Jan Heine wrote:
>
(snip)
> The reason for the cottered design was that racers echewed aluminum
> cranks mostly because the Q factor (distance between pedals) was
> larger. They were very picky about that, and chainline, less so about
> weight. (Almost all used steel-railed saddles when they could have
> taken 200 g off their bikes with an aluminum-railed Ideale.)
I have never heard of any concern about Q factor until the last 10 or 15 years.
What I have heard that was a concern to pro racers was a distrust of aluminum cranks and aluminum bars because of breakage. Steel cranks and steel bars and stems being used right up through the sixties in the pro ranks.
Anyone else care to contribute?
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California
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