PSA: A vintage Campagnolo crank arm sheared clean off on me yesterday

It was a Nuovo Record set from the early 80s on a customer's restored Colnago. The arm just snapped at the pedal thread while I was doing a final pre-ride check, which was honestly a bit scary. I had to call the owner and explain his prized part was now a paperweight. Has anyone else seen a classic alloy crank fail like that without any visible prior damage?

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fisher.reese6mo ago

That "without any visible prior damage" part is key. These old alloy cranks get tiny stress cracks you can't see. It's like a paperclip you bend back and forth. Looks fine until it snaps. I've seen it on old Sugino and Stronglight stuff too. The metal just gets tired after forty years of pedaling forces.

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willowthomas6mo ago

Yeah, the paperclip thing hits home, like my own personal fitness plan.

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logan6485mo ago

Yeah I read something about that @fisher.reese, metal fatigue is wild.

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