>>"Can you name one top end non-CNC crank made after the "classic" era that
has a page >>dedicated to it's failures."
>
>Now don't get me wrong, I think newer standard equipment like Ace and Record
is
>probably a bit less failure-prone than SR.
I don't know... A lot of that stuff hasn't been around long enough to really
tell (which would certainly explain the lack of pages). While I dearly love
the old bikes, I also love new technology and the amazing strides that have
been made in cycling componentry... but I have serious reservations about
some of the compromises we make these days for weight and fashion.
>My point was that the propensity of today's riders to buy new equipment
sooner may lead to >less heavily-used stuff out there on the bikes of serious
riders and therfore fewer failures.
Boy, you got that right! As an example, look at Campy's carbon fiber brake
levers. Strong and nice-looking, and very light. But will they last? I'm
pretty sure that the resin that holds the fibers together has a shorter
lifespan than most metals. And the fibers themselves probably fracture over
time (I remember my college roommate, a competitive skier, telling me years
ago that he replaced his fiberglass skis each season because every time you
flexed them a few fibers would break and they'd get "soupy" over time... does
carbon fiber behave this way as well? Failure may not be such a big deal
with a carbon brake lever, since you have two, but what about a bike frame or
crank?). I think there's a lot to be said for the "old stuff". Besides
being beautiful, it was for the most part quite durable... In spite of all
the messages about crank failures, look at all the classic bikes that have
survived and the great old components that are still available! Fewer "space
age" materials and more robust construction improved their survival rate, the
same way it has with classic cars (can you see one of today's plastic T-Birds
lasting as long as one from the 50's, given the same standard of care?).
>I'd like to get a modern Al bike soon...
Danger, Will Robinson!!! Dang, if it's hard to monitor Al fatigue in a crank, how hard is it to keep track of under a coat of paint! Don't gimme no aluminum, or carbon frames... Steel, that's the ticket. If I won the lottery and could get any frame I wanted, it would problably be one of Richard's. I guess if you twisted my arm and MADE me buy a new factory frame, maybe it would be a Lightspeed or some other titanium frame (as long as it's not one of the painted ones ;)
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA