Octalink BB spindle length

[Peter Howard]

I want to change over to a Shimano Octalink BB on an MTB, mostly because the
current square taper crankset is a cheapish and worn one with riveted
chainwheels and I happen to have on hand a new Shimano M443 crankset with
bolted chainwheels and Octalink fixing.

My first question is, if the current square taper cartridge has a 113m
spindle, does it follow that a 113mm Octalink cartridge is the one to get to
maintain the same chainline? It's a Giant frame with 35mm seat tube.

Next question. The LBS (in Australia) finds that Octalink BBs are on back
order at the wholesaler, though they are to be had on Ebay. I get the
impression from previous posts on this NG that Shimano has decided that
Octalink was A Bad Idea and replacement parts will disappear in the
forseeable future. What's the alternative for the future needs of my bicycle
fleet? Back to square taper? Or try to figure out the newer generation of
external bearing BBs and compatible cranksets?

I have to add that the LBS is useless for advice. When I went looking for an
Octalink BB there, all they had on the shelf was ISIS and the owner ASSURED
me that it would fit an Octalink crankarm. I spinelessly wormed out of
pointing out the difference between eight splines and ten splines by saying
I really preferred Shimano brand if they would order one for me.

Peter H

 

[M-gineering]

Peter Howard wrote:
> I want to change over to a Shimano Octalink BB on an MTB, mostly because the
> current square taper crankset is a cheapish and worn one with riveted
> chainwheels and I happen to have on hand a new Shimano M443 crankset with
> bolted chainwheels and Octalink fixing.
>
> My first question is, if the current square taper cartridge has a 113m
> spindle, does it follow that a 113mm Octalink cartridge is the one to get to
> maintain the same chainline? It's a Giant frame with 35mm seat tube.
>
> Next question. The LBS (in Australia) finds that Octalink BBs are on back
> order at the wholesaler, though they are to be had on Ebay. I get the
> impression from previous posts on this NG that Shimano has decided that
> Octalink was A Bad Idea and replacement parts will disappear in the
> forseeable future. What's the alternative for the future needs of my bicycle
> fleet? Back to square taper? Or try to figure out the newer generation of
> external bearing BBs and compatible cranksets?
>
> I have to add that the LBS is useless for advice. When I went looking for an
> Octalink BB there, all they had on the shelf was ISIS and the owner ASSURED
> me that it would fit an Octalink crankarm. I spinelessly wormed out of
> pointing out the difference between eight splines and ten splines by saying
> I really preferred Shimano brand if they would order one for me.
>
> Peter H
>
>
113 for 47.5mm chainline, 118 mm for 50mm (and you want the long (mtb
type) octalink spline : ES25, ES51

--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

 

[Peter Howard]

"M-gineering" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Peter Howard wrote:
>> I want to change over to a Shimano Octalink BB on an MTB, mostly because
>> the current square taper crankset is a cheapish and worn one with riveted
>> chainwheels and I happen to have on hand a new Shimano M443 crankset
>> with bolted chainwheels and Octalink fixing.
>>
>> My first question is, if the current square taper cartridge has a 113m
>> spindle, does it follow that a 113mm Octalink cartridge is the one to get
>> to maintain the same chainline? It's a Giant frame with 35mm seat tube.
<snip by OP>
>> Peter H
> 113 for 47.5mm chainline, 118 mm for 50mm (and you want the long (mtb
> type) octalink spline : ES25, ES51
>
> --
> /Marten
>
> info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

Thank you for getting back so quickly Marten. Just what I needed to know,
and thanks for the reminder that I'll be wanting one of the long spline v2
ES series.

Peter H

 

[Sheldon Brown]

Peter Howard queried:

> My first question is, if the current square taper cartridge has a 113m
> spindle, does it follow that a 113mm Octalink cartridge is the one to get to
> maintain the same chainline?

The spindle length needed for one particular make/model of crank bears
NO relationship to whatever spindle length might be needed for some
other make/model of crank.

