Raleigh MTB Bottom Bracket

[DRM]

The trouble is it also puts people out of jobs, which isn’t great if the trend continues.

Genius idea!

Inspired by this, this morning I’ve made a tool to remove the Bb fixed cup which on older bikes are always a sod to remove.

It’s a cheap crank removal tool I already had (rubbish as a crank removal tool) I’ve reversed the black piece. Added some washers and it takes a 16mm socket so will take a breaker bar for maximum leverage.

I’ve got an old BB to remove on my Elvish kids bike soon so I’ll report back in how effective it is.

View attachment 532862

View attachment 532861

I can confirm the nut & bolt method works remarkably well, BB cup was out in a jiffy, I ordered a Park Tool crank removal tool which made short work of removing the cranks, the BB was in really good nick, especially considering the non drive side bearing cage had collapsed into several small pieces, so all cleaned up, new bearings and a generous dollop of lithium grease sorted the BB out.

Ah, you mean a sticker like this? This one is on the MTB I... acquired... yesterday.

View attachment 535405

Reason I'm asking, is that I'm also kind of curious... Is the number on the sticker the same, btw?

It's the same sticker, I think the number is very similar, if not the same, I think it could be some kind certification number, the frame number is on the seat tube near the front derailleur.

 

[Reynard]

It's the same sticker, I think the number is very similar, if not the same, I think it could be some kind certification number, the frame number is on the seat tube near the front derailleur.

That sounds logical enough re the sticker. It has the BS number on it as well.

And yeah, likewise for the frame number - it's between the FD clamp and the top of the BB. Although on mine it's rather faint underneath the paint, and had to run it through some filters in photoshop to work out what it was.

 

[rogerzilla]

10-1 water gets into cup-and-cone BBs and quickly ruins them by rust-pitting the spindle and cups. It's one of the reasons they're not used any more outside keirin circles, as well as requiring big expensive tools to service properly. They have some technical advantages, like bigger bearings, but keep them on a dry-weather bike only if you like them, or be prepared to strip and rebuild them frequently.

 

[DRM]

10-1 water gets into cup-and-cone BBs and quickly ruins them by rust-pitting the spindle and cups. It's one of the reasons they're not used any more outside keirin circles, as well as requiring big expensive tools to service properly. They have some technical advantages, like bigger bearings, but keep them on a dry-weather bike only if you like them, or be prepared to strip and rebuild them frequently.

I must have dodged a bullet with this one as there was no pitting on the BB cups on either side, if it goes again I'll probably fit a cartridge type it, however it's a case of trying to sort out it's many faults, I think the derailleur (rear) may have seen better days, as the B tension spring does seem a bit floppy, and in the big ring/small freewheel gears it skips about, when not under load it changes up and down perfectly, the freewheel teeth don't seem worn

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I will have to remove the cranks and strip, clean & grease the cup & cone bottom bracket, which has loads of play in it, my question is, if the BB has had it, will this be an English threaded BB ? would I be better off replacing it with a cartridge type, square taper?
I'm not sure what model of Raleigh it is, as there is no stickers on the frame for the model, just on the down tube, with Raleigh-Special Edition, but the closest I can see on line is the Nitro, which seems to be the same geometry with the rear brake cable internally routed through the top tube, however all the pictures of Nitro's are finished in a dark metallic red, this thing is finished in a dark metallic green, if anyone knows what it is I'd be glad to know, all I know is it's nothing fancy, it's quite heavy!

The BB is likely to be ISO threaded, so easily interchangeable. It's mostly the old Raleigh 3-speeds that had the unique Raleigh threads. I've got a 1991 Raleigh MTB made of 501, and the BB is interchangeable with parts from other manufacturers, because I rebuilt mine using BB parts from a scrap BSO and it all went back together OK.
The most obvious thing when trying to identify the model is the frame welded or lugged & brazed construction? The very early Raleigh MTB's were all lugged, because almost everything Raleigh made at one time was lugged, but then they went over to making welded frames for the lower spec models, leaving only the ones with Reynolds tubing being brazed.
The numbers found on the seat tube stickers probably relate to some sort of order/production number assigned so the bike was traceable as it went from a dealer order to completed bike ready for dispatch. These numbers do not appear to be related in any way to the actual frame number stamped into the BB or one of the frame tubes.

 

[DRM]

The BB is likely to be ISO threaded, so easily interchangeable. It's mostly the old Raleigh 3-speeds that had the unique Raleigh threads. I've got a 1991 Raleigh MTB made of 501, and the BB is interchangeable with parts from other manufacturers, because I rebuilt mine using BB parts from a scrap BSO and it all went back together OK.
The most obvious thing when trying to identify the model is the frame welded or lugged & brazed construction? The very early Raleigh MTB's were all lugged, because almost everything Raleigh made at one time was lugged, but then they went over to making welded frames for the lower spec models, leaving only the ones with Reynolds tubing being brazed.
The numbers found on the seat tube stickers probably relate to some sort of order/production number assigned so the bike was traceable as it went from a dealer order to completed bike ready for dispatch. These numbers do not appear to be related in any way to the actual frame number stamped into the BB or one of the frame tubes.

It's definitely lower spec as it's welded, but I cant find which model it is on the interweb, the frame is exactly the same as a Nitro, but they all seem to be finished in a dark metallic red, this thing is in dark metallic green, with internal rear brake cable routing through the top tube.