Originally Posted by
sd5782
I am occupying myself in the cold weather by building up another bike I don’t really need, but.. Anyhow, I will probably use a nice cromoly Shimano spindle and bb. That got me to wondering about the difference between those pretty silver cromoly spindles and the black ones. I did a minor search but didn’t see much.
I would guess harder steel? More durability? It may just be cosmetic, but it seems the cranks spin better too on the prettier ones. Is it also a combination of better cups too? Cheap spindles are available for maybe $10, so the premium older used ones must have something more going for them.
That's a good question, and I'm willing to bet that someone here knows.
My only recollection of black spindles/axles were the ones that came with Sugino Maxy cranks. These had the threaded studs that accepted a nut, as opposed to the standard axle that takes a bolt. These were not high quality and the cones would pit fairly quickly. Probably good enough for most folks, though?
The only other cup and cone BB's that I've got now are a Specialized and a few Campy Records. Both have silver axles and the Campy ones are good for many thousands of miles. Still waiting to find out how good the Specialized one is.
Since every thread needs photos, here's a shot of the Specialized axle...
and a shot of the axle from my Olmo....
Steve in Peoria