bottom bracket bearing cage direction

[gilma...@my-deja.com]

hello.

i am new both to this forum and to the world of
bicycle maintenance, but i am hoping somebody
here can help me out.

i have a bianchi stelvio. i was told it was from
1985; i got it secondhand about eight years ago
when i was 16. it was a lower-end road bike;
cheap campagnolo friction derailleurs and
shifters, modolo brakes, ofmega crank, BB, and
headset. the ofmega stuff seems to be a pretty
close copy of campagnolo equipment.

i road it through school and college, and i just
pulled it out of storage and decided it was time
to finally clean it up after eight years of
neglect. the headset, front wheel and bottom
bracket bearings were not smooth at all. i read
a book on bicycle mechanics and completely
disassembled and cleaned it.

i went to reassemble the bottom bracket after
cleaning; i could not remember which way the
bearing cages fit into the cups. i checked three
bicycle maintenance books, and they all agreed
that the cages went in so that the balls faced
the cups, rather than cones (or the balls faced
outside with the cage on the inside). so i put
them in that way, and tightened down the
adjustable cup. the problem was the adjustable
cup was sticking out like 1/4" or more past the
edge of the bottom bracket shell, which i knew
was not the case -- before disassembly it had
been close to flush with the lockring, which
itself is probably 1/8" thick.

stumped, i turned the bearing cages around, and
the cup screwed in all the way as it had before i
disassembled it. so i know that's how it was put
together those eight years i have owned it. i
spent an hour trying to adjust it so i had
neither play nor binding, and found that to be
very difficult. i believe i have used adequate
grease. frustrated, i went to sleep.

the next morning, this occurred to me: perhaps
the spindle is too long -- i.e., the cones on the
spindle are too far apart and therefore forcing
the entire assembly to be too long to fit in the
shell. it seems implausible insomuch as
everything else on the bike was stock when i got
it, and why would the previous owner have
replaced it with the wrong size spindle?

so i guess my question is, is it likely that the
bearing cage on my particular BB goes in
backwards compared to the standard? this seems
unlikely, only insomuch as all the ofmega stuff
seems to be such a close copy of campagnolo
design. the cranks are like an exact ripoff.

or is it more likely that my spindle is the wrong
length? if so, what would be the cheapest way
for me to replace parts in order to get it
running again?

i am poor, and the BB is all apparently in good
condition, and i am hesitant to drop a bunch of
money on a new one. any advice or consideration
would be appreciated.

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

[shaun]

if the spindle was too long to begin with, then the cups must not have
fit the way you remembered they did (flush to the outer edge of the
lock rings. The balls should face the cups and the cage should face
the cones, the same way a headset works. perhaps the cups never crewed
in flush as you recall. So long as you have enough threads into the BB
shell and the chainring alignment is ok with the cogs you should be
OK. it's not necessarily wrong to see a few threads from the cups
sticking out beyond the lock rings.

[Art Harris]

I seem to recall that the old Campy NR BB cages were the opposite of
every other brand in this regard. Can anyone else confirm this or am I
just hallucinating?

--
Art Harris
Long Island, NY

In article <8rflb7$4oo$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,

gilma...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
> i have a bianchi stelvio. i was told it was from
> 1985; i got it secondhand about eight years ago
> when i was 16. it was a lower-end road bike;
> cheap campagnolo friction derailleurs and
> shifters, modolo brakes, ofmega crank, BB, and
> headset. the ofmega stuff seems to be a pretty
> close copy of campagnolo equipment.
>

> i went to reassemble the bottom bracket after
> cleaning; i could not remember which way the
> bearing cages fit into the cups. i checked three
> bicycle maintenance books, and they all agreed
> that the cages went in so that the balls faced
> the cups, rather than cones (or the balls faced
> outside with the cage on the inside). so i put
> them in that way, and tightened down the
> adjustable cup. the problem was the adjustable
> cup was sticking out like 1/4" or more past the
> edge of the bottom bracket shell, which i knew
> was not the case -- before disassembly it had
> been close to flush with the lockring, which
> itself is probably 1/8" thick.
>
> stumped, i turned the bearing cages around, and
> the cup screwed in all the way as it had before i
> disassembled it. so i know that's how it was put
> together those eight years i have owned it. i
> spent an hour trying to adjust it so i had
> neither play nor binding, and found that to be
> very difficult. i believe i have used adequate
> grease. frustrated, i went to sleep.
>

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

[gilma...@my-deja.com]

In article <8rfpaa$8n2$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,

this is a good suggestion, but unfortunately the bottom bracket has a
fixed cup on one side, so all the compensation would have to be on the
right side, forcing the spindle to be centered to the right of the
bike, and moving the cranks over to the right.

