Old School Newbie!

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

martyp

New Member
Hi everyone, fantastic looking site and looking forward to posting.:tongue:

Am returning to cycling after many years oo a layoff, I took out my old Raleigh Pioneer 160 from the garage the other nite to dust it down and attempt to get riding.

Its a steel cr-mo ???? frame I think....and i remember i enjoyed riding it(4 years ago i think)

The bike is in very good nick apart from the bottom brackett
which has a lot of play and sounds very graunchy:ohmy:.

Now I am lost on all the new techie developments in bike terms.....carbon fibre frames etc...(my dream frame was a reynolds 531....which i never could afford , alas.)

To cut to the chase I intend visinting Halfords later to see if I can get a new bb for the Raliegh.....thing is I havent a clue what size....width, external, sealed...etc to ask for??:biggrin:

Can anyone steer me in the right direction please and forgive my ignorance.....looking forward to hearing from some one to save my blushes.:tongue:
user_online.gif
progress.gif
 
Step 1: steer away from Halfords
Step 2: visit your local bike shop and follow their advice

Pleasure follows
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
Yes - go to your lbs rather than DIY.

You would need to know axle length, BB width and whether the axle will fit the existing crankset. Also you would probably need a special tool to get the old BB off and the new one on together with a crank extractor to get the cranks off.

The BB will be an internal sealed unit, meaning the bearings are situated within the BB shell ( whereas external units have the bearings outside and would require a new crankset as well).
 

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
accountantpete said:
Yes - go to your lbs rather than DIY.

You would need to know axle length, BB width and whether the axle will fit the existing crankset. Also you would probably need a special tool to get the old BB off and the new one on together with a crank extractor to get the cranks off.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

accountantpete said:
The BB will be an internal sealed unit, meaning the bearings are situated within the BB shell ( whereas external units have the bearings outside and would require a new crankset as well).

Old bike may not have an sealed unit BB. Could be one with separate cups, lockring, axle, and bearing races.... or even older ...loose bearings:eek:.

MartyP - can you post a pic? We'll see if we can identify what type you have.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
The Halfords staff will just see your bike through a mist of panic, suck their teeth and advise you to junk it.

A good bike shop will recognise its true value and in keeping with the spirit of cycling will help you to repair and renovate it.

While you're at the shop, ask them what they think about replacing your old BB and chainset with a modern sealed BB and some compact cranks. These are a definite improvement on old-style cranks being stiffer, lighter and easier to service. Oh and probably smaller than your existing rings meaning you'll use a wider range of gears.
 
If it's the same as Mrs Browsers nearly 20-year-old Raleigh Pioneer it'll be a cup-and-lockring-with-ballrace-type BB. Far far easier to go to a Local Bike Shop, referred to on here as an lbs (should be LBS is we're acronymising properly :o)) and get them to size and fit a sealed unit which you can then ignore for it's rated lifespan.

Oh, and :wacko: :bicycle:
 

battered

Guru
As others have said bottom brackets are not a good place to start DIY bike maintenance, or indeed restart it. It's a world of special tools and measuring the old parts before replacemnent.

I wouldn't yet start replacing cranks, they are expensive. Rather I'd replace your BB with a sealed unit offering square taper fitting so you can reuse your old stuff (assuming still OK). Get the thing back in use, see what else falls off, (not you I hope), then think about options for the future in terms of upgrade/replace/run it into the deck with cheap bits from friends and the bits box, etc.
 
OP
OP
M

martyp

New Member
Wow.......thanks everyone.....porky.....will post a pic.
 

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
I still have one bike in the garage with a loose bearing BB. 60-70 years old single speed BSA.
I'm no purist... but a sealed unit would just not be quite right in that.
 
OP
OP
M

martyp

New Member
Well, took bb apart and it the type I remember having in some older bikes.

2 cups and 2 ball races.....it was a right mess in there......races were shot and filth everywhere.

Bought 2 races and some grease(from "halfrauds"....it was the nearest)....gave it a good clean out and plenty of grease and bobs yer uncle fanny's yer aunt.

Hopefully this will keep me goin for a bit, might just buy a new bike for the summer....more anon.

Thanks for all the help and advice and happy safe riding.
 
Top Bottom