weltyed
10-08-2007, 10:58 AM
so i was out riding around my neighborhood saturday when i see two kids on bmx bikes. one kid tries to bunny hop and his left crank arm falls off. i stop to see whats up, and teh kid says it just happened down the block. i tell him to wait, as i can ride home and bring back grease and allen wrenches.
well, the pinch bolt was rusted on his crankarm and i couldnt get it to budge. he lived just down the street, so i put some grease on teh BB spindle, slid the arm on and told him to just limp it home. if the arm started to wobble loose, just knock it in with the heel of his shoe. when i put the grease on i noticed some really sticky stuff on teh spindle.
"what kind of grease is this?"
"its glue."
"what?"
"glue."
"come on, man. you cant glue this together."
"its super glue."
"its elmers glue, buddy. just get that crank arm on tight. with teh bolt."
now the karma:
i continue on my ride, chuckling. my left pedal felt loose, and kept getting looser. i looked down and saw MY left crank arm was loose! so i stop, tighten it up snug, then continue. 2 miles later it still feels loose. grrrr.
so i went home, reassembled the BB/crankset (truvativ elita external bearnings), and said i would get in a nice long tride sunday.
sunday i check the bolt before heading out. everything is fine. 1 mile out it feels loose. tighten. 1 mile later its loose again. tighten and head home. had to tighten it once more.
check rbr, and sure enough, this is a common problem. i email sram and they tell me they dont work directly with customers. for the warranty i will need to go through the bike shop. they also state that with this crankset you need to torque the bolt, ride a bit, then torque again. if you dont do that, the bolt will loosen and teh crankarm will strip out against the spindle because it is a tapered spline.
i email back, kinda huffy.
i feel bad about my email, so i quickly (10 minutes later) write another one, apologizing for the previous email. i was just frustrated as i had followed the directions on the install sheet, greasing everything it said and torquing everything down to the right specs. nowhere in the instructions does it mention you need to shake down the the parts then re-tighten (even though i did) or mention that the spindle is tapered and can shear the crankarm.
i get a response that i still need to go to any bike shop that carries truvativ for the warranty.
i guess i should be happy that they will warranty the thing, but i was hoping they would just send a part immediately. is that so wrong?
maybe some elmers will help...
well, the pinch bolt was rusted on his crankarm and i couldnt get it to budge. he lived just down the street, so i put some grease on teh BB spindle, slid the arm on and told him to just limp it home. if the arm started to wobble loose, just knock it in with the heel of his shoe. when i put the grease on i noticed some really sticky stuff on teh spindle.
"what kind of grease is this?"
"its glue."
"what?"
"glue."
"come on, man. you cant glue this together."
"its super glue."
"its elmers glue, buddy. just get that crank arm on tight. with teh bolt."
now the karma:
i continue on my ride, chuckling. my left pedal felt loose, and kept getting looser. i looked down and saw MY left crank arm was loose! so i stop, tighten it up snug, then continue. 2 miles later it still feels loose. grrrr.
so i went home, reassembled the BB/crankset (truvativ elita external bearnings), and said i would get in a nice long tride sunday.
sunday i check the bolt before heading out. everything is fine. 1 mile out it feels loose. tighten. 1 mile later its loose again. tighten and head home. had to tighten it once more.
check rbr, and sure enough, this is a common problem. i email sram and they tell me they dont work directly with customers. for the warranty i will need to go through the bike shop. they also state that with this crankset you need to torque the bolt, ride a bit, then torque again. if you dont do that, the bolt will loosen and teh crankarm will strip out against the spindle because it is a tapered spline.
i email back, kinda huffy.
i feel bad about my email, so i quickly (10 minutes later) write another one, apologizing for the previous email. i was just frustrated as i had followed the directions on the install sheet, greasing everything it said and torquing everything down to the right specs. nowhere in the instructions does it mention you need to shake down the the parts then re-tighten (even though i did) or mention that the spindle is tapered and can shear the crankarm.
i get a response that i still need to go to any bike shop that carries truvativ for the warranty.
i guess i should be happy that they will warranty the thing, but i was hoping they would just send a part immediately. is that so wrong?
maybe some elmers will help...