Wheel spacing problem + BB question

[Attitudeless Badger]

I have bought a pair of 700cc Mavic wheels (with QR skewers) second hand for a cheap and cheerful fixie.  The problem I have, and I don't know if I am using the correct technical terms here, is that the wheels seem to be held on the axle by some form of circular clip (like a C or horseshoe) rather than nuts.  Has anyone ever come across this before?   If I spring the clip off, is it easy to get back on?  If it is a problem, can I use the axles from my old 27" wheels?  Hope this makes sense.

Also, as an aside, can you buy bottom bracket spindles seperately?  The old one is a mid 80's Raleigh fitting, but I have a set of Campag cranks to fit instead.  The square holes in the campag cranks appear smaller than existing crank.  Can I get away with just a spindle, or will I need to get a new bottom bracket?

Cheers

[Biggsy]

You can sometimes find spindles separately for the old (cup & cone) type of BB.

So your frame has Raleigh BB threads?  That's a bit of a bugger.

[border-rider]

Do you know what the hubs are ?

If they're 501s then there's a procedure.  Check out www.fixieFAQs.org.uk where there's a pdf telling you how

If the BB spindle is square-taper then it will be about the right size for the crank - although Shimano and Campag have different taper lengths, the spindle is the same thickness (more or less)

[Attitudeless Badger]

Having looked this morning, the wheels are MA40s, if that means anything to you.  Reading the link on fixieFAQs, I think I can see what needs to be done.  Just need the confidence and time to get my fingers dirty.  With regards the square taper, the raleigh cranks I have taken off appear to be 14mm sq diameter, but the campag chorus cranks appear to be 13mm.   If all else fails, presumably I could try to file open a bit the inside of the campag ones.

[border-rider]

MA40 is the rim.

I don't think that filing the cranks is a great idea.  The axle is tapered, so the hole in the front of the crank will be smaller than the one in  the back anyway.  I don't think there is an axle taper that's 1 mm smaller than the usual.  Biggsy may be along in a while to correct me of course

[Attitudeless Badger]

Thanks for explaining that, MV.  I think I may have measured from different sides.  Complicated things these bikes 

[MSeries]

Does the crank slide on to the BB ? Can you get the bolt or nut on ? Not sure what you mean by 14mm sq diameter btw, not relevant anyway. When you say mid 80s Raleigh fitting, what exactly do you mean ? Do you know for sure that it is not standard English thread specs ?

[border-rider]

If those are Mavic 501 hubs on MA40 rims, it's a nice wheelset by the way

[Attitudeless Badger]

Does the crank slide on to the BB ? Can you get the bolt or nut on ? Not sure what you mean by 14mm sq diameter btw, not relevant anyway. When you say mid 80s Raleigh fitting, what exactly do you mean ? Do you know for sure that it is not standard English thread specs ?

The crank does not easily slide onto the BB, certainly not the whole way.  I can start to get the nut on, but then the crank seems to pull tight too soon rather than  settling into it's normal position.  The 14mm fig refers to the rough (measured with tape measure rather than vernier gauge/callipers) distance across the square, ie we have a 14 x 14 square, if that makes more sense.  As far as the thread fittings go, I am not sure at all on the thread specs.  All I know is that the bike is a Raleigh Nova sport and was bought in 1985. Sorry for the lack of knowledge/clear info, your responses are much appreciated.

[border-rider]

When you say that it pulls tight too soon, do you mean that the crank isn't really going onto the taper properly, or that it does but that when it tightens down the crank is too far outboard of the bike frame ?

[MSeries]

The BB  shell (the part of the frame that the BB fits into) may be standard spec. My Raleigh Royal from 1986 was.  If so you should be able to fit a new Campag sealed BB that your Campag cranks will fit onto properly. Are there any markings on the BB cups ?

[Attitudeless Badger]

I would say the former.  It is not that the spindle is too long, but that the cranks do not fit on it "cleanly".

Looking at the internet , it would appear these could well be 501 hubs.  Not a bad find for 10€!

[hubner]

As far as I know Mavic hub parts are not interchangeable with other hubs.

An 80s Raleigh would have standard British threaded bottom brackets, at least for their "lightweight" bikes. Filing the cranks is definitely not a good idea, it would be virtually impossible to file it to the right shape, the cranks then would not fit on the bottom bracket axle properly.

[Attitudeless Badger]

Having done some research, could the cranks problem be down to ISO v JIS tapers?  I think I may have to invest in a new BB, methinks. 

On Edit:  Does anyone know the French for Pin Spanner, as I will also be needing one of these?