Campagnolo bottom bracket loose

[micklan]

Dsicovered quite a bit of movement in bottom bracket - simply this should need a tighten up - having recently serviced the Europa I'm a little concerned it may be wear -

Any thoughts - could it be wear - or just needs a tighten up?

thanks

[jimmy]

Is it the old square taper bracket or is an ultra-torque?

If it is square taper, I have the appropriate tool.

as far as "is it wear or just loose", no idea.

James

[weiyun]

If it's the square taper bracket, then there are 2-3 different types of tools for it, depending on the groupset. I moved a Veloce BB to another frame and ended up paying a few bucks to the LBS. It wasn't worth the cost of investing in a new tool just for that job.

The new UT BB is much easier and I have the tools for it if anyone needs it.

Take a look at what's loose. If it's the spindle, then the BB cartridge is shot. Given the age of your Europa (with Veloce), I suspect the cartridge (not serviceable) is probably due for replacement.

Campag (or 3rd party) BB cartridges aren't expensive if bought online. You can then pay a LBS to install it.

[micklan]

Thanks for the input...
I've discovered I don't even have an allen key big enough to get the crank off to check the taper.
Confirm - spindle is loose, Its Centaur thus I will need to slip down to LBS on Sat I'd say to get a new cartridge.

cheers
Michael

[mikesbytes]

Michael, you need a crank pulling tool. I have one, but don't know if its compatible.

[weiyun]

Good news for you Michael. Centaur shares the same fixing cup design as Record and Chorus, so that means JamesC's tools should work for you.

There's a technical document on Campagnolo's site that you can download which contains all the instructions for this job (doc # 7225218).

If you want to do the job, you should also read up Sheldon's write up.
http://sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/cotterless.html

[micklan]

Thanks very much for the information Weiyun. I may try the LBS for a quick tighten up - if that fails I'll purchase the part. thanks again for the links and info.

regards
Michael

[micklan]

The Centaur bottom bracket is 111mm - its shot, water has crept in over time - my bike has had a creak for years - its was the bottom bracket all along.

The quick fix was for LBS to insert a Shimano bottom bracket. As Toff kindly outlined to me at RAW, this has led to some other forces coming into play as the Shimano item is wider = approx 140mm and with Centaur cranks fitted it is a different ride.

On our training ride this seemed to open up my hip flexors quite well. However, noticed a little niggle in the left knee. Over time this may work out to be better, need to monitor and also buy the very resonably priced spare campag intem online.

cheers