>>1216724These french cranks are terrible D:
Last summer I accidentally managed to acquire two bikes with this "terrible 70s French contraption" as a bike shop guy expressed it. In the end, I managed to score a new 53/44 gear that even fitted! Too bad the front axle or the triangular base is slightly warped, but is usable. Planning to start banging it with blunt force to see if it's repairable. Unfortunately the whole bearing is kind of embedded to the frame, so one would need some serious machining ability. In the end I just cleaned it and put in new grease.
There were also the terrible wedge nuts, that I needed to replace, because the previous owner hadn't read his Sheldon Brown and didn't know that one tightens them by hammering and then tightening the nut and not just by the nut alone; it's not nearly strong enough. Welp, went to this bike shop I'd found which I call "the bikeshop for the attitude problemed people", the guy just understands the kind of ghetto preservionist attitude one has.
Sigh, would need a new front tire, went great lengths to get it straightened after a drunken screwup, would need a new front wheel which would mean whiling the fork because of course the axle is some weird non-standard size too. Thank god I grew up in the countryside, where this sort of thing gets transferred by blood.
Also, the brakes are terrible.
