Originally Posted by
Captain Blight
So, I found a clue to the reason behind the slots in the bottom bracket on the Classic Lightweights site, in the "Block Chain" essay:
So they are there to let the bolts of a 50.4 crank be backed out without having to take the drive-side assembly off the spindle.[/FONT][/COLOR]
Thanks Captain. I never knew that. Although I tend to agree with acoffin that in this particular case the slots are a bit smallish to actually make a difference. I do believe, however, that they serve some sort of similar mechanical purpose.