Re: [CR] Was Velo-Mine polishing - Now crank arm breakage

(Example: Framebuilders:Tony Beek)

From: "R.S. Broderick" <rsb000@hotmail.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2010 00:15:35 -0700
In-Reply-To: <4BB572FB.3090609@aol.com>
References: <1751780564.6783701270161816802.JavaMail.root@sz0151a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [CR] Was Velo-Mine polishing - Now crank arm breakage


Chas,

After decades of operating only from fading recollection, I had the opportunity a couple of years back to witness once again the agony of Laurent Fignon's most famous fall courtesy of a friend and former industry insider who has complete footage of the incident as shot from the camera car that was but a few feet to his left when it occurred. Fignon was well ahead of the peloton on a solo break during the 1982 Blois-Chaville (...NOT the Giro as others on the World-Wide-Weird have opined) approaching a slight incline. Rising well off his saddle while standing hard on his pedals, the left hand end of his CP titanium Campy bottom bracket spindle suddenly snapped off at the nadir of a down stroke causing Fignon to viciously bounce his privates off the top tube of his bike, which in turn bounced him up and over to the right, which resulted in him landing along the roadside after a near perfect twisting half gainer. The camera car immediately pulled off along the side of the road just ahead and focused upon the ensuing drama as Fignon lay writhing in pain on the ground, the left side crank arm, pedal, and toe clip assembly still securely attached to his one foot. With the peloton approaching, a MAVIC neutral support vehicle arrived on scene as well as Renault director sportif Cyrille Guimard in a separate team car wherein Guimard jumped out and began screaming at Fignon to get up and resume the contest. But after what seemed like an eternity, and despite Guimard having changed tactics from outright yelling to begging and pleading, it was clear that Fignon was done inasmuch as he continued to roll about on the ground with tears in his eyes, hands coddling his damaged goods, before eventually and ever so tenderly pulling himself upright to a sitting position in a noble attempt to regain some measure of composure.

Of course, the peloton rode right on by, Fignon DNF'd, Guimard got over it, and the whole incident prompted Campagnolo to initiate a redesign of their Super Record bottom bracket assembly wherein they abandoned the original hollow axle configuration in favor of a solid CP titanium one having threaded (...dare I say it) ... nuts.

Robert "I feel your pain" Broderick ...the "Chronically Cloudy Clime" of Oregon Portland, USA


> Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 20:30:51 -0800
> From: verktyg@aol.com
> To: droohr@comcast.net; Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR] Was Velo-Mine polishing - Now crank arm breakage
>
> Slightly off the topic but scroll down to the 3rd and 4th messages.
>
> http://www.gitaneusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1368
>
> Fignon, what a man!
>
> Chas. Colerich
> Oakland, CA USA
>
> damien roohr wrote:
> > I am no engineer, but apart form the cool drillium components (now, why didn't that trend continue??), I for one would steer clear of any vintage part whose specs along any dimension had been tinkered with by some amateur engineer. I have been in races where a guy snaps a crank arm - another snaps a rear axle.. Just glad most of the time, up here in the NE, in the 80's - 90's most of the field was more concerned with leg power than attempting to out-think a professional metallurgical engineer. But that's just me.