Bankrupt surplus Full Bottom Bracket Set Incl Cotterless Axle Spindle, Cups, Lock Ring - 130mm axle length x 73mm bottom Bracket

Whilst overhauling my 20-year-old Raleigh Boulder mountain bike, I realised that the old crank axle & both bearing cups were badly worn & scored, and it was impossible to adjust the axle to run smoothly without wobble. The new axle is in fact black, as are the bearing cups- which I actually prefer to chrome, as it gives my bike a nice look.I removed the supplied bearing cages (which had 10 x 1/4" ball bearings each), and instead used 11 x 1/4" loose Weldite balls in each side, held in place with Lithium grease (see photo). Loose bearings are generally better than caged ones, as the load is distributed over more ball bearings, and they are freer to rotate. The dimensions of the new axle are almost exactly the same as my old one, except one of the ends is few mm shorter. This doesn't make any difference. The other difference is that the crank is held onto the axle with bolts, rather than nuts. Note that the bolts supplied aren't really the correct type- they should really be flange bolts with wider heads, so as not to dig into the crank centre as they're tightened. If you use the supplied bolts, you should really use an M8 x 20mm washer under each bolt head. I've knocked a star off for this reason, and also because I think the kit is a little pricey.So:-These bearing cups are the standard 24 TPI threading, left-hand thread on the right (sprocket) side-The distance between the outer edges of the bearing surfaces on the axle is 52mm. From the outer bearing edge to the end of the axle, one side is 40mm, the other is 37mm. The whole axle is 130mm long. The width of the axle is 16mm-The crank kit is intended for a standard 68mm-wide bottom bracket shellNow my crank axle is running very smoothly! I'm very pleased with my purchase- although a couple of washers should have been provided for the bolts which hold the cranks to the axles. Or even better, flanged bolts. My kit arrived quickly, and was well packaged.

Tim at Firecloud was very very helpful and kind. I ordered the incorrect spindle length (my mistake) was asked to return and the correct one was sent to me immediately. No problem at all. I would highly recommend.