TheRooKnows wrote:Hello Everyone.
I'm a new poster, but have read quite a few of the posts here on the site. Great forum for Viscount info and questions. I bought my grey and black Viscount about a year and half ago from a local used bike store in Chicago. At the time, I was just looking for a bike that fit my frame. They pulled an old Viscount from the rack of forty other old road bikes and said it was a 57cm and my size. I took it home and rode it straight away. Several months into my daily bike commutes in Chicago, one of the seat bolts holding my Middlemore saddle to the post snapped and sent my leg through the frame: partially torn MCL and a compressed meniscus resulted and firmly attached me to the bike.
I replaced the seat post at that point because I didn't see the value in tapping out the broken bolt. Last month, crossing an intersection, my spindle snapped. When I looked closely at it after the event, I noticed that it was cracked prior to the failure about 1/3 of the way through. Rust was present in the crack, letting me know I didn't massively break the steel in one go, but that it fatigued over time. I was silently reading all I could at that point and decided to order a Velo Orange Threadless Bottom Bracket. I removed the offending tubes in the bottom bracket shell with a drill press and grinding stone.
When I installed the Velo Orange part, I couldn't get it where it needed to be. It was just too small. I see that jdwertz was able to shim the bracket in place, but after my two failures on this bike, I didn't want to risk another by bad problem solving. I'm now ordering replacement 6003 bearings and a Phil Wood Stainless spindle with JIS tapers.
What I'm wondering is what exactly is the installation procedure for the press in bearings and spindle? It was easy enough to remove through brute banging, but I'm imagining much more finesse is needed in the installation.
Anyone out there have a recommendation on installation steps? Do I place the bearings then insert the spindle? Or should I place the spindle in one of the bearings, place that, and then install the other bearing over the spindle and into the BB?
Any help here would be greatly appreciated. I love this bike and am anxious to get back on the streets of Chicago.
Hi
Welcome to the thread!!! A very nice Aerospace Pro you have there. Lovely.
Sorry to hear about your component failures. These problems are not unique to Viscounts. It is all part of the joy of riding older bikes!
Replacing the BB spindle is best done with a puller. But, I don't have one and I suspect you don't too. So with this in mind I recommend you install it this way.
1. The night befor you tackle the job, put one of the bearings in the left side of the frame. Use Loctite or similar to help keep it in the frame. I use a steel tube (a socket will also do) of the same diameter as the outer bearing race to gently and evenly tap the bearing in.
2. Give the spindle a really good polish so it is nice and shiny.
3. Take the other bearing and put some Loctite or similar on the face of the inner race. Tap the the spindle, which has been in the freezer for a few hours, through the bearing. Make sure you tap on a crank bolt threaded into the spindle so as not to peen over the end.
4. Put the frame left side down on a vice (I rest it on a block of wood with a spindle sized hole drilled through) so that the bottom bracket bearing cannot be tapped out as the spindle is driven through from the right hand side. As per the other side, smear some Loctite or similar on the inner race face of the left hand bearing. Tap through the spindle from the right hand side making sure it is correctly spaced within the bottom bracket. Make sure you tap on the crank bolt rather than the spindle end. If necessary you may need to tap the right hand bearing with a steel tube or socket to help seat it in the shell. The bearings on both sides should be ever so slightly recessed into the bottom bracket shell when you have finished. PLEASE NOTE: if you are using a Viscount rear hub make sure the right hand side of the spindle is 3-4mm further out than the other side. This maintains the chainline. I am saying this on the basis that you are using a 121 - 123mm spindle same as the original. If not, a bit of fiddling is required to account for you alternative wheel's dish and crank offset. Also the original Viscount cranks do not have a JIS taper (booo!) so think twice before you work at getting one of these on as it might deform the spindle tapers (I did that th a Shimano 600 BB).
5. Check that the left side bearing has not moved slightly as you have been tapping the spindle though. Tap back in if necessay (making sure you have moved the wooden block to the other side!).
6. Turn the spindle. Feel smooth? If it feels a bit tight (usualy the case with Viscount's own rough spindle machining!!!) give both ends of the spindle a gentle tap (or two). This helps to 'seat' the bearings.
The Phil Wood spindle is a great product. For a start it is round and true which means not a great deal of force is needed to drive it though the bearings.
Hope all this helps. Sorry if it is overly detailed and tells you stuff you already know.