Lightning crank reliability?

[eric]

I could not find a commercial puller that would work with the Lightning/Zipp BB cups.

I came up with a design that should work and could be made with my limited machining skills but didn't get around to making it before giving up on Lightning. The difficult part is getting at the bearing from the back- its ID is almost as large as the cup's ID. A shaft that's slightly larger than 30mm and has a part turned down to 30mm would do it. The other part is a thick walled pipe which has a step on its ID to hold the bearing cup. It would hold the cup outer side down when removing the bearing and hold it the other way when pressing the bearing in. The third part is a disc whose ID matches the outer race of the bearing and has a slight relief on the face to clear the inner race. It's used when pressing in the new bearing.

These parts would be used with a shop press or large bench vice.

[mdeth1313]

I could not find a commercial puller that would work with the Lightning/Zipp BB cups.

I came up with a design that should work and could be made with my limited machining skills but didn't get around to making it before giving up on Lightning. The difficult part is getting at the bearing from the back- its ID is almost as large as the cup's ID. A shaft that's slightly larger than 30mm and has a part turned down to 30mm would do it. The other part is a thick walled pipe which has a step on its ID to hold the bearing cup. It would hold the cup outer side down when removing the bearing and hold it the other way when pressing the bearing in. The third part is a disc whose ID matches the outer race of the bearing and has a slight relief on the face to clear the inner race. It's used when pressing in the new bearing.

These parts would be used with a shop press or large bench vice.

for the zipp cups, you only need the pedros installation tool (to hold the cup), a screwdriver and hammer. I have an old set of lightning cups, if I have time I'll try it with those as well.

[djconnel]

Once a year I pull out the front seal while still in the cups and used WD40 to clean out the bearings.

How to remove the seal isn't obvious. Pull it out with a pin? I'm always impressed with people who are able to fix stuff . I'll try a safety pin.

A fellow weenie generously sent me his old bearings for comparison (he's switched to Zipp) and the creaking was no better. I was riding toward the end of my Saturday hill climb when a rider I was passing shouted "bottom bracket!" with disgust. Fortunately I was much faster than him.... I even tried applying oil under the seals (oil won't last as long as grease, but it's so easy to remove bearing assemblies I don't mind).

added: It's easy to pop seal on ceramic bearings: I did as suggested (WD-40 + lube) and this isn't the problem in my case. I also have a steel bearing set and with these the seal is finer.

[ricerocket]

Is the shield plastic or metal?

I have a set of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-piece-pi ... 93514.html



Pretty useful.

[tochnics]

no showing of or kicking an old topic
i am replacing my frame so it was a good time to weigh my lightning crank
for future buyers here is what can be achieved with some customizing
sorry for the bad picture, it looks much better in real life
specialized has a regular carbon spider and this aero version from lightining is also availebel with a weave









specs:

175 mm crank length
ceramic bearings and aluminium threaded bearing cups
carbon aero 130mm spider
fibre lite 50T chainring
Ta 38T aluminium chainring
toronto cycles standard aluminium chainring bolts ( kcnc bolts wont fit )
537 grams all in

i think its reasonbel light for the money
any thoughts about the weight ??

[blcknspo0ln]

weight is obviously very good, question is.. how much did it cost all together?

[tochnics]

(without spamming for lightning)

everything was reasonbely priced pending of where you buy it
with the ceramic bearings and carbon spider you only pay the upgrade if you buy it all in one
and then still its only about 2/3 of a clavicula or a ax crank
the crank did not came with chainrings, wich makes it go any price if you look around for chainrings
the fibre lyte chainring is one of those things that makes the set very light because the chainring is half the weight of
a normal one but also at double the price

that is why the smalest chainring is a plain aluminium version because that one is not that lighter in carbon but
much more costing

i hope this explains a future purchase, i dont feel right about spilling out prices and numbers on a forum

cheers

[prendrefeu]

Quick question, open thinking:

-Specialized S-Works Cranks are licensed design from Lightning.
-Lightning axle = 30mm
-Specialized S-works Cranks = 30mm (can someone verify this? I don't know for sure)
-Lightning cranks work well with ZIPP Vuma Quad bearings/cups
-Both ZIPP Vuma Quad and Lightning cranks work in a normal BSA-bb frame.

So, is it possible then to use a Specialized S-Works crank in a normal BSA-bb type frame using ZIPP Vuma Quad bearings/cups?

[eric]

S-works crank have a spindle long enough for BB30, but not for BSA+ bearings.

[jooo]

No. You can run the Spec MTB crank on a frame with a 68mm threaded shell and external cups because it has a wider spindle but the road version is too narrow.

[mlchang]

Could you in theory swap the spider from a Specialized road crank to a Specialized mountain crank and then run them? That's interesting. How much longer is the mountain spindle compared to the road spindle on the OSBB cranks?

[schaufuss]

Well, what can I say? My cranks finally broke (non drive side), not on impact but they have disintegrated. The pedal insert became loose and the carbon started coming apart, more exactly it opened up between layers. I noticed a creaking that got worse and worse in relatively a short time, say, 3 rides. Then the pedal spindle started to deflect and be loose.
Cranks are 2.5 years old, I used them on a MTB, I ride XC only, I weigh 75kg and have the SL version that has a weight limit of 100kg.
So, needless to say I am very disappointed in these cranks. More disappointed I am in the company's after sales service, or lack thereof. Or shall I say non-existence? I wrote them twice, stating the details of the damage, sent a picture and kindly asked for their suggestions. As I am out of warranty I didn't expect anything free. But I definitely did expect a reaction, an answer, an e-mail, a lame fart sent my way. Anything. But that ain't happened and it's been weeks since I wrote them.
I was going to buy a replacement arm, the cheapest way of getting myself on the trails again. But like this? No way, I ordered a THM Clavicula M3, lighter, not much more expensive, from a reputable company with a good warranty and replacement policy. The M3s even look good to boot!
I gladly spend the $$ to have a crank I feel good with.
Just my two cents but maybe it helps to make people wary. There are not many "long term" reviews out there.

[ProfessorChaos]

I broke an old Lightning crank too. Same thing basically happened to me. It was a very old version like 6 years old maybe. The newer versions are better. They fit the bearing better, and they don't eat bearings like my old one did. Lightning send me a replacement for a discounted price after I sent them pics of my destroyed crank. The worst part was riding 15km with one foot.