Originally Posted by
Panthers007
Pardon me - but I didn't infer it was Octalink or similar to same. I thought I answered the poster's question in emphasizing the stark difference between the Hollowtech II and Octalink design. But you are correct: Hollowtech II certainly is not Octalink!
The question has been hovering: Why was Hollowtech II designed? Was it to address the inadequacies of ISIS and Octalink? Was it to soak customers out of more money? Or was it truly an unprompted stroke of "genius?" Anywho - it's here and, IMHO, and it's a better system than the Octalink/ISIS.
However Hollowtech and Hollowtech II are both constructed the same way. The arms are formed so that a large portion of the crank arm is hollow. The type of bottom bracket depends on whether the crank is a three piece crank (Octalink) or 2 piece crank (Hollowtech II). I was pointing out Hollowtech can come in both varieties of crankset. It would have been less confusing if Shimano would have renamed the line when they went to the new system
