Doug makes a good point, that there was probably widespread and justifiable FEAR of aluminum components when they were first introduced.
If history repeats itself, then maybe the history of Cannondale and Klein might have repeated the history of early aluminum cranks.
My memory tells me that when Cannondale pioneered the mass production of aluminum framesets, they had to offer a lifetime warranty to move the framesets, and many people took advantage of the warranty in the early years. The warranty specifically excluded "Fatigue cracks" and so they also offered $150 (at or below wholesale) "we'll give you another frame if you abuse yours to death" offer which is / was frankly unbeatable :
http://search.bikelist.org/
And the fear associated with Cannondale was JUSTIFIED : people still tell anecdotes of e.g. 27% of all cannondale frames (o.k., tandems) having to be replaced under warranty :
http://search.bikelist.org/
Klein framesets were boutique items and after developing an annealing process, they were durable but certainly were not mass produced and they were priced and painted like colnagos, without the record of adoption by race-winning riders, so market penetration was shallow.
Just because campagnolo introduced a rear derailleur in 1950 doesn't mean they had an instant reputation for quality. And, I wonder what was the warranty in 1955? 1960? 1965? I suspect that their reputation for quality wasn't earned for at least a decade.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA