Originally Posted by khuon
They're not popular because they're not made by Shimano. And when bikes are built up with either Shimano or Campy, usually they get whatever crank those component manufacturers supply so the exposure most people have to cranks is to those. Many people are under the assumption that you have to run Shimano cranks with Shimano drivetrains and the same goes for popular misconceptions about Campy. Let's face it, Shimano has a very strong marketting dept. It's like the world of computers, most people run Microsoft Windows and then in far second is MacOS. In the grand scheme of things, only a small percentage even considers running some form of alternative OS such as Linux or BSD. There are of course a few people who are "in-the-know" who recognise the quality of other component manufacturers such as Stronglight.
STI (Shimano Total Integration) is Shimano's way of eliminating other competitors like they did to Suntour.
Interestingly enough I helped a Buddy of mine put together a Shimano Bike with a ISIS-Crank. I'll be honest with you I think ISIS is better than Octalink. The cranks "fits" better with 10-slpine IMHO.....it also runs perfect with the Shimano drivetrain. That's why I decided to abandon octalink for my next project bike. My triple project will probably be octalink.....just because I got a good deal on a Shimano triple crank.
P.S. The Stronglight Z'light Compact is the most beautiful crank I have ever seen...LOL ( I think I beat that to death in other posts)