The %@(%$# folks who had the bike before you didn't know the crank was
loose.
The bike shop who sold it probably never checked the bike when they sold it,
other than stick bars, seat, and pedals on.
Another reason why half the shops in the country were unqualified to sell
better bikes, but greedy distributors could have cared less.
The small market here and with so many brands being made in Europe, the
reps sold anyone, and racing bikes were dumped into the maket often at any
price to get rid of them, as the dealers got suckered into buying the racing
models and had no real market or ability to service them properly.
Been there but didn't do that, but it sure hurt as we saw what was happening
around us.
You could also see how much flat there in back of the crank. Often the
spindles had very long flats, and we gently ground off the end of the axle
to keep the end from protruding past the crank front. This enabled us to
tighten the crank without further problems. Careful on grinding to keep the
axle cool, dip in cold water as you grind along, and cover the internal
thread so you don't have to clean it out to be able to screw crank fixing
bolt in easily.
The shim stock solution is the other option, depending on what you have to
work with.
Ted Ernst
Palos Verdes Estates, CA
>I pulled the Stronglight 49D crankset off the new project, noticed the left
>arm was loose. Then check-out the back of the spindle hole and it is
>damaged - guess from being used while loose. I don't see any cracks. All
>indications on the bike is that it was lightly used, very little wear on
>components.
>
> Please help me evaluate if this crank arm is now simply an ornament or
> usable. I've posted pics on wooljersey, link below.
>
> The arm bottoms on the stock Stronglight spindle, but trying other
> spindles, it seems to square up fine without bottoming. So I'm wondering
> if it is usable like this.
>
> http://www.wooljersey.com/
>
> Thanks for the help.
>
> John Siemsen San Luis Obispo, CA