Motobecane7

Any idea which Campagnolo vintage cranksets would work with a 113 mm spindle in a Raleigh Pro Mk iii? The 1980 campy crankset I tried and is too tight fit re chainstay. It rubs on paint.

Pcampeau

Campagnolo Strada is what comes stock with the Pro. It’s the same Crankset weather you use Nuovo Record or Super Record chainrings. Did you try flipping the spindle around?

Motobecane7

Thank you for responding, No I did not. The bike shop that worked on it did not either, I read that it might affect performance. My thinking was that maybe the earlier (maybe pre 1975) Strada lined up with better clearance. Does it affect shifting after you flip it?

Prowler 

Most (all?) BB spindles of that era were asymmetric - one end longer than the other. Sometimes only a few mm difference but enought to matter. Some (most?) bike shop mechanics would not know that. You should open the BB and remove this spindle/axle. Measure each end, from the ball race to the shoulder of the tapered section (right where the threaded section starts). Lots of images if you search the cloud.

The longer end of the spindle should be on the drive side, the end that the right crank arm fits onto. Getting the spindle in correctly could make the difference if it is now in backwards.

Talk to the mechanic who worked on your bike. If the answer is "eh, ah, lessee, hummm, I donno" then the LBS should do this for nothing as they should have known.

Motobecane7

Thank you Prowler, will follow your advice this morning. It is consistent with a Sheldon Brown blog on the Pro I read a few weeks ago, and rings true from my bike shop observations also. It was like you were there. I think the shop just rushed through it. Inner chainring is close enough to scratch paint.

steelbikeguy

just to review....
the Campagnolo literature had this illustration to show which axle to use....



For a British road bike with double chainrings, I would expect a 68mm wide bottom bracket shell. This would use the 68-SS-120 axle. As shown, the axle is 112mm long, with the slightly longer end on the right.

Here's an example (although I think this is slightly newer, based on the Campy logo..)



an Italian version, for a 70mm wide bottom bracket shell, looks like this, and is marked "70-SS" (and this is the older logo that would be appropriate for a 70's bike)....




That might help.. or it might prompt more questions, and that's okay too.

Steve in Peoria

3alarmer 

...I have this one, that's close in age to yours. A 113 spindle and a NR Strada crank work fine.

niliraga 

I recall reading that around the CPSC watershed in the 1970s, the redesign of Strada cranks required a slightly longer spindle. If so, I would guess a newer version of the crankset on a spindle intended for the older version might cause clearance issues

repechage

The tipping point was 76-77.

5, 4, 3 in a diamond or No date code will work with a 113mm spindle.
76 is review time, best to look at the back side of the crank, earlier have a larger more prominent "cone" surrounding the spindle port, later smaller.
77, and higher, CPSC compatible 115mm spindle. the arm was reconfigured a bit, increasing the space between the arm and the ring, and the taper moved too- the result the Q factor increased a bit and the spindle needed to be longer on the drive side.

Motobecane7

Is the asymmetry visible without removing spindle? It does seem like more of the spindle is visible on the drive side. I will ask the shop also. If not a flip over fix, verdict seems to be to either (1) remove current rubbing 1980 53-42 Strada crankset, replace with 1970-1974 campy crankset that may clear chainstay; or (2) remove 113 mm spindle and buy longer 115-120mm spindle to replace; them reattach 1980 crankset and to measure bottom bracket to confirm.

Any idea which option is preferable? 2 seems less expensive but may not be as smooth as 1, with closer vintage crankset. Smaller chainring had a 0 in a diamond indicating made in 1970 while crank arms had 0 in circle indicating 1980 manufacturing.

repechage

pre 1973 cranks and therefore pre CPSC used a 113 mm spindle did not have any date code just stamped 170 strada for example on the back of the arms.
pre 1967 had 151 mm BCD and no codes
the 70’s were in a diamond - last digit of the year inside it. Refer to my earlier post- with a 113 spindle you do not want later 70’s arms.
in a circle coded cranks were 80’s then in a box later 80’s but not as a direct correlation.
circle or box need 115 mm.
the 113 or 115 spindles definitely show the asymmetric design.
Campagnolo spindles read left to right as you are straddling the bike. Just like an English language book.

easiest would be era correct Arms for the spindle, easier to R&R cranks than repack bottom bracket. Not concerning parts cost.

otherwise a 115 mm spindle.

Prowler 

I did wonder about that too as I wrote the post. It should show with properly adjusted cups BUT I've never done it that way and cannot say. Cups must be a matched set (ex: thickness the same). I've always measured them out on the bench. Easy for me as I have all the tools needed to work BBs and I don't worry about being faked out somehow. So, to your question - I donno.

JohnDThompson 

Campagnolo spindles of that era are a hot mess, with Nuovo Record/Record cup differences, CPSC changes, etc. Campagnolo USA published an article trying to make sense of it. Short version is, if your bottom bracket (cups and spindle) are pre-CPSC, you'll want to match them with pre-CSPC crank arms.

USAZorro

How many teeth on the chainring that rubs? I would expect 42 -45. If it's more than that, it could be why you have the problem.

If you do have the correct spindle, and it is oriented properly, and if it just barely rubs, it may be the case that the cups need to be re-adjusted so that the driveside one gets loosened a turn or two, and the non-driveside needs to be tightened by a corresponding amount.

Motobecane7

Thank you everyone for your insights! I will look for an early to mid seventies campy crankset to match 113mm spindle. The bike shop did remove the 1980 crankset today for free after I complained re chainstay rub.