Help sourcing a bottom bracket for a 1980s Gazelle Dutch city bike - Aardvark alert??

[Tyberius]

Looking for some help on finding a part. I have an 80s Gazelle that's my daily driver / don't care if it gets scratched bike. It has cottered pedals which kept coming loose no matter how many times I tightened the cotter pins. Finally disassembled the whole bottom bracket and found that the axle (and cotter pin) are both really worn past the point of resurfacing. I can't find a replacement either one to one or a more modern setup.

Picture of the axle attached, similar to most English/Dutch setups. So...the original setup is a 35mm press fit and the axle is about 144mm long with cottered, not tapered cranks.

The bike isn't worth anything but its been a decent ride and I hate to bin it but that's where she's heading if parts aren't available or its going to be a fortune in parts. I love over-investing in bikes but this ain't one of them.

Am I missing something or is this just an aardvark?

 

[juvela]

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Forum member @non-fixie shall be along momentarily with assistance.


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[Andrew Gorman]

That's a thompson bottom bracket- it's probably easiest to find one on ebay. Most bike shops will give you a slack jawed stare.

 

[non-fixie]

Although my country is still full of bicycles with these bottom brackets, I try to limit myself to lightweight stuff with threaded shells. Sorry about that.

I have no experience with them, but did a quick check and 35mm Thompson replacements are available. However, I haven't found that particular length yet. What I did find is generally pretty cheap, though.

Here is an example: Sunrace Bottom Bracket With Cotter Pin 136Mm 35Mm Press-Fit

An alternative with more options may be to switch to square taper, but you'd need a matching pair of cranks: Kinex Bottom Bracket 35 x 138.5mm - Black

There seem to be also more options in 40mm, but whether those spindles would work with your cups and cones, I don't know:

M-Wave Crankshaft Thompson 148 / 15.8 mm

 

[Tyberius]

Thanks for the info! - Based on what non-fixie sent, I've been able to find one (in Europe) similar in 35mm press fit, the axle is slightly longer which I will look to see if its going to matter. Otherwise....