SoSmellyAir

I have just installed a bottom bracket (BB-R9100, threaded) and a crankset (FC-R7000) onto a 2000 CAAD4 following these instructions: DM-RAFC001-04-ENG.pdf (shimano.com).

Everything seems to have fit together correctly, but I have two questions:

(1) After tightening the two bolts (at the BB end) of the left crank arm, there is still a gap that is wider than the stopper plate, such that the stopper plate does not touch both sides. Is this normal?
(2) The crankset spins OK, as in, after I flick it fairly hard, it only goes 1.25 revolutions. On my other bike (BB30A), the crank spins the same amount with pedals, chain, and cassette installed. Is this normal?

Thank you.

Kontact

1. Sounds normal. That plate is designed so it can be locked after you tighten the bolts.

2. New seals will put a fair amount of drag on the crank. Did you tighten the adjuster with the provided plastic tool, or something with more torque?

SoSmellyAir

Thank you. Although I did push the stopper plate in before tightening the two bolts. I cannot see what is the function of that stopper plate.

I used the TL-FC16 plastic disc -- which is unfortunately no longer provided with a crankset; I had to buy one -- to tighten it finger tight. I actually did the installation twice (long story below), and the second time I tighten the left crank arm cap less tightly than the first time, but that did not seem to improve the extent to which the crankset spun. I wonder if the Shimano fluorescent lime green grease that was pre-applied on the crankshaft and within the BB is to blame; that stuff is pretty sticky and took forever to wash off my fingers, compared to Finish Line premium teflon grease.

The aforementioned long story: After the first time I installed the crankset, the two crank arms look slightly off, as though they were not 180 degrees from each other. Based on the aforementioned gap, I thought I must have misaligned the crank arms by a spline, so I uninstalled, and then reinstalled, the left crank arm. It turned out to be an optical illusion caused by the fact that the face of the right crank arm is not left/right symmetrical. Looking at the back of the right crank arm, there is more material to the right than the left of the chain drop pin.

Kontact

If you can't close the plate, the spindle is either too short or too long.

dedhed

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oldbobcat

There's nothing wrong with the green grease on the spindle or on the inner bearing sleeve. It's mainly for preventing corrosion and facilitating disassembly. The spindle should turn the bearing, not spin inside the bearing inner sleeve. And "finger tight" means just tight enough that the spindle doesn't slide sideways between the bearings. Sometimes new seals are a little sticky.

SoSmellyAir

Thanks to Kontact and oldbobcat for confirming that it does not seem that I had screwed up the installation.

Perhaps it is unrealistic for me to expect it to spin like a roulette wheel or even any of my bike wheels.