Two parter:

Have you ever broken a crank pulling tool? My crank arms were extremely tough to take off and I sheared off the portion that pushes against the crank, then stripped the "bolt" that holds it to the handle. Managed to only get the drive side off.

Secondly, my BB makes a clicking noise every rotation under pressure, do I simply replace the cartridge? Original unit that came with bike, only a few thousand miles on it. Bikes Direct bike, unsure of what brand BB it is.

Just spotted a CL ad on Soma Rush for sale with "the two-in-two-out" wheel lacing pattern on both front and back wheels. Besides the fact that the seller wants $1,600 for a $250 frame... They also note that the wheels "...look like snow flakes and [are] 100% secure" ...are it secure as the seller says they are? Do you ever lace wheels like that? The only time I saw this type of lacing on Ted Shred's bike before.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/3072873065.html
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=255666

I've never broken a crank puller.

Regarding the clicking noise, are you sure it's not one of your pedals? Most times when someone is convinced they are having issues with their BB, it ends up being something else.

I would never lace a wheel like that. Not only do I think it looks stupid, it would also be a pretty big pain in the ass.

Neither pedal makes any noise and they both spin freely. I've pit as much a load on them as possible while hand spinning the cranks and no noise. They are MKS Sylvan Track pedals, fairly new (few hundred miles on them). Anything else I should check with them?

Thanks for your time.

Check the bolts holding your clips on. I had a slightly loose one drive me crazy once.

If I had to guess, it's going to be a Cinelli Bolt.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NVWKMv-wyU...ce-winking.gif

Last time I had this issue it turned out the cranks were on loose. Did you grease the spindles before putting the crank arms back on? I didn't on my last build and even though I tightened the bolts real good the arms didn't get all the way up the spindle, hence the clicking from them moving around.

I hear your never supposed to grease the spindles.

With the cranks at the 12 and 6 o'clock positioning, press down on the pedals one side at a time with your feet. If it clicks, it's the bottom bracket, if it doesn't it's something else. Also check the saddle fixing bolt(s) on the saddle.

Thanks guys.

-I don't have clips, only Retrogression straps.
-Crank arms were on the spindles all the way. They were on so tight I could not get one off and over-tourqued my crank puller, stripping it.
-I will grease the spindle when I re-assemble the drive side crank arm (never got the other off).

I'm guessing a Dodici. Scrod tends to ride frames available on RG

Anything with splines is okay to grease. Square taper? Never ever.

You got me - although we are a Cinelli dealer too. It's an Italian Dodici though (with a few slight tweaks).

Can you guess what color it is?

The wink.jpg was supposed to make my post a joke, I already know it's a dodici and what color it is. :lol:

so no superbe sprint?

Hey scrod, I remember in that one thread you mentioned that Dodici had its own italian/ international line up while leader had the US line up and the former being the "real" deal. Can I assume this situation is like Japanese car makers with JDM & USDM versions of the same model?

Black?

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/...50sw8sw578.gif

If you look at the frames on Dodici's site, you can clearly see they're different that the ones being sold here.

Also, the tubeset on the ones made in Italy is made of Dedaccai Fire 7003-AL.

I like how the Italian ones come with a matching fork. And I have to say pink.

Also, can you use the VO stem shims with other stems as well?

Why not? Not trying to challenge you, just wanna learn.

it's an interference fit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference_fit

what happens if i greased mine? before i built up my bike someone told me to grease anywhere that theres metal on metal contact happening

400+ miles and everything seems fine so far..

Dag. I hope the bike mechanics in Seattle (moving there in 2 weeks) are better than the ones here in Queens. This ain't the first time theyve steered me wrong.

Take them off, wipe the grease off, put them back on.

You'll be fine but it up to you. I know people that have been riding and wrenching longer than many of us have been alive and they never had issues with lightly greasing.

Grease is used on metal-metal contact for a couple reasons. First, it prevents corrosion and parts from seizing. Second, grease is needed to overcome the friction that would otherwise suck up the force applied to secure a bolt.

/notscrodseeyoulater

In the non-Scrod threads it's not a black/white rule. Jobst Brandt makes a good case for greasing the spindle. Campagnolo says not to.

Anecdotal evidence* from most users shows it generally makes no difference. The average user should generally focus on achieving correct torque and installing the cranks in the same orientation each time they are removed.

It's also not really an interference fit because the crankarm is attached to the spindle with a fastener and is not held on solely by the friction between the crankarm and the spindle as it would be in a true interference or press fitting.

*I've had crank arms loosen in both lubricated and unlubricated fittings, even with proper torque. Cheaper cranks are more prone to this.

i guess ill just wait and see if i die before i order my 722 next week (godwilling) and swap parts over there

When using the correct torque, it doesn't matter much. Considering most people installing crank arms tend to be ham-fisted and not even know what a torque wrench is - let alone own one - overtightening a square taper crank arm on a greasy spindle will most likely cause damage to the interface.

As I've said before, a drop of blue Loctite on the threads of your crank bolts will prevent them from loosening.

do you know of an affordable torque wrench?

try a car parts store