people have scoffed and gasped, but I swear on a stack of bibles that YES, such a thing does exist and I once had it! (and, oh yeah, UFOs are REAL!!!)
I stripped a French bike down to parts and sold them off to various folks. The Stronglight cranks went to a very well-known collector who used to post frequently on the CR list.
He contacted me before I removed them to ensure that I had the proper extractor, and so would not ruin his soon-to-be goods. I assured him that I did indeed have a
genuine Stronglight tool AND I was very, very familiar with its use: I had used it at least a dozen times before (actually maybe more) and always with success, never stripped a thread yet and he had nothing to fear.
But, same scenario as with you: I knew exactly how that tool should feel and act when threaded into a Stronglight crank, and I was NOT getting good fit. Since I was being extra careful not to do the slightest injury to the threads I examined them again and again for any defects (none!) and kept trying...but I did not dare try to pull the cranks using that tool. Only would screw on a couple turns at most before binding.
Finally, with nothing to lose, I tried a TA extractor...perfect fit...perfect results...no stripping or thread deformation.
I thought this was curious enough to share with the buyer (bad move)...he just about blew a gasket and said that HE would examine the cranks and if he found ANYthing amiss then the deal was off and I'd owe him a full refund (and an apology both to him and the entire world for screwing up a rare artifact).
He got the crankset and I got nary a peep of protest from him.
So: yes, Virginia, there is a Stronglight 49D Clause.
