Riding without dust caps
 

Broke one of the crank dust caps on my tricolor cranks today and holy hell, I'm not paying what people are asking on ebay for similar chrome ones.

So I got on here and read that a lot of people ride without them. So other than the the ghastly look, is there really any concern of getting crappie in the threads leading to damage down the road when using a crank puller?

Thanks.

Nah. Just keep it clean and dry in there. It's rust you need to worry about, not dust. There's ways to make your own dust caps though, there's a thread here somewhere. Cork, cutting a bit of plastic or rubber . . .

I'd at least smear the bolt head and surrounding area with grease just to keep water off of it.

I put these on all my square taper bottom brackets
XLC Hex Head Crank Arm Bolts 8mm x 15mm

Those I can live with...

I have those with the black gasket on my 600 crank set. I was later told that a grey gasket is more suitable for 600, Ultegra, and D-A. Well LA TEE DAH! :)

Brad

I think they'd look fine. Didn't know they made them with gray rings.

Thanks for the help folks, I ordered a set of those bolts.

Oh nooz!

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media...ov5wc2jjpg.jpg

I prefer campagnolo cranks without dustcaps. They are unnecessary and they only serve to trap moisture and dirt and accelerate corrosion. It is PRO to not run dust caps.

I can't ride without dust caps. Just knowing they're missing plays on my mind. Halfway through the ride I'm hyperventilating and I start seeing strange creatures in the shadows.

I agree entirely! :)
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h8...E151A8E64B.jpg

Just squirt a big gob-O-silicone caulk in there. No worries! :>

I use dust caps on all my bicycles. I've seen enough cases of pro-poseurs who have stripped their crank extractor threads and had to bring their bicycles to the shop for crank removal.

I always ride with a dust cap - keeps the sun out of my eyes and keeps my hair neat. Oh, crank caps. Naw, forget em. I do like to paint them though, generally a light grey to go with the crank color. Nice detail vs the basic black steel. When pulling any crank I spend time with a wire brush and a tooth brush cleaning out the threads before screwing in the extractor. Always take your time getting the extractor just right before cranking the crank off.

They can act as moisture traps. But as long as you keep the area well lubed, including greasing the crank threads, and maintain your bikes properly, it's OK to use them.

It's a lot easier to remember to check your crank arm bolts if the dust caps are off.

Most, or at least some, of my bikes have no dust caps on the cranks. Oh, I have a few DC's sitting in my stack of small parts, just never saw the need to put them on.

A few years ago when I'd just finished building the Masi I happened to stop at The Bike Stop, a small but nice shop with a door open to the Minuteman Bikeway. The proprietor was a vintage bike entusiast so he went nuts over the Masi (which I enjoyed). Then he started talking about all the bikes he and friends had collected, not just certain models but actual bikes ridden in various races through the years. Anyway he told one story of a friend who had searched for ages to find the correct dust caps of a particular bike. After finding them he happened to show the bike to some ex-pro racer or coach or something, and was promptly told that the first thing you did on a bike to be raced was to take them off and throw them away. If you had to do any crank or BB work it costs time to take the dust caps off, time you couldn't afford. Of course those of you closer to racing than I ever was probably knew this already.

I've lost a few, bought one bike without them, and broken at least one. I never realized they were of any importance, thought they just aesthetics.

In any case, if you really want them, and are putting in a Niagara order, 88 cents will get you a new set: Pyramid Crank Dust Cover Pyramid Chrome Plated Plastic Each

Same here. I've never had a crank come loose while riding (or otherwise), but if I try riding very far without dustcaps, I start getting nervous that I'll lose a crank bolt and feel stupid when the crank comes off miles from home. :o

I am meticulous about hub dust caps. I won't ride without them.

Pedal dust caps, not so important, but I prefer to have them.

Crank dust caps? seriously?

What's a crank dust cap?? ;) I've never used them.

I have a dust cap problem. Can't stand the look of a crank without them and I'm nervous they're going to fall off when I do have them. I'm much more anal about checking dust cap tightness than crank bolt tightness.

I've never stressed about dust caps, but use them when I've got them. I had a pair that were a little jiggly-loose on a tri-color crank, so I had the brainstorm of putting a little locktite on them. Ended-up having to rip them out of the crank with a needle nose pliers the next time I gave the bike a major tune-up. Won't be doing that again.

That would be true of a team mechanic in a major tour who is servicing a dozen bicycles every evening but if you're doing your own service, I'm sure you could afford the extra 30 seconds it takes to remove and install a set of caps. It takes a whole lot longer to clean out the threads if they get packed up with dirt or mud.