Jerry wrote:
> There were definite drawbacks to the softer Stronglight alloy. Besides the
> greater wear, I'm convinced this contributed to the seizing problem. In my
> experience, this can be prevented by very lightly greasing the axle before
> mounting the cranks, but this is not something all buyers would know to do,
> and maybe didn't get done on OE cranks.
I worked for what was without doubt one of the largest North American retailers of French components in the early 80's: Bicyclesport in Toronto. We were indeed one of the few retailers who was able to import Stronglight, TA, Maxi-car, Mafac, Pélissier, Maillard... etc directly from the manufacturers, without resorting to dealing with 'importers' or wholesalers. As such, I had ample opportunity to try and observe the strengths and foibles of many of these makers.
On the positive side of using French components, it is my personal opinion that you should list such things as: - if you want an alloy headset, you cannot get better value than a Stronglight A9 (or newer equivalent) - I also think that the original sedisport chain and its newer equivalents are unmatched in quality and value - I have also admired the way the French hubmakers blazed the way with sealed bearings and cyclotourist user-friendliness, notwithstanding that I think that both of these features are solutions looking for a problem for all but a very small group of riders. There are obviously other advantages too.
On the negative side, the French also showed more than their share of failings. Speaking of cranks, one very common problem encountered with Stronglight and TA was related to both their 'softness' and the idea of needing to grease the BB/crank interface. Both brands showed up in inordinately large numbers among those turning up with stripped pedal threads, stripped crank removal threads and disformed BB/crank interface areas. Being the largest Canadian retailer of such parts, we obviously saw more than our fair share of problems with these parts, both because of our sales but much more often as nobody else carried and replacement parts whatsoever for them. I can honestly say to have installed more pedal thread helicoils in French alloy cranks in one year than I have seen of broken Campagnolo cranks, or of Campagnolo ones with stripped threads in my whole life. Whether the crank is broken or the pedal strips out, the crank is not usable. The number of unusable cranks was also increased by the habit of greasing the interface area as mentioned by Jerry. In many cases, it also led to many unwary shop mechanics to overtighten these 'softer' cranks, as the combo of softer crank and grease meant that using the 'standard amount of torque used for virtually any other crank around led to overtightening on these. This overtightening has destroyed numerous cranks prematurely. While this would spare the owner the danger of a suddenly breaking Campagnolo crank, it would nonetheless make the crank unusable. In my books a crank rendered unusable, no matter how, is not acceptable. If you then add the great difficulty in finding the replacements for the far less durable French brand chainrings, I can't question anybody who chose Campagnolo, warts and all.
So what did I use at the time you may ask. The three bikes with which I rode the greatest distances on all had (and still have) ostensibly French cranksets: one with Stronglight (the early 80's model with the Campagnolo NR/SR compatible chainrings where I switched to Campagnolo rings, bought with shop discount), one with Mavic (do we know where these were made? again with Campagnolo chainrings, also bought with shop discount) and one with TA. The TA was chosen for use on my tandem by the previous owner and I gladly stuck with them as they offered me the best large chainring availability, given the unique situation in our shop (The tandem was previously set up with a 46/56/66 and is now set up with a more sedate 40/50/60). Being the poor university student that I was at the time, had I not had the very favorable shop discount, I would likely have gone for a Sugino, Ofmega or Gipiemme (with Campagnolo replacement rings as soon as the originals wore out.) As you will be able to see from any of my bikes, no deification of Messieurs/Sigg. Juy, Huret, Gormand, Nieddu or Campagnolo...etc just respect where respect is due.
--
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ
> There were definite drawbacks to the softer Stronglight alloy. Besides the
> greater wear, I'm convinced this contributed to the seizing problem. In my
> experience, this can be prevented by very lightly greasing the axle before
> mounting the cranks, but this is not something all buyers would know to do,
> and maybe didn't get done on OE cranks. I recently had to negotiate the
> price on a model 104 crank I purchased when I found lots of chisel marks on
> the back of the left crank where someone had dirven it off the axle with a
> hammer and chisel. At least they didn't strip the crank threads before
> pulling out the hammer and chisel. Personally, I'd rather grease axle
> tapers on Stronglight (and replace chainrings more often) than file spiders
> on Campy cranks, but that's just a personal preference. I never had any
> problem with Stronglight BB's except you need to purchase the proper tools
> for removing the fixed cups and learn the cryptic codes for what thread the
> fixed cup is.
>
> Before anyone else decides to blackball me as an eBay buyer, I should point
> out that the price negotiation on the mod 104 was for one I received by
> mistake when I actually bought a 49D. The negotiation was over what price I
> would pay to keep the 104 he sent me by mistake rather than returning it.
> After I descibed the damage in detail, the buyer and I came to an amiable
> agreement which recognized the cosmetic issues including chisel marks. He
> promptly delivered the 49Ds and I left positive feedback, citing quick
> resolution of a shipping error, remembering Greg Parker's statement that he
> is more positively impressed by quick and fair resolution of problems than
> by Super Seller AAA+++ rave feedbacks. Of course some sellers may take the
> position I should have overlooked the fact I received a model 104 with a lot
> of chisel marks instead of the excellent mod 49D I paid for. To those guys
> I say "Be my guest, blackball away!"
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Houston, TX
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Harris" <bianchipan@yahoo.com>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2004 4:30 PM
> Subject: [CR]Too soft and frequent siezure good?Hard and cracks bad?
>
>
> > Is it fair to say that both designs have failings?We had to cut
> Stronglight 93 off of
> > my brothers PX-10.Or heat it to soften it too much.And then we have that
> wonderful Stronglight fixed cup and BB!But I do like all of the cranks in
> question.They are almost
> > human-less than perfect.
> > I am done,Harris,22980
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> > Do you Yahoo!?
> > Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online