I highly recommend TA pedal washers for all NR and SR cranks. I have been using them for many years. I think they help prevent this problem. They are available from Harris Cyclery.
Joe Bell
San Diego
> There was a discussion about SR crank failures a month or so ago. I
looked
> at my cranks but apparently did not look close enough, and I looked at the
> spider area most critically instead of where the crank broke. Mine that
> broke was an undated track crank just marked "165 PISTA" with the 144mm
bolt
> circle. The crank broke at the eye where the pedal mounted. Now looking
at
> it, it appears that the metal at the break point is discolored in one
area,
> which seems to indicate (to me) that there had been a hairline crack there
> for a while. I had also previously noticed an occasional 'clicking' in
the
> BB area, and had tightened crank bolts, chainring bolts, etc. in an effort
> to clear that noise up. Apparently the noise was an early indication of
> pending failure, although I now believe that if I had looked more
carefully
> I would have seen the crack.
>
> Since having a crank break can be painful, (I hit the pavement rather
> quickly) I would suggest taking another close look at your vintage Campy
> cranks. I had previously retired a 175mm SR road crank due to a crack at
> the spider. (Now I have two orphan left crank arms)
>
> Ben Sanford
> Falls Church, VA