Bicycle Mechanics - do Octalink cranks wear?

Having been taken on and off a bike a few times, "normal", square tapered spindle cranks
seem to wear or spread a little, which meant the cranks would go on the BB spindle a little
bit further each time.

Does anything like this occur with Shimano Octalink cranks, or do the BB splines just hit the limit then stop at the bolt?

I'm looking at buying a cheap 2nd hand pair, and I'm wondering if I should be looking out for
any common wear or damage.

thanks

The big thing to look for is cranks that have been installed without the splines dead on lined up. This will shave the splines and make them a little loose. You can tell, if the splines are free from grease and dirt, by looking down the spline to see if there is a step at the end of the spline. It should be smooth all the way down.

ah, good tip.
thanks


Down here, brand new 9 speed Dura-Ace cranks are $310 US ($390 AUS), and the 2nd hand shop wants
$158 US ($200 Aus) for the used ones

ah, good tip.
thanks


Down here, brand new 9 speed Dura-Ace cranks are $310 US ($390 AUS), and the 2nd hand shop wants
$158 US ($200 Aus) for the used onesI don't buy used octalink anymore unless I can see them first. Have sent 2 sets back to sellers due to bad installation as the RR describes.I see no real pont to the DA 9 octalink anyway. Have them and have the ultegra. Can't tell the difference except that the ultegra doesn't lighten ones wallet near as much. Functionally, 105 will serve as well.

You want 170mms?

PM me, I have a pair (and BB) going cheap (much better than that price)! Splines are perfect.

I'm in Sydney.

175s

One must have to be pretty ham-fisted to mess up Octalink installation. I recently built up a new bike with 105 Octalink, having never seen it before at close range. It seemed easy to offer the cranks to the spindle "at fingertips", check the splines were engaged correctly and partly seated before fitting and tightening the bolt. Seems fool-proof to me, but then again I'm not the only fool around :)

Cheers,

Ed

175s


And a tube of JB Weld? Where were you when I couldn't find a buyer for my new set of Ultegra's for US$75?

I've swapped out Octalinks many times and never thought it was tough to line them up. You just go real slow and easy and get them set before cranking down the bolt. I guess you could surely mess them up if you just slipped them on and started cranking before the splines and the grooves line up. Am I missing something here? Is there a certain spline orientation (a master spline if you will) that I need to be concerned about? Rev, I need to check your place out next time I go down to Cary. Thanks!

And a tube of JB Weld? Where were you when I couldn't find a buyer for my new set of Ultegra's for US$75?

Dunno......where was I?

Is there a certain spline orientation (a master spline if you will) that I need to be concerned about?
No, what happened is that sometimes people tried slapping the crank on the spline with the crank bolt hanging out in the crank. Thus, they can't see if they're lined up properly and when they muscle it on there, it damages the splines.
Shimano even put out a bulletin about this.

One must have to be pretty ham-fisted to mess up Octalink installation. I recently built up a new bike with 105 Octalink, having never seen it before at close range. It seemed easy to offer the cranks to the spindle "at fingertips", check the splines were engaged correctly and partly seated before fitting and tightening the bolt. Seems fool-proof to me, but then again I'm not the only fool around :)

Cheers,

EdConsider how many morons will install them without even removing the bolts and self extractors to see that the splines are lined up?....Bigger fools certainly exist.

You're right. I certainly don't have have time to "consider all the morons"

You're right. I certainly don't have have time to "consider all the morons"There might be fewer if they bothered to read instructions rather than using them for buttwipe.