Greetings all. I'm well aware that hindsight views events through a distort
ing lens and that a historian tends to see things in a deterministic mode t
hat might startle those who actually experienced them. Steve Maasland
raises many points that seem to refute Jan Heine's statements vis a vis Mav
ic rims and Stronglight cotterless cranks. I'll be happy to see them hash i
t out - nothing brings clarity like a good polemical exchange. On the one p
oint of the pro peleton's lag in adopting cotterless cranks - where Jan has
asserted the reason [or, at least, a reason] being a wider Q-Factor -
which Steve Maasland says is unsupported by evidence - It seems pretty cle
ar that there was a lag. Even a casual perusal of '50s race photos shows a
huge preponderance of cottered cranks 'til late in the decade. Heine argues
for low Q and provides anecdotal evidence [in BQ]. Maasland says that's no
t accepted but provides no counter argument. So why the lag? Cheapness of t
he sponsors? Conservatism among the manufacturers/sponsors? Low Q? I'd be i
nterested in hearing the arguments. Billy Ketchum; Chicago, IL; USA.