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broken pulsion

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 3:54 pm
by col hicks
tried to get the left crankarm of my pulsion of the bottom bracket ,and the whole of the insert where you put the bb tool has come away . now i cant get it of the bb at all ,i will have to send it back but how do i get it of the bb any ideas . are stronglight quite good when it comes to replacements or are they a pain to deal with has it happened to any one else

broken pulsion

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 3:54 pm
by Weenie

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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:26 pm
by Frasertri
Wow! Sorry to hear it - and it doesn't bode well for me.... (another Pulsion owner) :shock:

I would proceed with great care, and only attempt removal of the crank with a good puller tool, and some means to spread the load ALL around the rear face of the crank where pulling.... Perhaps a very large (and thick) washer with a cutout to get it over the crank spindle??

If you don't have the necessary equipment to try this safely, I'd recommend taking it into your LBS and see if they have a good puller for the job.

Another question - was it torqued beyond the recommended (10Nm, I think..)? Reason I ask is my crankset has been 'creaking', and I've been tempted to tighten it a bit harder to see if it cures the noise... :?

Good luck!

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:30 pm
by RTW
Col, see if you can get hold of a clutch puller. Now use a headset spanner (if you have one) to work as a washer to protect back of the crank. Fit the claws of the clutch puller round this and torque it down. This then works like a crank puller.

When done, swap the stronglights for something less ugly. (sorry)

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 5:01 pm
by snips
i had a problem with my the pedal insert on mine., so emailed stronglight in (my bad) french and posted the whole chainset back to them. i had good communications from them and recieved a new unit with ten days.
some others have had some not so good dealings with them though...

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 5:33 pm
by col hicks
:D i have managed to get the crankarm off ,and the insert i have cleaned the threads up and screwed it back in and it seems fine and it still gets the crankarm off with bb tool , so i will see how it goes if it happens again i will take back to the shop where i got it from

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 2:36 pm
by alanmclean
Don't quite understand. My pulsions came with self-extracting bolts, I don't need a bb tool to take the cranks off. did you change these bolts for something else. do you think there is a manufacturing problem?

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 4:38 pm
by MGS9500
I'm not quite certain what happened.

Pictures of the problem would be great.

Did you pull the self extacting bolt free from the crank arm?

I have learned never to use self extracting bolts with a light weight crank arm. FSA used them and I had a self extracting bolt pull out and damage the threads of the crank arm.

I had to use a standard extracting tool. That is all I use at this time.

I'm not certain why self-extracting bolts are popular. The standard extracting tool works perfectly well.

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 4:44 pm
by hattori
Yes, pics would be great.

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 4:58 pm
by Frasertri
Self extracting crank bolts are a good concept, but if the thread pitch is the same on the bolt AND the insert, then the insert is likely to unscrew - if for instance there is high friction between the bolt 'push' flange and the insert.

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:48 pm
by CaptainWilier
Well, my Pulsions broke while climbing a hill yesterday. :cry: The left crank arm "slipped" at the BB. The piece that fits over the isis bb came loose. I assume it is epoxied in.?. Anybody think it's fixable? Sorry no pics because there is nothing to look at, bb insert just rotates inside crank arm. It's really hard to pedal when your cranks make an "L".

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:19 pm
by Auk
If you cannot warranty them, I would absolutely try to re-epoxy them.

First you will need to remove the old epoxy so that you have a new bonding base. Then contact Wicks Aircraft and tell them you are attaching carbon to alloy and need the prep compound and the resin/harder necessary.

Look at it this way. They were attached to the spindle/insert when they were made, they can be reattached after teh bond fails.

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:21 pm
by Frasertri
Man, that sucks CaptainW! Did the insert come all the way out? Seems to me it shouldn't be just a bonded smooth surface, that would break too easily.. Is the insert knurled, then bonded?

Stronglight should warranty that, I would think.

All this talk has me worried about mine too. They have always creaked, noise is greater with higher input force. Did yours make noise, or just abruptly let go? How many miles in them, and how heavy are you??

Keep us posted, and good luck getting them fixed/replaced!

Frasertri. 8)

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:26 pm
by brianwchan
Seems like there are a lot of failures with the pulsions recently.

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:28 pm
by geraintnorman
CaptainWilier wrote:Well, my Pulsions broke while climbing a hill yesterday. :cry: The left crank arm "slipped" at the BB. The piece that fits over the isis bb came loose. I assume it is epoxied in.?. Anybody think it's fixable? Sorry no pics because there is nothing to look at, bb insert just rotates inside crank arm. It's really hard to pedal when your cranks make an "L".


This is a common problem with Stronglight cranks, either the pedal threads come out or the BB interface. I'm not sure you can fix them, I would just replace them with something from FSA, Campag or Shimano.

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:33 pm
by CaptainWilier
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Not too many miles on them, maybe 3000(I don't get to ride enough). I put them on the bike in April 2005. I weigh 175 and am more of a sprinter type. I was climbing while standing and felt something "let go". almost felt like the freehub slipped or a cassette cog broke through the aluminum carrier, but no, it was the bb insert. No notice, no noise. It is still in the crank arm, It's just loose enough if you stand on it it moves about 20-40 degrees.

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:33 pm
by Weenie

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