I think most bike part failures, excluding crashes, fall into the category of fatigue failures, which occur after a relatively large number of stress cycles, i.e. after extended use. While the peak stress for a single cycle is a factor, these failures do not occur in new parts (although different failures can), even with a rider as strong as Merckx. I would think the pros would rarely experience failures of pantographed parts, simply because they would rarely uise a bike more than one season. And the bigger the star, the less likely the failure, as someone of Merckx's stature will usually be on one of the best financed teams, where the length of use of a bike or component will be shorter than for the peleton on average.
I think this was one of the disadvantages of Campy's heavy reliance on racing for product development. If a part was going to quickly break or bend due to poor design allowing its yield strength to be exceeded, or if it was going to malfunction under load, like a chain skipping or shifters slipping, then the pros would quickly discover the shortcoming. But a long term susceptibility to fatigue failure would be unlikely to be discovered through pro racing. Since steel is generally not suscetible to metal fatigue, the pros probably were a good test of steel components, but with the widespread introduction of alloy parts, the avid randonneur/audex rider became a more challenging test of components than stars like the great Eddy.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
Raymond Dobbins <raydobbins2003@yahoo.com> wrote: hi kim,
i don't know what eddy merckx weighed when he rode drillium parts, but he wasn't small and he rode pretty hard (sorry for the understatement), yet i've never heard of any of his drillium parts ever having failed. maybe he put on new rings every couple of stages/races, but even then, i would bet that he inflicted more punishment on his rings in one day of stage racing, than most heavy and/or strong non-racers ever could. does anybody know of drillium rings having failed, especially when used by racers? i know stems that have been excessively drilled or milled, are known to have failed, but i'm curious about rings in particular.
as far as pros riding panto parts (as opposed to drillium parts, but is there really a difference?), i have seen photos of saronni riding colnago panto rings and stems, as well as sercu with a gios panto seat post and ring on his brooklyn team bike. i am sure they were not the only ones that raced on panto parts.
i believe saronni won the worlds on a colnago with a complete 50th anniversary gruppo. but i guess that doesn't count because the 50th is stamped, not panto'd.
ray dobbins, always a sucker for panto parts miami florida
and i have re drilliuand as far as other racers, heavy and/or strong, i do in the course of a would even when
kim klakow wrote: I have some very nice drillium panto Chainrings, for example, that are attached to a wall queen and get fresh air two or three times a year. I were stupid, or hurt, to heft my 220 lbs. into a cr like that. The same goes for brake and shifting levers, seatposts, stems or whatever.
I am curious if the pros rode panto?
kim
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