Re: [CR] was: Campy BMX now: question for Chuck Schmidt

(Example: Framebuilders:Brian Baylis)

Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2001 17:06:45 -0800
From: "Chuck Schmidt" <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>
To: Tom Dalton <tom_s_dalton@yahoo.com>
Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR] was: Campy BMX now: question for Chuck Schmidt
References: <20011102223312.60847.qmail@web10902.mail.yahoo.com>


Tom Dalton wrote:
>
> Chuck Schmidt wrote:
> >I think those messengers are retightening their crank
> >bolts, a real no-no.
>
> Hello Chuck,
> Since traditional square-taper cranks will soon be a
> thing of the past* I think further discussion can be
> considered to have classic content, and therefore be
> relevant to this list. Am I reaching?
> (* what Shimano innovation hasn't Campy copied
> lately?)
>
> All kidding aside, I have never heard of anyone
> recommending against retightening crank bolts. In
> fact, the standard practice is to retighten crank
> bolts at least once in the first couple hundred miles
> after installation. I've always applied this to new
> and used crankarms. I've also noticed that the amount
> of retightening needed on high-end cranks is far less
> than on mid-grade cranks. Why do you describe
> retightening as a "no-no"?

What I really meant to say was _continual_ retightening.


> While we're on the subject...
> Has anyone heard that Campy recommended replacement of
> the crank bolts every time the crank was reinstalled?
> I heard this somewhere, but I've never seen anything
> official. Seems hard to believe, since the bolts just
> aren't that stressed and failure is very rare (to say
> the least).

Automotive practice is to replace rather than reuse fasteners...

I agree that none of the bolts on a bike are stressed to any degree and this seems like overkill to me too.

Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, California