Bottom Bracket - 03

BOTTOM BRACKET:
Pino International, Ltd. (Pino Morroni) - cartridge type bottom bracket for 70 mm shell - 4140 chrome molybdenum hollow steel spindle - square taper - 117 mm width with 4 mm drive side asymmetrical offset - MRC 1903S annular sealed bearings - 36 mm x 24 TPI Italian thread aluminum alloy cartridge shell (non-drive side - right threading / drive side - also right threading) - aluminum alloy threaded sealing caps with Teflon washers - model PCHA : O.M.A.S. aluminum alloy lock rings - 36 mm x 24 TPI Italian thread - 4 mm width - quantity two (one right and one left) - model 140 : O.M.A.S. crank bolts and washers - Black anodized aluminum alloy - M8 x 1.00 x 20 mm bolts with 15 mm head / M8 flat washers : grouped model 167 ... [Correct and original, with the notable exception of those O.M.A.S. aluminum alloy crank bolts, washers, and cartridge assembly lock rings which happen to be period appropriate replacements of my own choosing. Whereas the custom painted lightweight crank bolts and washers are substitutions for unbranded and otherwise generic in appearance steel originals, those O.M.A.S. alloy lock rings are replacements for the mismatched chromed steel versions that came mounted on this particular bicycle (...it had a common Campagnolo model 747 Italian threaded lock ring on the drive side of the bottom bracket and a similarly chrome plated version of unknown origin on the non-drive side). My personal conjecture is that Pino decided to use whatever "bright and shiny" lock rings he had on hand in lieu of his typical alloy versions because he thought them more suitable given the highly unusual chrome plated bottom bracket shell against which they were to be abutted. Of course, I could be wrong in my speculation here. However, in support of this theory I would point out that this bike was procured in an absolutely untouched and unaltered state and it is the only authentic Pino Morroni frameset I have ever seen having a fully chrome plated bottom bracket shell as well as the only Pino Morroni cartridge bottom bracket assembly I know to have been fitted from the onset with chrome plated lock rings ... AND ... lest I forget to mention, this bicycle was originally presented as a gift to the owner of the shop which had been doing all of the chrome plating work for Pino’s various projects, hence the inordinate amount of "flash" found in evidence. Pino originally developed his unique sealed bottom bracket assembly back in 1970 and its pioneering design proved to be a forerunner of those cartridge units which are so commonplace in the cycling world today. Perhaps the most idiosyncratic aspect of the Professional Crank Hub Assembly (PCHA) as it was known was the fact that it required a bottom bracket shell have its threads cut all the way through from one side to the other in a single continuous pass as though it were being line bored using an extra long tap so that the threading of the respective sides of said shell was uniformly registered (...i.e. it does not use individual cups as the cartridge itself is threaded - therefore, those corresponding thread grooves on each side of the bottom bracket shell had to line up EXACTLY in order to achieve proper installation). This arrangement essentially necessitated that one package up and send off their complete bicycle frameset to Pino so that he might prep its bottom bracket shell in order to fit one of these cartridge units - a requirement that effectively precluded mass production and subsequent sales on any type of large scale. Still, his ultra smooth bottom brackets were used by some of the top name racers from that era including Wayne Stetina who rode one when he won the Time Trial competition at the 1975 U.S. Nationals as well as the 1976 and 1977 edition of the Senior Men’s Road Race, his younger brother Dale Stetina who spun a similar one of these in the process of winning his 1978 U.S. Nationals Senior Men’s Road Race title, and Greg Lemond who employed both a PCHA bottom bracket assembly and custom built Pino wheelset when he took home a Silver medal at the 1979 Junior World Championships.]