More help w/'Cuda BB sizing

First of all, thank you to Sheldon Brown and Andrew Muzi for your recent
advice. It did help, but I am still not sure about installing the BB in the
'99 XX Team Barracuda. I'm not sure where it was made, it is not clearly
marked anywhere. The serial # begins with "PT" and is stamped under the BB
shell on the left side, if that means anything.The person who sold it to me
swears it is US made, but I'm not so sure. The shell does measure 73mm. I
have a 1.37 X 24t X 73mm (118) Shimano ES70 splined "Octalink" BB from
another bike (GT Avalanche) that I attempted to install into the shell. The
main body went in pretty well, with only minor resistance. But when I
threaded the aluminum adapter ring in from the other side, it threaded very
tightly after a half inch or so, and actually impeded the BB spindle
rotation. So I removed everything, of course. I'm certain it wasn't
cross-threaded, and there aren't any shavings inside- thank God. I'm
thinking that I will need to chase the threads with a tap. I haven't had to
do this in the past, they've always threaded right in. Any help would again
be appreciated.
Thank You In Advance, Ned

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Nedman wrote:
First of all, thank you to Sheldon Brown and Andrew Muzi for your recent
advice. It did help, but I am still not sure about installing the BB in the
'99 XX Team Barracuda. I'm not sure where it was made, it is not clearly
marked anywhere. The serial # begins with "PT" and is stamped under the BB
shell on the left side, if that means anything.The person who sold it to me
swears it is US made, but I'm not so sure.

Doesn't matter, as long as it wasn't made in Europe, which it certainly
wasn't.

The shell does measure 73mm. I
have a 1.37 X 24t X 73mm (118) Shimano ES70 splined "Octalink" BB from
another bike (GT Avalanche) that I attempted to install into the shell.

That is absolutely, positively, the correct threading.

The main body went in pretty well, with only minor resistance. But when I
threaded the aluminum adapter ring in from the other side, it threaded very
tightly after a half inch or so, and actually impeded the BB spindle
rotation. So I removed everything, of course. I'm certain it wasn't
cross-threaded, and there aren't any shavings inside- thank God. I'm
thinking that I will need to chase the threads with a tap. I haven't had to
do this in the past, they've always threaded right in. Any help would again
be appreciated.

A neat trick I learned from Francis Bolag is to use a cylindrical rotary
wire brush in a hand-held electric drill to clean up bottom bracket
threads. Any decent hardware store will have a suitable wire brush,
they're about an inch in diameter, maybe 3 inches long. Stick it in
from the right side and run the drill in the "forward" (clockwised)
direction. This will tend to drive any swarf or scunge outward from the
threads. This generally avoids the need to run a tap, doesn't remove as
much metal.

Make sure the bolt that holds the under-bb cable guide (if any) isn't
poking too far into the shell...sometimes this makes it hard to install
the cartridge straight.

Once you get the bike going, be very careful about riding big
drop-offs...the "aero" top tubes on these bikes make them fall _really_
fast! ;-)

Sheldon "Baccaruda" Brown
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| I found no fault with the cook, and it was the rule |
| of the voyage that the cook found no fault with me. |
| There was never a ship's crew so well agreed. |
| --Joshua Slocum _Sailing Alone Around The World_ |
| http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/js/saaw.htm |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Nedman wrote:

First of all, thank you to Sheldon Brown and Andrew Muzi for your recent
advice. It did help, but I am still not sure about installing the BB in the
'99 XX Team Barracuda. I'm not sure where it was made, it is not clearly
marked anywhere. The serial # begins with "PT" and is stamped under the BB
shell on the left side, if that means anything.The person who sold it to me
swears it is US made, but I'm not so sure. The shell does measure 73mm. I
have a 1.37 X 24t X 73mm (118) Shimano ES70 splined "Octalink" BB from
another bike (GT Avalanche) that I attempted to install into the shell. The
main body went in pretty well, with only minor resistance. But when I
threaded the aluminum adapter ring in from the other side, it threaded very
tightly after a half inch or so, and actually impeded the BB spindle
rotation. So I removed everything, of course. I'm certain it wasn't
cross-threaded, and there aren't any shavings inside- thank God. I'm
thinking that I will need to chase the threads with a tap. I haven't had to
do this in the past, they've always threaded right in. Any help would again
be appreciated.

Aside from our other discussions, clearing the threads with
a set of piloted taps should get you going.

I wonder about that 73 BB. Is your frame aluminum? We only
bought the steel ones.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971