Help required with vintage bike

[LycraLout]

Hi,

I recently acquired an old BSA road bike from a skip. My plan is to strip it down and turn is into a fixie/singlespeed. The project has gone ok so far (despite spending a good hour removing a thoroughly seized seatpost) however the cranks and bottom bracket have got me stumped. Does anyone know how to remove these?

Also, the stem seems to fit inside the fork steerer tube and seems to be stuck there. Any tips on how to get it out? I'd like to preserve the fork if possible.

Thanks,

Andy

 

[Roadrider48]

Find out from Biggs. He does a lot with vintage bikes.

 

[LycraLout]

Thanks for that, I take it he's a forum member?

 

[wisdom]

He certainly is and is a wealth of knowledge on older machines.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Your cranks are secured to the axle with cotter pins. Undo the nut and use a hammer to tap the pin out. Support the crank on a block of wood before hammering so you're not putting shock loads on the bearings and frame. To remove the cups you'll need a C spanner and probably a peg spanner to hold the bearing cup still while you undo the lock nut.

 

[John the Canuck]

^^^^Your cranks are secured to the axle with cotter pins. Undo the nut and use a hammer to tap the pin out

leave the nut threaded on the cotter pin a wee bit
hit the nut - to protect the ends of the cotter threads
24hours soaking in GT85 first may be a good idea

 

[smokeysmoo]

Thanks for that, I take it he's a forum member?

@biggs682

 

[LycraLout]

Brilliant, thanks for the advice, I will give it a go.

 

[Cycleops]

Chances are the cotter pins will be well seized so if you are using a hammer the threads will soon become damaged. If you can find a lump of lead and place it on top of the pin this will help preserve it. If it remains stuck you may need to take it to your LBS who should have a special remover.

 

[PpPete]

You may not be able to remove the cotter pins without damage. Try both the above by all means, but in the end a lump hammer may be the only option. You can always buy replacements if you want to re-use the crankset, but if you are going fixed/SS rather than a strict period rebuild you might as well put a UN55 cartridge in, and a cheap square taper crankset.

 

[PpPete]

Stuck stem:
Undo top bolt a few turns, tap it with nylon hammer / wooden mallet so it pushes the wedge-nut down and (hopefully) unlocks the stem. May take a good bit of twisting before you can pull it up.
If not, see if you can the wedge nut out the bottom of the steerer, if the hole between the forks is big enough. Then an appropriate size drift (and aformentioned lump hammer) to knock the stem up from below.

 

[PatrickPending]

you have a quill stem. loosen the bolt - so its out about 1cm or two, gently tap it down with a hammer, this releases the expansion wedge/nut. Handlebars should come out. To remove the forks (watch out for the bearings) undo the big nut attached to the threaded forks

http://jail.sine.com/sheldonbrown/sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html

a picture probably makes more sense - I believe you have the threaded headset.

Problems you may have - galvanic corrosion between the quill and the fork - treat as per stuck seatpost.

Good luck!

 

[Dogtrousers]

Sheldon on cotter pins: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/cotters.html
Another way to avoid damaging the thread of cotter pins is to undo nut until it nearly reaches the end. That way the thread will be protected by the nut, and when you undo it, it will clean up any damage to the threads that do protrude.

If you want to replace the BB with a cartridge, you'll have to remove the fixed cup which can be a bugger of a job. Sheldon has a tool for this: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/bbcups.html

Have fun

 

[Smokin Joe]

If you do intend to reuse the cotter pins they have not been fitted very well. The pins have a flat on them which needs to be filed down a bit so it pushes into the crank sufficiently. From the pictures the nut is only threaded half way down, it's thread should be fully on the pin.

Even on a restoration I'd junk those God-awful contraptions and fit a square taper BB.

 

[PatrickPending]

If you do intend to reuse the cotter pins <snip>

Even on a restoration I'd junk those God-awful contraptions and fit a square taper BB.

Have to agree - I always hated cotter pins when I were a lad.....