vonfilm 

I would like to install a Stronglight 99 Triple on a 1973 Schwinn Super Sport using a Truvativ American to European bottom bracket adapter.

What kind of bottom bracket and what type and size of spindle would work with this?

pastorbobnlnh 

In my experience with converting 4 Schwinn BB shells to adapters for 3 piece cranks, only cartridge BB would work.

Check to see if a Shimano cartridge will work with the Stronglight cranks. Other options might be a Phil Wood or Velo Orange cartridge BB.

nlerner

And in my one experience doing this, I also found that only a cartridge BB will work as a you won't be able to get a wrench on the flats of a cup/cone BB because of the way the adapter sticks out a bit at its edges. A Stronglight 99 triple will need a 123-25mm spindle.

Neal

vonfilm 

Is the 123-125mm spindle hard to find?

Does it need to have a ISO taper?

JohnDThompson 

They turn up regularly on eBay. The arms are ISO taper. I concur with others that a cartridge might be a better solution, though. The Phil BB with a #4 spindle was we used back in the day.

Keep in mind that if your crank is pre-1982 production you will need the proprietary 23.35mm extractor tool to service it.

nlerner

I'd guess (and it's only a guess--there's definitely a black art of fitting BBs, spindles, and cranksets) is that the Shimano UN54 for a 68mm shell with a 127mm spindle and JIS taper would work for you:

https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...m+Bracket.aspx

Neal

ColonelJLloyd 

Although different models, I'm also going to fit a Stronglight crank to a Schwinn.

I'm going to use Stronglight 49D arms and double TA rings in a 68mm shell. I'm going to buy a new cartridge BB. Does anyone have a guess as to the spindle length? 115mm?

nlerner

Standard Stronglight spindles for double cranks were 118mm. I'm not quite sure how that would translate to a cartridge BB with a taper that's a bit different than those old spindles, but you might try a 115mm and be prepared to stick a spacer or two in there.

Neal

ColonelJLloyd 

I have some spacers and VO offers a 113 (out of stock) and a 116 (which I suspect is marked 115.5). I'll go with the latter I think. Thank you, sir.

Noah Scape

I think if you're putting a ISO crank on a JIS spindle, you want to go shorter with the spindle. So if the Stronglight 99 takes a 123 ISO, I'd go with a 118 JIS.

nlerner

Well, except that it's not altogether clear that Stronglight cranks have an ISO spindle. Sutherlands, 6th ed. says JIS is the closest thing to the Stronglight taper. It also says that "Maxy-type spindles can be used to place chainline farther from the frame with Stronglight or TA cranks."

Neal

vonfilm 

I want a Stronglight 99 triple with a 28 tooth granny. If All I can find is a double, what parts do I need to acquire to make a triple? Sources besides Ebay?

nlerner

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/stronglig...s&currency=usd

Noah Scape

Good point. I'm not sure where the 99s fit. For some reason I was thinking they were standard ISO taper, but I'm not sure where I got that notion.

stronglight

Firstly, regarding the original inquiry...

I'm using a UN-53 with a 118 mm axle on a bike (spaced 122mm at the rear hub) and using an old TA Double chainring crank. The drive side fits very nicely. A Stronglight mod 99 "should" have a similar fit. I suspect there might not be enough room for even a small third chainring - at least not with a simple BB installation.

Here is the problem: it's not that the actual crank would fit too close to the bottom bracket... however, adding a additional third chainring to the mod. 99 will also require a simple washer-type spacer between the innermost chainrings. With an additional 5 to 7 mm. placed inboard, even a small outer diameter 28t inner chainring could then hit against the rear stay.

Unfortunately, the Shimano UN-series BBs are symmetrical and the Stronglight cranks all required offsets to the drive side. This means that even a longer Shimano BB axle will not automatically guarantee an adequate fit. On the other hand, on my bike the Left side has considerable excess axle length exposed [this was not a big deal for me, in this case].

So, it may be worth your while to try using a longer UN BB - possibly even one with a 118 mm axle. But, in either case you would definitely want to add at least a few millimeters of spacers to move the axle over to the drive side to compensate for the lack of axle offset. I'm not sure how your Schwinn BB adapter is threaded so you might then have enough clearance and still have sufficient threads on the Shimano BB to work for this application... maybe?


Drifting on to less relevant trivia...

This thread got me wondering about the various Schwinn bike models of 1973.