[shaun]

humm, well it can only be one way or the other; you only have two
choices. If one is obviously not working and the other seems to work,
but is giving you less than perfectly smooth performance, perhaps you
accidently damaged the cages as you put the in the wrong way the first
time. Worst case, if you need a new BB, Shimano's bottom of the line
BB; the UN51 i think, is only about $15. "And it Ain't bad" it's a
sealed cartridge unit which has been known to last for several years
under typical road riding abuse. or check your LBS for a used one.

[A Muzi]

There isn't a "right" or "wrong" bearing retainer shape. Generally the
cheap ones with 9 balls go in with the ring on the cone side whereas the
nicer 11-ball models fit with the ring on the cup side. You can't go
wrong if you fit the spindle into a cup in your hands dry and clean and
look at it. Flip the bearing over and try it both ways, you will not
err. Assemble with the long side of the spindle on the chain side.
Regarding "not smooth", check the bearing surfaces for wear. You should
see a bright silver line on the cups and on the spindle cones. If that
line is broken or wider in some spots than others you will not get a
perfect adjustment. If you just cannot afford the parts right now, at
least clean everything well and add grease to the depth of the bearing
(a 1/4" squirt in each cup). Since you'll eventually replace the whole
assembly, running a worn BB with less-than-optimal adjustment won't slow
you down and won't affect any other parts so do the best you can with it
and go for a ride!

gilma...@my-deja.com wrote:

> hello.
>
> i am new both to this forum and to the world of
> bicycle maintenance, but i am hoping somebody
> here can help me out.
>

> i have a bianchi stelvio. i was told it was from
> 1985; i got it secondhand about eight years ago
> when i was 16. it was a lower-end road bike;
> cheap campagnolo friction derailleurs and
> shifters, modolo brakes, ofmega crank, BB, and
> headset. the ofmega stuff seems to be a pretty
> close copy of campagnolo equipment.
>

> i road it through school and college, and i just
> pulled it out of storage and decided it was time
> to finally clean it up after eight years of
> neglect. the headset, front wheel and bottom
> bracket bearings were not smooth at all. i read
> a book on bicycle mechanics and completely
> disassembled and cleaned it.
>

> i went to reassemble the bottom bracket after
> cleaning; i could not remember which way the
> bearing cages fit into the cups. i checked three
> bicycle maintenance books, and they all agreed
> that the cages went in so that the balls faced
> the cups, rather than cones (or the balls faced
> outside with the cage on the inside). so i put
> them in that way, and tightened down the
> adjustable cup. the problem was the adjustable
> cup was sticking out like 1/4" or more past the
> edge of the bottom bracket shell, which i knew
> was not the case -- before disassembly it had
> been close to flush with the lockring, which
> itself is probably 1/8" thick.
>
> stumped, i turned the bearing cages around, and
> the cup screwed in all the way as it had before i
> disassembled it. so i know that's how it was put
> together those eight years i have owned it. i
> spent an hour trying to adjust it so i had
> neither play nor binding, and found that to be
> very difficult. i believe i have used adequate
> grease. frustrated, i went to sleep.
>

> the next morning, this occurred to me: perhaps
> the spindle is too long -- i.e., the cones on the
> spindle are too far apart and therefore forcing
> the entire assembly to be too long to fit in the
> shell. it seems implausible insomuch as
> everything else on the bike was stock when i got
> it, and why would the previous owner have
> replaced it with the wrong size spindle?
>
> so i guess my question is, is it likely that the
> bearing cage on my particular BB goes in
> backwards compared to the standard? this seems
> unlikely, only insomuch as all the ofmega stuff
> seems to be such a close copy of campagnolo
> design. the cranks are like an exact ripoff.
>
> or is it more likely that my spindle is the wrong
> length? if so, what would be the cheapest way
> for me to replace parts in order to get it
> running again?
>
> i am poor, and the BB is all apparently in good
> condition, and i am hesitant to drop a bunch of
> money on a new one. any advice or consideration
> would be appreciated.
>

> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Before you buy.

--
Yellow Jersey, Ltd
http://www.yellowjersey.org
http://www.execpc.com/yellowje
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[Dan Goldenberg]

You can always install the balls without the retainers. Put grease in
the cups, then install the balls. The grease will hold the balls in
place.
Dan Goldenberg