Specialites TA

We've been safely sending orders around the world since 2010. There's a handy shipping calculator on the shopping cart page so you can see the cost of postage as soon as you've added it to your basket. Your order will be carefully packed and sent with tracking & insurance, we despatch most orders within 2-3 working days but larger items can often take a little longer to process.

We accept returns, please notify us within 14 days and ensure the item arrives back with us no later than 30 days after the order was received.

We don't charge VAT, however, if buying from outside of the UK please remember that there may be import fees to pay (even with the new post-Brexit trade deals, some countries may charge you import VAT & clearance fees so please bear this in mind when purchasing).

We've been safely sending orders around the world since 2010. There's a handy shipping calculator on the shopping cart page so you can see the cost of postage as soon as you've added it to your basket. Your order will be carefully packed and sent with tracking & insurance, we despatch most orders within 2-3 days but larger items and orders placed before the weekend can take an extra day or two to process.

We accept returns, please notify us within 14 days and ensure the item arrives back with us no later than 30 days after the order was received.

We don't charge VAT, however, if buying from outside of the UK please remember that there may be import fees to pay directly to the delivery company before receiving the order. Unfortunately we can’t advise on the exact costs as it varies from country to country, so please check your national rates before purchasing.

Thread Type - this must match the bottom bracket thread on your frame. The 3 common thread types on classic and vintage bikes are English (also known as British or ISO), Italian & French, and are usually (not always!) found on frames built in their respective countries. If you're replacing a bottom bracket the cups should have the thread type stamped on one of them, if not there are a couple of things to look at; bottom bracket shell width (English & French = 68 mm, Italian = 70 mm) & drive side cup thread direction (English = left, Italian & French = right). The only curveball to watch out for here, although pretty uncommon, are Swiss threads (also found on some French frames, Motobecanes being one) which will have the same shell width & thread direction as an English thread frame but the actual thread pitch will be different. If none of the above matches what you have, there are a few lesser known varieties that will require some further research.

Axle Length - your crankset dictates the axle length you need and the recommendation should be used to avoid issues with chainline. If you're replacing a bottom bracket that works perfectly then this can be matched, otherwise you'll need to check the manufacturers spec, a good resource for older bikes is Velobase.

Axle Type - you can tell which type of axle you need just by looking at the shape of the bottom bracket hole in your crankset. The square taper axle came in two variations; JIS which was produced for cranksets made in Asia and ISO for cranksets made in Europe, these taper down to a slightly smaller end than JIS axles. There are a few exceptions such as some Sugino cranksets that required an ISO axle and some older Dura-Ace cranksests which used a shorter 'low profile' variation of the JIS taper. Ofmega/Avocet also had their own variaton of the ISO taper which is not compatible with any other type.

We've been safely sending orders around the world since 2010. There's a handy shipping calculator on the shopping cart page so you can see the cost of postage as soon as you've added it to your basket. Your order will be carefully packed and sent with tracking & insurance, we despatch most orders within 2-3 days but larger items and orders placed before the weekend can take an extra day or two to process.

We accept returns, please notify us within 14 days and ensure the item arrives back with us no later than 30 days after the order was received.

We don't charge VAT, however, if buying from outside of the UK please remember that there may be import fees to pay directly to the delivery company before receiving the order. Unfortunately we can’t advise on the exact costs as it varies from country to country, so please check your national rates before purchasing.

Thread Type - this must match the bottom bracket thread on your frame. The 3 common thread types on classic and vintage bikes are English (also known as British or ISO), Italian & French, and are usually (not always!) found on frames built in their respective countries. If you're replacing a bottom bracket the cups should have the thread type stamped on one of them, if not there are a couple of things to look at; bottom bracket shell width (English & French = 68 mm, Italian = 70 mm) & drive side cup thread direction (English = left, Italian & French = right). The only curveball to watch out for here, although pretty uncommon, are Swiss threads (also found on some French frames, Motobecanes being one) which will have the same shell width & thread direction as an English thread frame but the actual thread pitch will be different. If none of the above matches what you have, there are a few lesser known varieties that will require some further research.

Axle Length - your crankset dictates the axle length you need and the recommendation should be used to avoid issues with chainline. If you're replacing a bottom bracket that works perfectly then this can be matched, otherwise you'll need to check the manufacturers spec, a good resource for older bikes is Velobase.

Axle Type - you can tell which type of axle you need just by looking at the shape of the bottom bracket hole in your crankset. The square taper axle came in two variations; JIS which was produced for cranksets made in Asia and ISO for cranksets made in Europe, these taper down to a slightly smaller end than JIS axles. There are a few exceptions such as some Sugino cranksets that required an ISO axle and some older Dura-Ace cranksests which used a shorter 'low profile' variation of the JIS taper. Ofmega/Avocet also had their own variaton of the ISO taper which is not compatible with any other type.