Does Campagnolo need a new BB/Crank design?

[saab2000]

Hello All,

I just got done reading the review by Chris Boardman of the Gios Carbon in the latest issue of ProCycling.

In it, he generally has praise for the Record groupset, but says that the crank/BB interface is outdated and no longer up to the standards of the modern technology. He claims it is not stiff enough.

I have Record cranks and BBs on several bikes and have never felt that they were not stiff enough, but I have also never used any of the more "modern" cranks like the splined DA or the new megacrank from Shimano. Everyone who has used them says the rider can really feel the difference.

Is it time for Campagnolo to use a similar (ISIS anyone) interface with their new carbon crankset? What are peoples' thoughts on this?

On my travel bike I have Record. And each time I travel I have to remove and reinstall the crankset. I am afraid that this will ultimately destroy the crank. All that holds it on is friction and compression. I am not an engineer, but it seems like there must be a better way.

Any thoughts?

[Too Tall]

Your good old taper BB design will withstand many many re-installs as long as it is never over-tightened....which is unlikely if you use a short wrench. 25ft lbs. is pretty standard and that pressure will hurt your palm using a campag. Peanutbutter wrench...for instance.

[Dr. Doofus]

I've never felt crank flex in my life, but then again I've never broken the 700-watt barrier, and my watts @ LT were only 370-375....

I love the looks of Campy cranks...the new DA 10 is butt-ugly

[jerk]

crank flex is the biggest bunch of b.sr. hoisted upon the bike buying public since biopace. cranks don't really flex. match sprinters putting out peak wattage of around 3000 watts seem to have no problem with record crank/bb assembly. the bottom bracket area of any frame is far more prone to flex than any bb/crank combo currently being used. if boardman was putting out the power to flex those cranks he would have pulled out of his look pedals even at the highest tension.
the fact is campy will probably be forced to change their crank/bb interface for stylistic and marketing reasons alone, but the real reasons shimano went splined was so they could make stuff lighter while preserving stiffness. the steel square taper is plenty tough enough, but the hollow aluminum octalink is lighter....now to other things....
the bearings in the campy design are much better than most splined systems. the jerk's ada square taper and the pmp bottom brackets spin smoother than anything....ever see musseuw and the other pros on their "old" d/a cranks...yup, pmp and/or ada bottom brackets......
new duraace does look pretty cool though. the outboard bearing allow one to use nice big balls (like ac/dc) again.

love,
the jerk

[dnovo]

The finish and the look of the new DA 10 is also far better than it looks in photos. Dave N.

[Dr. Doofus]

Dave --

I was wrong about our guy, but, I insist with all, as Syberberg would have it, "creative irrationality," that the new DA 10 is ugly. Its on a Colnago at the shop, and that crank is heavy and cloddish looking...its a doodad scavenged from the set of "Deep Space Nine," and best left there, in my opinion.

[dnovo]

Watched Deep Space Nine once, or at least the first five minutes. Right up there with Battlestar Galactica (or perhaps right down there?) Dave N.

[csm]

crank stiffness? like that really matters!

[Kevin]

saab2000,

I have 10,000 miles on one campy bb and 5,000 miles on another. I have never had a problem and have never noticed any flex. Unless you are having a problem with it, I would not replace it simply because of what is written in a magazine.

Kevin