How much would you spend to keep a 501 frame on the road?

[Dan B]

My commute bike is (I believe, based mostly on knowledge previously given on this forum) based on an early 80s Raleigh Criterium frame. Long story short, either the bottom bracket shell is a bit ovalised or the thread therein is stripped, and now every time I go uphill it goes "clonk" a lot [*].

(0) loctite the BB in place - already tried this, isn't helping
(1) buy a cheap threadless BB - may require chamfering or facing the shell, reviews say they don't always stay tight
(2) buy an expensive threadless BB (e.g. Velo Orange) - will cost about what I paid for the frame (£50)
(3) send to a framebuilder to put a new BB shell in - probably cost far more than I paid for the frame

I'm leaning towards option (2) - I quite like it, it doesn't seem to be broken in any other way, binning it is not environmentally the best thing ever, and when it does eventually give up the ghost I guess I can transplant the BB to another bike. I guess by posting this I'm either looking for validation or some other suggestions I haven't thought of


[*] I am 98% sure this is the BB and not the pedals or anything like that

 

[biggs682]

@Dan B i have used a couple of threadless bottom brackets and never had one come loose

if you see The mighty Quinn returns i had the bottom bracket cut and shut and it worked fine

 

[Fab Foodie]

I had the '82 Holdsworth Bottom bracket reamed and sleeved by Argos cycles in Bristol. Something says £80 or thereabouts.
If the frame fits and is good to ride, then it's worth keeping it going.

 

[arch684]

I have used threadless bottom brackets in the past,never had a problem with them