Catastrophic crank fail

Could be a material flaw, they shouldn't fail at that point.

BLB spoke to Dolan bikes (UK suppliers for Sugino) on my behalf they said they were only covered for a years warranty but they have agreed to supply a new pair for cost. Not super happy but sounds like the best I'm gonna get, don't want to be bikeless for too long. will just have to remember to check them more often (read more than never like i did this time)

I might sell them on and get something different but probably won't get round to it. Lot's of people ride them a lot. From the look of the crack (oxidisation etc) it shows that it had been propagating for a while before failure.

I just spoke to specialized and they said the crank is covered by a 2 year warranty.

Not sure I want another one though!

hmm 2 year warranty you say? Why would it be different from specialized if we are talking bout the same cranks, is it covered as part of the bike as a whole?

Guys, there's a lesson here for all.

ANY ally part can fail at any time with little or no warning. Compared to steel it's a far less forgiving material. I won't bore you with all the metallurgical science.

Look at your ally parts carefully, give them a really good heave ho when not riding the bike, and investigate any strange noises or other hints of impending failure.

Good post - alu is pretty soft yet brittle. It's a wonder it gets used at all.
But what does 'heave ho' mean?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OQXUnYvLgg

like that?

I met a guy who's Stermy Archer cranks did the same thing and he's going though a whole court process, sueing etc

that said his bike was 6 weeks old, but surely they shouldn't all be failing in this many numbers, def sounds like a fault if enough contact maybe they wil recall and offer compensation,

This happened to me this morning. Sugino messengers off my Plug freestyler (moved onto my Pompino) snapped sending me over the front of the bike and giving me a significant whack on the side of my head and fucking my thigh over.

Cranks are about 18 months old and haven't been abused any more than just riding the bike.

ouch. Yeah, it has happened to me too, but the cranks were 16 years old and bought for £1.50.

Any warning creaks? I am a lot more careful of mystery sounds that develop these days.

i think there has been a few cases of messenger cranks failing, don't really think they are up to the job fixed.

Bad batch? Bad design? Sue!

No idea. Had no warning noises or anything, it just went when I had the power down, pulling away up hill from some traffic lights. I'd just started to get up to speed when it happened.

At least it didn't happen on the way down the hill though!

i'm scard about my messenger cranks now that i own some

Jesus fuck NO cranks should be failing there.

Shoulders, neck and back are pretty stiff this morning, but I'm not doing too bad considering. Couple more photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/casa-steve/sets/72157626206526531/

that darker colour, could that be a sign of a crack that's been there for a while?

*not taking the cranks side here Casa, just curious

Always spend extra money on decent cranks for peace of mind.
Always buy Sugino 75/Grand Masters or Dura Ace. Nothing else will do

No Campag on your list, Mike?

:P

that darker colour, could that be a sign of a crack that's been there for a while?

I thought the same.

As adoubletap said, cranks should'nt fail like that. But despite the poor rep alu gets. A solid bar like those cranks wont fail unless a theres a initial fault, or crack. Somthing to focus the pedaling force.

Either way, its a shite thing to happen. Heel up.

hehe no. I didn't want to start that old argument again though :)

Always spend extra money on decent cranks for peace of mind.
Always buy Sugino 75/Grand Masters or Dura Ace. Nothing else will do

You know more than me regarding track gear. But general bike gear seldom gets tougher, as you go up the hierarchy. weight figures become increasingly prioritised. This is exactly why I stick with standard deore stuff for the work horse.

that darker colour, could that be a sign of a crack that's been there for a while?

Yeah, the aluminium is exposed to air and stuff. Fresh stuff isn't so dark. Crack was there a while. Maybe they'd taken a knock at some point or something sharp run across it?

I'm not aware of them getting a knock at any point, and the surface has only had the usual rub, which has started taking the sugino logo off. I'm a big guy but can't imagine it being a major factor.

I'm looking at replacements now. I was thinking maybe the Andel fluted cranks from VeloSolo, or should I be looking at spending more?

That crack has definitley been there a while, you can even see the 'tide' marks where it's propogated over time. Classic fatigue failure.

You know more than me regarding track gear. But general bike gear seldom gets tougher, as you go up the hierarchy. weight figures become increasingly prioritised. This is exactly why I stick with standard deore stuff for the work horse.

+1