kaatkinson122

Hi everyone,
This is my first post on this particular site but I will have a ton of questions throughout this process. I'm not new to cycling but I am new to building and maintenance. My question is that I have a road frame that I am going to use for my build, and I have no idea what type it is so I have no idea what specs are for the frame. I am having trouble understanding what size and type of bottom bracket to purchase, and how to measure for the bottom bracket. I also would like to know how to ensure that the crankset that I buy is compatible with the bottom bracket that I install.

rogerstg

You should start here https://www.sheldonbrown.com/home.html for a good reference in most bicycle related things.

canam73

If you told us what the frame was and/or posted a pic somebody could probably ID it for you.

kaatkinson122

Appreciate it, it has been stripped down and repainted so it has been difficult in IDing.

canam73

Alright, so your frame is metal (steel ?). You almost assuredly have a threaded bottom bracket shell. If so, you now need to know if it's 'british' thread (more common) or 'italian'. Can you look at the threading and determine if one side screws in clockwise and the other counterclockwise? If so it is british, if they both go the same way it is italian.

ahsposo 

After you have determined the thread type then you determine what crank you are going to use. It will dictate spindle length.

Then there are all the flavors of BB - cartridge (probably the easiest to install) with adjustable cups or one of the new external bearing types.

I have found that a good LBS can be very supportive and helpful with a bike build. Many people find building up a bike a fun challenge and they recognize this so if you are upfront with them they will help you with certain aspects of the build and let you do the rest as you want. Some of the work like headset bearing races you really need the right tool to do and most adequate headsets are not all that expensive at you LBS. Talk to them and tell them what you want to do and listen to what they say. Of course not all bike shops are created equal, your experience may vary, but I suggest at least making the effort to create some relationship with what you have available.

EDIT: I see you are in Beaufort. There is a BF member DieselDan that lives in that area and is a bike mechanic and at least in the forum is a really nice guy. I'll send him a PM and direct him to this thread and maybe he'll be willing to have a look at what you've got. You won't be able to contact him until you have 50 posts on the forum but he could share his local contact info with you if he's so inclined.

DieselDan

Check my profile and send me an email.