Swapping crank spindle on French bike
10-18-19, 10:19 PM
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Swapping crank spindle on French bike
I have a mid 70's Gitane Gypsy Sport Mixte I am working on for the Bike Exchange. I have been lightening it up a bit with aluminum wheels, stem, and bars and I want to swap out the cottered cranks for a square taper. If I can find a square tapered spindle can I reuse the existing cups? otherwise I will put in a threadless cartridge spindle but I would rather not spend the money on a new one.
The bike is coming along nicely so far. the paint touched up great and the chrome fork tips were in like new condition. I replaced the center pull brakes with side pulls and put on some gum walll tires. I plan to use a single chainriing up front and replace the 5 speed freewheel with a suntour 7 speed that fits with out stretching the rear dropouts.
I am pretty sure the spindle swap should work but would like confirmation.
Pictures somewhere when it's done.
The bike is coming along nicely so far. the paint touched up great and the chrome fork tips were in like new condition. I replaced the center pull brakes with side pulls and put on some gum walll tires. I plan to use a single chainriing up front and replace the 5 speed freewheel with a suntour 7 speed that fits with out stretching the rear dropouts.
I am pretty sure the spindle swap should work but would like confirmation.
Pictures somewhere when it's done.
10-19-19, 05:57 AM
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In general, yes, it can be done. It helps to have a variety of spindles to test fit and find the best one.
10-19-19, 06:25 AM
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I did this on my Peugeot UE 8. I would just use the cottered crank for a bike I was selling though.
10-19-19, 06:42 AM
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I have a mid 70's Gitane Gypsy Sport Mixte I am working on for the Bike Exchange. I have been lightening it up a bit with aluminum wheels, stem, and bars and I want to swap out the cottered cranks for a square taper. If I can find a square tapered spindle can I reuse the existing cups? otherwise I will put in a threadless cartridge spindle but I would rather not spend the money on a new one.
The bike is coming along nicely so far. the paint touched up great and the chrome fork tips were in like new condition. I replaced the center pull brakes with side pulls and put on some gum walll tires. I plan to use a single chainriing up front and replace the 5 speed freewheel with a suntour 7 speed that fits with out stretching the rear dropouts.
I am pretty sure the spindle swap should work but would like confirmation.
Pictures somewhere when it's done.
The bike is coming along nicely so far. the paint touched up great and the chrome fork tips were in like new condition. I replaced the center pull brakes with side pulls and put on some gum walll tires. I plan to use a single chainriing up front and replace the 5 speed freewheel with a suntour 7 speed that fits with out stretching the rear dropouts.
I am pretty sure the spindle swap should work but would like confirmation.
Pictures somewhere when it's done.
10-19-19, 08:15 AM
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I did a similar swap on a friends early '70's Raleigh that came with a Stronglight cottered crank and Raleigh's proprietary threading. We reused the OEM cups and replaced the spindle with a Suguino square taper spindle and loose 1/4" bearing balls. It worked fine and was ridden for many years after that.
10-19-19, 09:10 AM
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Thanks for the info and advice all.
I know it is not a high end bike and and we are selling it. I can't help messinig with these mixte's a little though. We have a warehouse of used parts and many boxes of square tapered cranks and a drawer full of spindles so I can get creative. This bike will probably be used for casual riding or commuting so better tires, wheels, and brakes with more stopping power will be appreciated . Changing the gearing to 1x7 will make shifting for a novice a breeze . My guess is that when all done we will sell the bike for about $200. which will be a steal for some lucky customer.
I know it is not a high end bike and and we are selling it. I can't help messinig with these mixte's a little though. We have a warehouse of used parts and many boxes of square tapered cranks and a drawer full of spindles so I can get creative. This bike will probably be used for casual riding or commuting so better tires, wheels, and brakes with more stopping power will be appreciated . Changing the gearing to 1x7 will make shifting for a novice a breeze . My guess is that when all done we will sell the bike for about $200. which will be a steal for some lucky customer.
10-19-19, 01:45 PM
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I swapped the original cottered crank with a Sugino square taper with a standard 68mm spindle on my '70 Peugeot mixte. I used the original cups and the original loose balls and it's been working well so far. I did have to re-do it once, to really tighten the drive side cup, but I've never had any issues with the spindle swap itself. The 68mm spindle is long enough (in terms of the bearing races on the spindle) to space the non-drive side cup appropriately (to be able to use the lock ring).
There are reports that some 68mm spindles may not have the races spaced quite far enough apart, so the non-drive side cup threads in too far to use the lock ring. I did not find that in my case.
There are reports that some 68mm spindles may not have the races spaced quite far enough apart, so the non-drive side cup threads in too far to use the lock ring. I did not find that in my case.