See also: http://sheldonbrown.com/bbsize

I'm particularly proud of my photographic illustration of 4 different
crank/bb interfaces at: http://sheldonbrown.com/bbsize.html#shimano

(Marten answered the rest of your questions nicely.)

Sheldon "bbsize" Brown
+--------------------------------------------+
| If it can't be expressed in figures, |
| it is not science; it is opinion. |
| --Robert A. Heinlein |
+--------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

 

[Joel Mayes]

On 2007-12-09, Peter Howard <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have to add that the LBS is useless for advice. When I went looking for an
> Octalink BB there, all they had on the shelf was ISIS and the owner ASSURED
> me that it would fit an Octalink crankarm. I spinelessly wormed out of
> pointing out the difference between eight splines and ten splines by saying
> I really preferred Shimano brand if they would order one for me.
>
> Peter H

Spill the beans, which store?

Cheers

Joel
--
Human Powered Cycles | High quality servicing and repairs
[email protected] | Affordable second hand bikes
(03) 9029 6504 | Bicycle reuse centre
www.humanpowered.com.au | Mechanical and on-road training and instruction

 

[Peter Howard]

"Joel Mayes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 2007-12-09, Peter Howard <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I have to add that the LBS is useless for advice. When I went looking for
>> an
>> Octalink BB there, all they had on the shelf was ISIS and the owner
>> ASSURED
>> me that it would fit an Octalink crankarm. I spinelessly wormed out of
>> pointing out the difference between eight splines and ten splines by
>> saying
>> I really preferred Shimano brand if they would order one for me.
>>
>> Peter H
>
> Spill the beans, which store?
>
> Cheers
>
> Joel
> --
> Human Powered Cycles | High quality servicing and repairs
> [email protected] | Affordable second hand bikes
> (03) 9029 6504 | Bicycle reuse centre
> www.humanpowered.com.au | Mechanical and on-road training and instruction

I would not like to say, Joel, because we have a choice of two (2) LBS
here in my provincial Queensland town. The other one is even worse and I
cannot afford to make myself persona non-grata at the one I frequent. The
keen and competent teenage mechanic is the one to see if you can bluff your
way past the front counter. I appreciate his skills very much when I have
something requiring expensive tools such as bottom bracket chase 'n face or
a headset fitted by the book. As a bit of a novice home bicycle mechanic I'm
pretty much on my own otherwise which is why I do a lot of mail order, have
several good manuals and hang around this NG asking elementary questions.
BTW, I like the humanpowered.com website. Have bookmarked it for thorough
exploration.

Peter H.

 

[Peter Howard]

"Sheldon Brown" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:3b62a816-e137-48f2-a818-d54f0eed4743@d27g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> Peter Howard queried:
>
>> My first question is, if the current square taper cartridge has a 113m
>> spindle, does it follow that a 113mm Octalink cartridge is the one to get
>> to
>> maintain the same chainline?
>
> The spindle length needed for one particular make/model of crank bears
> NO relationship to whatever spindle length might be needed for some
> other make/model of crank.
>
> See also: http://sheldonbrown.com/bbsize
>
> I'm particularly proud of my photographic illustration of 4 different
> crank/bb interfaces at: http://sheldonbrown.com/bbsize.html#shimano
>
> (Marten answered the rest of your questions nicely.)
>
> Sheldon "bbsize" Brown
> +--------------------------------------------+
> | If it can't be expressed in figures, |
> | it is not science; it is opinion. |
> | --Robert A. Heinlein |
> +--------------------------------------------+
> Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
> Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
> http://harriscyclery.com
> Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
> http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com
>
Ooh yeah, I should have mentioned that the original square taper bb and
crankset is also Shimano. I have previously perused the two references you
quoted and found them informative. You are rightfully proud of the bb photo
comparison. I have it permanently downloaded into my brain so I can tell
what I'm looking at at a glance.
Rightly or wrongly, I think of Shimano as the Microsoft of bicycle parts and
Campy and everyone else as Apple. I'm on a steep learning curve so I tend to
like mid range Shimano stuff solely because it is common, available and
reasonably simple to sort out what works with what, thanks in no small part
to the sheldonbrown web-pages. My Greenspeed trike has a 105 front
derailleur and I think that's real slick and upmarket.
The other week I came across a $15 Puch ten speed at the local garbage tip
recycle shop. Nice lugged frame with spear point flourishes, Huret
derailleur, Weinman brakes and Mavic rims. Fortunately, it appeared to be
the former property of a giant. I swear the top tube was 900mm off the
ground so I easily dissuaded myself from buying a whole lot of trouble when
I'm flat out coming to grips with modern bike parts.

