BB cup with six holes in it - which tool?

generalmiaow

Hey guys
I want to unearth the bearings from this bottom bracket, but I have no idea how to remove the cup, as it doesn't have that raised rectangular area you usually get. Can one of you tell me by any chance what sort of tool I would use to loosen it, and if it's the sort of ordinary thing I would find in an LBS? I suspect it's a pin spanner, but I've never actually seen one of those, and I'm not really sure if that's a common thing (or even a tool used outside of bicycles)

Thanks!

ednwireland

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/bbcups.html



dont know if thee still available - i have a campag and a shimano one (yes they are different
dont know which one this is but they can look like this

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=42802

generalmiaow

Thanks - I am guessing this corresponds to the first image:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=21151

tomasrojo

generalmiaow wrote: »

Thanks - I am guessing this corresponds to the first image:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=21151

That's the exact brand and model of pin spanner I have. It does most bottom brackets with small holes, as far as I know. I only tried it on one bottom bracket (as I only ever had one bottom bracket that required it), and it worked on that.

doozerie

That green Park Tool pin spanner gives its pin diameter as 2.9mm - it'd be worth checking the holes on your bottom bracket cup with a vernier calipers to see if that pin spanner will fit, or an online check for details of that bottom bracket might tell you.

As an alternative, the pins on this adjustable Park Tool pin spanner are listed as 2.2mm which might make it a safer bet, albeit a more expensive one. Unfortunately though it's not clear even from Park Tool's own website whether it'll be problematic if used on a bottom bracket cup with 2.9mm diameter holes. I'd expect it'll work, but if the cup is seized in the frame then the extra play won't help when trying to move it.

Just as aside, I presume there was an outer lockring on that cup? If not then you'll need to use one if you plan on re-installing the same bottom bracket and you'll need the appropriate tool for it too (possibly this one, though it depends on your bottom bracket, or its equivalent in another brand).

tomasrojo

The lockring tool doozerie links to is also the exact make and model of lockring tool I have. It did every type of lockring I ever had to do, which was quite a few. Most of the bottom bracket cups I ever had had a protrusion that could be manipulated with a normal spanner, rather than a pin spanner, but they all needed a lockring tool.

My logic in getting the pin spanner was to go for the type mentioned most often. The bike shops weren't any use in helping me with "dinosaur" bikes, so I just took a risk on it working and bought it, and it did. If you can measure the size of the holes in the b.b., that would be better, obviously.

generalmiaow

doozerie wrote: »

That green Park Tool pin spanner gives its pin diameter as 2.9mm - it'd be worth checking the holes on your bottom bracket cup with a vernier calipers to see if that pin spanner will fit, or an online check for details of that bottom bracket might tell you.

As an alternative, the pins on this adjustable Park Tool pin spanner are listed as 2.2mm which might make it a safer bet, albeit a more expensive one. Unfortunately though it's not clear even from Park Tool's own website whether it'll be problematic if used on a bottom bracket cup with 2.9mm diameter holes. I'd expect it'll work, but if the cup is seized in the frame then the extra play won't help when trying to move it.

I just checked it with a vernier calipers, which I found remarkably hard to do, so I'll need to try it again in natural light, but I got 3.5mm! I don't believe such a pin spanner actually exists.

Just as aside, I presume there was an outer lockring on that cup? If not then you'll need to use one if you plan on re-installing the same bottom bracket and you'll need the appropriate tool for it too (possibly this one, though it depends on your bottom bracket, or its equivalent in another brand).

There is a locking (you can vaguely see it in the picture, sitting off to the side somewhere), but thanks!

generalmiaow

Just tried sticking some hex keys in there, a 2.5 metric one does, but not a 3. So I am going to hazard a guess that that these are 2.9mm holes.

For what it's worth, this is supposedly the original BB from a 1983 Raleigh Road Ace, but I can find little information so far.

doozerie

Good thinking to check with an allen key! It does sound like the 2.9mm spanner will fit and is probably your best bet. The smaller pin spanner would probably work too, but if the cup proves difficult to move then the extra play around the pins could make things a little trickier.

The adjustable spanner with the smaller pins has the advantage of probably being a bit more robust, but having said that I've used the red Park Tool pin spanner (basically the same as the green one above but with smaller pins) on a seized hub cup in the past and it stood up to a lot of abuse - it flexed a lot but did shift the cup so they are very robust despite just being a piece of bent metal.

JMJR

@OP
As you're in D14 you could take a trip out to Cyclesuperstore in Tallaght. I got the Park green pin spanner there, which is the one I think you need.

If you are using one to remove the BB cup you may need to ensure that the tool can only rotate in the one plane and that the arms of the tool don't flex. To do this you could try to part fit the chainwheel back onto the spindle to act as a clamp. ( I used an old BB cup , turned around so that it was face inwards. You may need some washers too so that the BB spindle bolt will keep everything together.
John

generalmiaow

Thanks for all the advice, it's really useful. I ordered the 2.9mm park tool. I'll update here just in case someone is searching for this....