Old 02-07-10, 11:33 AM
  #18  
DaveSSS 
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Loveland, CO
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Bikes: Cinelli superstar disc, two Yoeleo R12

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There really is no problem other than Rogue's misunderstanding about how the system works. The first thing he did was take a crank that mostly likely had shot bearings and perhaps worn out cups and tried to fix it with shims rather than doing the most obvious and installing new bearings and cups - a whole new BB. That what you'd do with any other crank.

Campy has a serious problem with their instructions, in this mechanical engineer's opinion. They suggest using purple loctite and hand tightening the cups, IF the BB is not properly faced. The loctite will only work if the factory applied thread locker is first removed and even then "hand tightening" is a poor suggestion.

The best thing you can do is first verify the proper 67.2-68.8mm BB width. Then verify the need for facing by tightening the cups until they contact a .010 inch feeler gage, then use .008-.012 to search for high or low areas. If the runout exceeds .004 inch, the BB definitely needs facing, but it should be done with minimal material removal and the width rechecked after facing, in case a shim is needed. Grease the threads and tighten both cups to 35Nm. Also grease all metal to metal contact areas - inside the cup and the ouside the bearings.

Rogue is actually selling a shim kit to replace the wavy washer that makes no sense at all. With shims, the best you can do is minimize the bearing play down into the .002-.004 inch range, which is really quite loose. This can only be done by installing the left crankarm and tightening the fixing bolt several times, until you stumble upon the right shim stack. The wavy washer applies a constant pressure in the 20-60 pound range to insure zero freeplay and a continual bearing preload, with no guesswork.

It is also vital that the retainer spring be installed on the right side cup.

Chainrings wearing out in 2500 miles sounds very strange. Some people get 20,000 or more. I'd ask if you're riding in awful conditions - sloppy wet and gritty all the time? That would certainly contribute to premature wear.

Last edited by DaveSSS; 02-07-10 at 01:14 PM.
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