In a message dated 5/12/10 11:58:22 AM, burl.simon@gmail.com writes:
> i am not a fan of the cottered crank; is it true or a myth that if you
> ride
> a cottered crank long enough the cotter pin will eventually shear off?
>
I was in Japan, about 1965, there were just about ALL bikes on road was cottered cranks, even better than average light weight sports bikes.
Sugino start selling copy of Stronglite/TA cotterless cranks set, however; the alloy material was not good enough to hold square tapers, so that if you take it off and on again and again, became loose. So we tried not take cranks off or not to tighten too much.
Shimano or Suntour had not yet made alloy cotterless crankset at that time period.
I just wondered, are you supposed to place a lubricant on cotterless shaft, and tighten as much as you can, thus the cheap/poor crank head split opens/damaged, anyone?
I have one Stronglite 49D. messed up, someone kept riding what it was loose, so its head was flared out. But I have never heard of cottered crank come loose or damaged such way. Only problem I experienced was, hitting the cotter pin so hard to take it out, the screw thread was compressed and could not use it again.
Regards,
KEN TODA, High Point, North Carolina, 20 min from our Webmaster's nest.