Mirage BB overhaul/replacement?

Hi all,

I bought an old Colnago from ebay with mostly Veloce, but a Mirage Crank and presumably BB. Since buying it, I've replaced the wheels and the cassette (as it had a 105 and now its got a Veloce) which I thought would be good. But the indexing has got worse, and now the BB is creaking and clicking!

So, I'm presuming that I probably need to get a new chain, as I've no idea how old the one on there is? I've ordered a chain wear tool, and will see what happens there. Hopefully it'll show that the chain is worn, needs replacing and it'll improve the indexing.

For the BB, I need a little advice. Is this something I can do myself? Do I need to replace the bearings or the whole BB? I think the issue developed as I couldn't really ride the bike hard with the original wheels, as they were so flexible they rubbed on the brakes no matter what I did. The new pro-lites are considerably stiffer. Thus, I've probably changed my riding style. And the original BB doesn't like it. And probably hasn't been serviced or had any attention for years.

I'd like to have a go myself, but I'll need to get tools, and obviously the parts. Any advice? What do I need to get? I there anything I should watch out for?

Sorry, I've just realised this is a little rambling! But any advice will be much appreciated.

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There's definitely something wrong with your cranks/BB: the non-driveside particularly is sitting much too far out, it should be closer to the bike. This is likely to be the cause of your creaks, rather than the BB itself.

It looks like it says "Athena" on the BB and I don't think Athena was available as a triple (being a racing groupset), so it's likely that your BB is the wrong length for your cranks.

To check for play in the BB, hold both ends of the cranks and try and rock them back and forth across the bike: there should be no play.

Either way, your BB is a "sealed cartridge" type, with no user serviceable parts: if it's knackered, you bin it and buy another.

As for the indexing, you've switched from a Shimano cassette to a Campagnolo: generally speaking you can't use a Shimano cassette with Campag Ergo shifters because of the sprocket spacing and amount of cable the shifters pull.

However, there are some "magic" combinations that work (this shimergo set-up for example) and presumably this is what you had. Now that you've switched back to a full Campag set-up it seems likely that you will need to recalibrate your set-up.

Another source of problems could be the chain: is the largest sprocket of the old cassette the same size as the new one? If not, your chain will be the wrong length.

It's a good idea to fit a new chain at the same time as a new cassette and/or chainrings as they can "wear-in" together. Obviously you need the correct one for the number of gears you have, ie a ten speed chain for a ten speed cassette.

All these things are quite straightforward to do yourself, but if your bike isn't set-up properly in the first place and you have multiple problems, then it's a lot more complicated. If you're not mechanically confident, a trip to your bike shop may be the least painful option.

Hey, thanks for the reply, I owe you beers!

I've just checked and you're absolutely right, the BB is Athena. I've also tried the cranks and there's no play in them at all. But the creaking is definitely there, with every pedal cycle and getting worse if I'm out of the saddle. So, I'm guessing its going and will be gone soon. The bike is apparently from around the early 2000's (but could be older) and I would guess that its still the original one.

You're also absolutely right about the different sized cassettes. The Shimano 105 one was 12-23 and the Campagnolo Veloce one is 13-26. I didn't know I would need different chain lengths, I thought the rear derailleur would compensate for this? And after reading your link, it probably is the wrong size coupled with it being possibly quite old too.

I think what this is getting to is that I need to get a new chain and BB, and the correct one this time. I'm guessing this would work? And a new chain.

If I wanted to just upgrade everything, would Athena 11 work okay with this bike? I'm guessing that the main problem would be the BB as the bike is quite old.

Lastly, a quick question. How do I keep the back wheel in the dropouts when putting the power down, without tightening the quick release unbelievably tight? I bought new wheels, thus its got new a quick release system. I've moved the position of the wheel so its further back, checked the axle isn't protruding. Nothing works apart from seriously over tightening everything. Any ideas.

For a frame like yours, you only need a 111mm bottom bracket with a triple crank, the 115mm is for frames with fat tubes.

Like this http://www.totalcycling.com/a-z/bottom_brackets/bottom_brackets_road/bbc6_centaur.html

or a non-campag one like this http://www.highonbikes.com/token-carbon-square-taper-campagnolo-bottom-bracket-111mm.html#.UX1xhbXvuPs

How do I know if I've got English or Italian threads? I'm presuming its Italian, but I'm also guessing that I could be totally wrong again!

It'll be on the lettering on the BB cups, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottom_bracket#Sizes

It'll prob be Italian for a Colnago. Also the RH cup is a conventional thread on an Italian BB, whereas it's a reverse thread for British.

My £0.02 is that BB creaks are often due to crank and chainring bolts being insufficiently tight and / or greased.

I'll check the lettering and see what it says for mine.

And I'll check the bolts are tight enough, although, I'm sure I did that recently.

I can see it's stamped 36 X 2.., this means it is 36mm X 24 TPI, or Italian

Aha, excellent. So would the Italian thread 111mm BB recommended still work?

Hold your horses, get the cranks off then measure spindle length, overall, and protrusion each side of the shell. A 115.5mm spindle is the correct length for a triple if the bb shell is nominally 70mm. I can't recall if these are symmetrical or not, but it may be that the unit is in the wrong way round if you have more axle showing on the non-drive side.

I'll check tomorrow to measure the BB.

I tried tightening the crank and got about 1/4 of turn extra out of it. Thus, that might be the cause of the creaking, so I'll test it with a ride tomorrow to see if its fixed the creaking and clicking noise its making.

Todays update. I've tightened everything and the creaking has stopped. Completely.

It seems that's cleared up the problem which is fantastic. Thanks to everybody who helped, its much appreciated.

Now I just need to sort out my clicking chain. I stupidly used White Lightening Clean Ride and now my chain clicks continually. Does anybody know how to get it all off easily?

Tbh if you've changed the block, then a new chain is in order

Clean Ride just falls off anyway it's shite.

New chain has been ordered, just waiting for it to come.

I was just hoping to get rid of the creaking in the meantime.

Instead of Clean Ride, what else is good that won't turn my chain black after commuting for a day?