Originally Posted by
bikingshearer
Brent: Be careful with the crank puller. Yes, the Stronglight threading has an oh-so-slightly different diameter from that of TA cranks. The trouble is, Stronglight sometimes used the TA standard. I read this somewhere (can't recall where; maybe on BF) and thought "pish-posh, that can't be right; even the French aren't that idiosyncratic."
Ah, but they are. I went to remove my brother-in-law's Stronglight 93 crankset from his early to mid 1970s Gitane TdF. Even though the tool for Stronglights screwed right in, I decided to be extra-careful because of what I had read. Thank God I did, because the threads started to strip with the tool for Stronglights but I was able to stop before I did anything irretrievable. I gingerly tried the tool for TAs. It worked. The crisis was averted. My bemusement with all things French, however, continues even unto this day.
If there is a way to tell which Stronglights actually use the TA standard, I certainly have no clue what it is. Just be aware that not only did the French not use anyone else's threading standards, they didn't even always use their own.
P.S. I still have both tools if you need to borrow one or both.
Great thoughts and insights, many of either of these that I have encountered have always seemed to have been compromised by the wrong tool or possible poor practice somewhere along the way, especially this far down the line.
They seem to often be victims of the too close to call if you don't know better for many. If the threads are dirty, corroded, gacked by wrong puller or poor usage, it often goes from bad to worse.
I always take a very close hard look at all threads before I pull an arm off and usually do a through cleaning if not a thread by thread, mm by mm chasing by right angle pick to be sure they are viable and that the tool can be installed properly and completely for removal with no damage whatsoever.
