vintage cottered axle sizing

[porteous]

I am rebuilding three 1950s/1960s racing and touring bikes, made by Raleigh. Two are Rudges and one a Carlton. I have BB cups in decent order, but no axles. I need one for a double chainset (On a Rudge) and two for singles (Rudge and Carlton). I am slightly confused by the plethora of axle sizes cropping up on E Bay, etc

The Rudges have 74mm (3 1/8") and the Carlton 66mm (2 3/4") BB widths. (The Carlton is difficult to measure because the drive side cup is brazed in place. Normal for Carltons?)

All advice gratefully received.

 

[tyred]

The Carlton should have standard BSA BB as they were built in Worksop and not Nottingham. The Rudges will almost certainly be Nottingham built machines with Raleigh threading and BB. Have a look at Sheldon and his guide to old Raleighs as he outlines the options. But these Raleigh BBs do turn up on ebay and as they were built to such a high standard, they rarely wear badly.

 

[porteous]

Many thanks. While helpful on cotterless axles and BB threading SB does not say anything about cottered axle length for different chainset/chainline set ups. In particular I was hoping to get an idea of the standard 10 speed cottered axle, in particular the part numbers, used by Raleigh.

Or am I making things too complicated for myself?

 

[tyred]

I would imagine that the BB from any of the lower specced Raleigh ten speeds from the 70s should suit your Rudge for a double crank. Any Nottingham three speed BB should do for the single. To the best of my knowledge, Raleigh BB part numbers are A16 (4 7/8"), A16-GCC (5 1/2") or A21 (5").

Ebay or Old Bike trader (http://www.oldbiketrader.co.uk/display_Raleigh.php?options=parts) are probably the best source of odds and ends for old Raleighs. It might be worth phoning Old Bike Trader to see if they can advise. I bought BB cups and a few other odds and ends from them when I rebuilt my Twenty and they are helpful people. But first, I would confirm that the Rudge frames are 26tpi Raleigh threads. If, by some chance, they are 24tpi BSA standard, then it becomes much simpler as they are a standard part. If they were built in Nottingham or Dublin, they would be 26tpi. If they were built at some other factory (and Raleigh owned loads as they bought up most of the British cycle industry), then they probably will be 24tpi.

 

[porteous]

Many thanks; Just the info I needed! The Rudges are both 26tpi, but not a problem since I already have good cups for both, just need to source the axles. I will start off with OBT!