Greetings All. I have previously looked into the matter of NR crankset stress cracks so mewhat extensively when I got my first set a few years ago, and learned the following: Does the NR crankset ever fail ? Yes. Especially with strong riders using the same cranks over many seaso ns. I have seen good pictures of such failures, as well as among other b rands, on the web, but cant remember the site. A google search for "c rank failure" or the like should do it. A older mechanic/racer told me that he had snapped two of them during sp rints years ago before deciding to permanently switch to another brand. At a very fit 175 lbs, he certainly looked capable of putting trememendo us force on the cranks. He told me that non-racers weighing less than hi m need not worry, unless the crank is damaged during a crash thus weaken ing its ability to absorb further stress. Conversely, Richard Sachs told me that he had never seen one break. Conversely, Jobst Brant told me he had seen many break, not only at the spider but also at the pedal eye. Conversely, Alan, the previous owner of bike classics, told me that he h ad seen only a couple break in 20 or so years. He said it was a premium part built in great number to great success and that I should enjoy the cranks but inspect for cracks annually at least and discard at first sig n, as, unlike steel, aluminum when it fails does so catastrophically. I took his advice and am crack-free so far. Does filing before cracks are seen help ? The jury is out on this one. The argument in favor being that the thin s pider/crank interface allows easier crack propogation than the thicker i nterface that results from filing. Like trying to tear a phone book with out starting at an angle.