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#1
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Why the holes in old BB shells?
I never understood why older racing frames have big holes in their BB
shells. Is this to drain water, to allow flushing and re-greasing without disassembly, or just to look cute, with heart shaped holes and such? This always seemed stupid to me, because of road spray, etc. ??? Matt O. |
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#2
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Why the holes in old BB shells?
Matt O'Toole writes:
I never understood why older racing frames have big holes in their BB shells. Is this to drain water, to allow flushing and re-greasing without disassembly, or just to look cute, with heart shaped holes and such? This always seemed stupid to me, because of road spray, etc. I recall that the keyhole slot in the seat tube was deeper than the clamping depth for the seat post and that spray from the rear wheel could enter to fill the bottom of the frame with water. To avoid this, we made sure there was liberal grease in that slot. Then someone started drilling a hole in the center of the BB to let the water out, after which the idea was widely imitated. Various logos were cut to make even larger openings, so much so that the shell had no lateral strength and developed nonparallel faces in use. Yes, I found that to be stupid because it did not address the problem of allowing water to enter, aside from being an inexcusable structural weak spot. Jobst Brandt |
#3
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Why the holes in old BB shells?
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#4
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Why the holes in old BB shells?
either BB Borers or an advanced thought condensation eliminator |
#5
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Why the holes in old BB shells?
In article ,
Martin Borsje wrote: What comes in must go out! Wherefore else holes in the fork tube ends (4x)? Venting to allow hot air out of the tube when brazing, which would otherwise force itself out through the joint causing spattering of molten brass or silver. It's not necessary when the tube is open on the ends, which is the case in the main frame tubes. The vent holes should be closed by the framebuilder at the end of brazing, as they serve no purpose after the frame is built. Indeed, they are a water infiltration point. |
#6
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Why the holes in old BB shells?
On Sat, 01 Dec 2007 12:57:09 -0600, Tim McNamara
wrote: In article , Martin Borsje wrote: What comes in must go out! Wherefore else holes in the fork tube ends (4x)? Venting to allow hot air out of the tube when brazing, which would otherwise force itself out through the joint causing spattering of molten brass or silver. It's not necessary when the tube is open on the ends, which is the case in the main frame tubes. The vent holes should be closed by the framebuilder at the end of brazing, as they serve no purpose after the frame is built. Indeed, they are a water infiltration point. Why not keep the bottom bracket totally sealed and vent the seat tube externally to drain accumulated moisture?? (other than the problem of keeping the weeping hole from plugging up??) -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com |
#7
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Why the holes in old BB shells?
On Sat, 01 Dec 2007 13:05:49 -0500, Matt O'Toole
wrote: I never understood why older racing frames have big holes in their BB shells. Is this to drain water, to allow flushing and re-greasing without disassembly, or just to look cute, with heart shaped holes and such? This always seemed stupid to me, because of road spray, etc. ??? Matt O. Dear Matt, On the lower right is the largest hole in the bottom of a bike that I've found so far, an 1890s Spalding: http://www.nostalgic.net/pictures/1720.htm But the two small holes suggest that there may have been a cover plate. Unfortunately, pictures of the underside of the bottom bracket shell are as rare as photos peeking up the hairy nostrils of Playboy models. Here's an extensive gallery of bike frame pornography, with nary a shot of the underside of the BB shell: http://www.velostuf.com/velostufgallerybikes+frames.htm Cheers, Carl Fogel |
#8
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Why the holes in old BB shells?
Matt O'Toole wrote:
I never understood why older racing frames have big holes in their BB shells. Is this to drain water, to allow flushing and re-greasing without disassembly, or just to look cute, with heart shaped holes and such? This always seemed stupid to me, because of road spray, etc. Remember the 3 Stooges? There was a standard gag they had with Curly in a boat that was half full of water, and he drilled holes in the bottom to let the water out. This is similar. -- David L. Johnson Let's not escape into mathematics. Let's stay with reality. -- Michael Crichton |
#9
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Why the holes in old BB shells?
Martin Borsje wrote:
What comes in must go out! Wherefore else holes in the fork tube ends (4x)? Those holes have nothing to do with water. If you tried to weld or braze a tube at both ends, the air inside would expand as you worked, and would push out the brazing or welding you were doing. Those holes provide pressure relief so that the brazing or welding would hold. -- David L. Johnson Let's not escape into mathematics. Let's stay with reality. -- Michael Crichton |
#10
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Why the holes in old BB shells?
getting into the xams cheer early ? |
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