Peter H

 

[Joel Mayes]

On 2007-12-10, Peter Howard <[email protected]> wrote:

> BTW, I like the humanpowered.com website. Have bookmarked it for thorough
> exploration.

Ta!

We're a small place but we try to have fun

I got to the ride one of the world's fastest (according to the owner)
electric recumbents last month, 0 -> 60 in under 4 seconds, sub 20
second laps on the nearby velodrome. $1000 of lithium-ion batteries
under the seat!

And tomorrow I'm rebuilding an early 30's frame by a (now defunct)
local frame builder, with all the correct period parts.

Can you think of a better job

Cheers

Joel

--
Human Powered Cycles | High quality servicing and repairs
[email protected] | Affordable second hand bikes
(03) 9029 6504 | Bicycle reuse centre
www.humanpowered.com.au | Mechanical and on-road training and instruction

 

[KnowWhen2HoldemKnowWhen2Foldem]

Since you were posting on BB I wonder if you know the answer to this
question:

I have a FSA SLK compact double crankset (model 8680) and MegaExo BB (model
BB-8000). I am thinking of replacing the MegaExo with DA Hollowtech BB
(model SM-FC 7800) but I am not sure if they are compatible for the FSA SLK
compact double.

Is it compatible?
If so, is the Shimano Cup tool compatible with the FSA cup?


"Peter Howard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Sheldon Brown" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:3b62a816-e137-48f2-a818-d54f0eed4743@d27g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>> Peter Howard queried:
>>
>>> My first question is, if the current square taper cartridge has a 113m
>>> spindle, does it follow that a 113mm Octalink cartridge is the one to
>>> get to
>>> maintain the same chainline?
>>
>> The spindle length needed for one particular make/model of crank bears
>> NO relationship to whatever spindle length might be needed for some
>> other make/model of crank.
>>
>> See also: http://sheldonbrown.com/bbsize
>>
>> I'm particularly proud of my photographic illustration of 4 different
>> crank/bb interfaces at: http://sheldonbrown.com/bbsize.html#shimano
>>
>> (Marten answered the rest of your questions nicely.)
>>
>> Sheldon "bbsize" Brown
>> +--------------------------------------------+
>> | If it can't be expressed in figures, |
>> | it is not science; it is opinion. |
>> | --Robert A. Heinlein |
>> +--------------------------------------------+
>> Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
>> Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
>> http://harriscyclery.com
>> Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
>> http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com
>>
> Ooh yeah, I should have mentioned that the original square taper bb and
> crankset is also Shimano. I have previously perused the two references you
> quoted and found them informative. You are rightfully proud of the bb
> photo comparison. I have it permanently downloaded into my brain so I can
> tell what I'm looking at at a glance.
> Rightly or wrongly, I think of Shimano as the Microsoft of bicycle parts
> and Campy and everyone else as Apple. I'm on a steep learning curve so I
> tend to like mid range Shimano stuff solely because it is common,
> available and reasonably simple to sort out what works with what, thanks
> in no small part to the sheldonbrown web-pages. My Greenspeed trike has a
> 105 front derailleur and I think that's real slick and upmarket.
> The other week I came across a $15 Puch ten speed at the local garbage tip
> recycle shop. Nice lugged frame with spear point flourishes, Huret
> derailleur, Weinman brakes and Mavic rims. Fortunately, it appeared to be
> the former property of a giant. I swear the top tube was 900mm off the
> ground so I easily dissuaded myself from buying a whole lot of trouble
> when I'm flat out coming to grips with modern bike parts.
>
> Peter H
>