Yes, I've seen these before, and they are pretty spectacular, but they were collected at a shop whose customers collectively did millions of miles of lifetime riding. What ones doesn't know is if these failures were sudden and unexpected, of if they were the result of crashes or of ignoring, or failing to check for, cracks which would have called for replacement before these major failures occured. And if one is inclined to be paranoid about aluminum, it is good to remember that the broken Campy spindles shown are made of steel, a material not subject to the metal fatigue associated with aluminum.
So if you find this stuff unduly upsetting, I guess the answer would be to avoid Campy equipment, or maybe not ride at all. I'm not ready to do either, as my reaction to these is that they are probably the consequence of not checking components regularly to find serious cracks before they cause problems. Of course, one doesn't inspect BB spindles before every ride, but the failure of a steel spindle is probably due to a manufacturing defect. If one believes that such defects are common in Campy BB's (I don't) one can use a Phil BB, or some other alternative. One would like to believe that newer cranks are less prone to failure as the result of engineeering changes motivated in part by fear of product liability lawsuits. This may or may not be true in general, although Campy's newer designs have reportedly greatly reduced to incidence of cracking at the crank spider.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX
> I have posted this site in the past, but maybe it would be a good time
> for a revisit?
>
> http://pardo.net/
>
> Chuck Schmidt
> South Pasadena, Southern California
>
>
> Jerry & Liz Moos wrote:
> >
> > We've had this discussion before in terms of the risk of riding old
aluminum
> > components, including frames. I'm of the "dare devil" school who rides
them
> > and doesn't worry much about it. I should qualify this by saying that I
do
> > inspect parts frequently, especially those with a reputation for
breaking,
> > like Campy cranks and AVA bars and stems. Old parts do definitely fail
(of
> > course so do new ones), but a given rider will experience only a few
such
> > failures in a lifetime, and in the vast majority of cases a crack will
be
> > noticed on a pre-ride or post-ride inspection before any effect is felt.
> > Even when a component cracks during a ride, it usually just causes
excessive
> > flex in the part, which calls for riding home at a slower pace which
> > minimizes stress on the cracked component. Usually the very worst that
> > happens is that one has a long walk home. Of course, one hears horror
> > stories of crank arms breaking completely off during a furious sprint,
or
> > bars or brakes failing suddenly on a 60 mph descent, but I believe such
> > occurrences are extemely rare. I've never been injured or even come
close
> > due to a component other than tires failing. I would say at least 95%
of
> > bicycle injuries are caused by careless motorists, unexpected road
surface
> > hazards, or the carelessness of the cyclist himself, including failure
to
> > have proper lights at night. Of the 5% caused by equipment, nearly all
are
> > because of grossly negligent maintenance, like nonfunctioning brakes, or
by
> > a tire blowing out at a dangerous moment. The chance of being injured
by
> > the failure of a component other than tires is, in my opinion, not much
> > greater than that of being struck by lightning. Other than diligent
> > inspection of parts, I refuse to be worried about.
> >
> > As to Campy cranks specifically, many develop tiny cracks, some of which
you
> > almost need a magnifying glass to see, but this relaively infrequently
> > causes any noticeable effect on performance, let alone the crank
breaking
> > entirely apart. Though I prefer French or Zeus equipment, I have had
> > several bikes with Campy NR/SR cranks. The only NR crank I've ever had
to
> > replace was on my 1968 Allegro Special, and that crack was not at the
> > spider, or even on the right arm. I noticed on a post-ride inspection
that
> > the left crank pedal hole was cracked all the way through, and promply
> > replaced it with no harm done (except to my budget).
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Jerry "I don't ride in lightning storms" Moos
> > Houston, TX
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Jim Robb" <px10le@hotmail.com>
> > To: <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> > Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 9:32 AM
> > Subject: [CR]Desperately seeking C Record
> >
> > > Greeting fellow list members,
> > > I am looking for a C Record crankset to replace the Super Record
version
> > on
> > > one of my bikes. I just can't seem to put away the fear that it is
going
> > to
> > > break off on me the next time I sprint for the city limit sign or
stomp up
> > a
> > > steep hill. I did file them at the radius where cracks usually occur
and
> > > check them religiously but the doubt persists. Plus I'm getting to
that
> > age
> > > where a 42 just doesn't cut it anymore. So if any of you have such a
crank
> > > in 172.5 and suitable for a daily rider please respond to me off the
list.
> > > Thanks very much,
> > > Jim Robb
> > > Granada Hills, CA