Advice needed - French thread bb.

Hey,

I'm currently building up an old french frame and looking to install a modern crankset. Is it worth getting the Velo Orange french thread bb or would servicing the old bb and installing a new axel to take the new cranks suffice?

I guess the tradeoff is less maintenance and a longer lifespan vs having to always rely on someone making a new bb with french threading (and as far as I can tell VO is the only one?)

VO also make a (seemingly) decent threadless option, but I might as well just get the correct threading a slightly cheaper price.

Are there any other options i'm missing?

Cheers!

Rory

Which chainset are you thinking of using? Pics of the frame would be nice, simply because I like looking at old bikes :)

I was planning on using a Shimano double chainset I found in my parts bin - unsure of the model - but running it as a single for now.

Here's a pic of the frame. Nothing to write home about but a fun project!

Ran a Zenith threadless BB for a while with no problems.

Ah nice to know - cheers. Did you have to file the frame at an angle to get it to fit properly?

No, fitted as tight as I physically could because I did read of people saying they slip. Mine didn't loosen, forgot it was in, just made sure to check it every so often.

The inside diameter and width of the shell are the same as english/bsa threading so you can have the drive side re-tapped to a left hand english/bsa thread.

Some reports seem to suggest the bottom bracket will be a loose fit if you do this and you'll need to use loctite or teflon tape etc but I've actually ran taps the wrong way through a frame before (luckily my own and not a good frame, never put a bike upside down on the bars and saddle to chase bb threads!) and I didn't find the bb was a loose fit.

I had a VO french BB. Cost quite a bit and didn't make it through the winter - it was shit. That was some time ago so they could be better now.

I'd prefer to stick with a french BB if you know the right length, Shimano still made french threaded BBs up to the early-mid 90s (7400/6400/105SC era, maybe some MTB too) so they're not impossible to find but limited selection of lengths.

I've also had one french frame re-tapped on the drive-side with no resulting issues running a BSA BB.

Ah cheers that’s a massive help. I guess re-tapping isn’t as dodgy as I thought.

Any recommendations for a trustworthy London bike shop that could do the retapping if I can’t find a suitable BB?

Thanks again

Hello , I have the same problem as you - Bernard Carre frame - ... did you get any recommendations for someone who can do an English re-tap ... cheers - Dave.

Yeah I got it tapped at Hackney Peddler. Well fast with no problems.

.. tops ... cheers for the info ...