I recalled having seeing some Schwinns with cotterless cranks back then and the Super Sport was certainly not at the bottom of the Schwinn line or price range. What I found after sifting through online catalogs was a bit surprising.

Paramount P15-9 Tourer
double butted Reynolds 531 _ lugged construction
Triple cotterless cranks (Campagnolo)
31-104 inch gears
weight: 26-27 lbs
$450

World Voyageur (Panasonic)
4130 chrome-moly _ lugged construction
alloy double cotterless cranks (specified with early Dura-Ace)
(39-52 with 14-32t cogs)
33-101 inch gears
weight: 28 lbs
$275

Sports Tourer
4130 chrome-moly + 1020 carbon steel stays _ filet brazed
Alloy double cotterless cranks (Nervar)
32-104 inch gears
weight: 31-33 lbs.
$220

Le Tour (Panasonic)
Lugged construction
alloy double cotterless cranks
38-100 inch gears
weight: ???
$ ???

Super Sport
filet brazed
4130 chrome-moly + 1020 carbon steel stays _ filet brazed
1-piece Ashtabula steel cranks
33-100 inch gears
Weight: 33-34 lbs.
$152

So, it looks like the Super Sport was among the last of the better quality US built Schwinn models to still use traditional 1-piece American cranks. I guess that explains why so many people have now decided to resurrect and modify those framesets.

ColonelJLloyd 

If you call his name he will appear.

vonfilm 

Are some spindles asymmetrical?

Here is a close up of my empty bottom bracket and chainstays:


73SuperSportMarsRed 018 by vonfilm, on Flickr

Pastorbob,
Did you run into any issues like this on your Schwinn with a Campy triple?

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Yes. Many.

If you're talking strictly about Spindles for Double and Triple cranksets I'd change my answer to "most"

stronglight

Just been thinking a bit more on your BB issue. I'm not sure what kind of Schwinn-ready adapter you are considering for retro-fitting the shell to accept a threaded type BB. Perhaps something like this completely threadless cartridge BB set work - without even having to first use a supplemental press-in threaded sleeve unit?

I suppose you'd need to carefully measure the diameter of the shell and inquire first to ensure a suitable fit...



Okay, at $60 it's certainly not cheap... here's the V-O store link - https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...-brackets.html.

A Shimano UN series BB would run as little as $20... but, at the other end, a Phil Wood BB would surely run over $100 (the right and left lock rings are usually sold at additional cost). So, maybe this is worth considering [personally, I'd probably go for the 122mm axle option for this style].



Since my mind is now racing...

The image below shows yet another V-O alternative - if you already have a pair of threaded adapter sleeves to use on your bike. https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...lloy-cups.html

This standard threaded model is only $35. Notice it does NOT have an external lock ring on the left side. And, unlike the Shimano models this BB also does NOT have a raised shoulder on the left side threaded cup. This means that although both sides of the axle are probably symmetrical, you could easily use a shorter axle length (say maybe 118 mm. for a Stronglight Triple crankset) and you would just move the entire BB unit toward the right inside the bike frame. First you'd insert a few spacers between the fixed cup's "shoulder" and the BB shell of your bike to set up your chain to best advantage... then just screw in the Left (adjustable) cup until it is tight against the cartridge body. A company named RaceFace used to make somewhat similar BBs during the late 1990s and they were really a dream to use whenever a perfect chainline was desired.

Gee, looks like I just sold myself on this BB and I will definitely add one to my next V-O shopping list.

pastorbobnlnh 

Mine is running a Phil Wood BB, so it has an adjustable chainline. Since Dr.Deltron installed it, I'm not certain what kinds of issues he ran into. This is a pic from his shop.



This is about the best pic I have of the BB minus the crankset.



I was thinking along the same line as Stronglight on the VO cartridge BBs, but since I did not know what sort of tapers work with Stronglight cranks, I was hesitant to suggest them.

Now that you've sorted out the taper compatibility issues, I'd say give the VO BBs a try. See if VO will let you return what doesn't work for your build.

Best of luck.

vonfilm 

These Stronglight items should be on the way soon:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT

The intention is to end up with a 52-40-28 triple. I will also be ordering the Stronglight triple bolts suggested by NLerner. I like the idea of that Velo-Orange bottom bracket. I already have a Truvativ bb adaptor.

Now I need some French thread pedals.