I favor Phil Wood or Park grease. But all greases lose the volatile components over the years. The Campagnolo grease is pitiful stuff. What were they thinking? I can only think that race mechanics changed the stuff by the week.
So that leads to another Campy error they never corrected (admitting mistakes is not an Italian thing). Basically using a 1/8" or 3/32" round (chainsaw) file you can file the devil out of those cracks at the spider joint. Just make sure you get to the root and nicely profile. I would guess that a crack of 3/32" would be too deep, but the risk is yours.
Joe Bender-Zanoni Great Notch, NJ (the notch (pass) in the First Watchung Mountain, about 13 miles due west of Manhattan)
Patrick Lay wrote:
> Hello to all..I recently purchased and overhauled a nice 70s Paramount
> which, from the evidence at hand. had been restored and promptly
> warehoused for years in less than ideal conditions. The Campy BB
> grease had been reduced to a clay-like substance and was very hard to
> clean out of the bearings. I had so much trouble cleaning the cage on
> the fixed cup side before reloading it with new balls that I tossed
> the adjustable cup bearing assembly into the someday box and filled
> the cup race with loose bearings. What is the best grease to use for
> longevity and stability as well as effectiveness to avoid having it
> dry up every few years? I also found the two feared tiny cracks on
> both sides of the crankarm spider, I tried to file them away but one
> had progressed beyond the practical range of the file. So not only do
> I need a crankset, but it occured to me to ask if the crack will cause
> catastropic failure without warning or if it will grow slowly before
> the inevitable happens and allow me to use it on an occasional use
> bike.Thanks for any and all opinions and the usual enlightening
> stories..Patrick Lay in Chicago
>
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