[Scilly Suffolk]

I took my bike to the LBS after the BB started making an ominous clanking noise and the drive side kept coming undone: a bearing had gone.

As the drive side was undoing itself I assumed I had an Italian BB, despite it being a handbuilt English frame (late 80/early 90 vintage).

The LBS advised that I was only half right: the BB was originally English (68mm shell) but the drive side was Italian threaded; presumably it had been cross-threaded and recut at some point.

I had intended to replace the open BB with a sealed unit at some point and they suggested I buy an Italian BB and use the English cup on the non-drive side.

After thinking about it, I am less sure this would work: wouldn't the 70mm Italian BB be too wide for my shell or is there enough slack to tighten the English cup enough?

I probably doesn't need stating, but I have little practical experience of BB...

Thanks & regards.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

The problem with sticking to the Italian thread kludge is not the difference in bb shell width because e.g. a SA spacer can be used, but that the drive side will always be prone to loosen itself.

Assuming the bb shell is not too mangled it is best to use something like this, which should have been the fix of choice in the first place.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Awesome! I had no idea such a thing existed; many thanks!

 

[PpPete]

But top marks to your LBS for figuring out what had been done !