New Stronglight Website

Gary Jacobson said:

stronglight.comprodf1.htmOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

In the recent past I 've had trouble finding an English Stronglight website. Thought to share it
with NG readers.

The one that comes up with GOOGLE: stronglight.comstronglight.comOpen ↗ is good enough, having icons for
Francaise/English, however, looking at their "Cranks" oops, "Cranksets" gives me the willies about
their designing. The spider of the Ironlight is doomed to fail under torque, possibly even from
overload , but fatigue for sure. The ramped features do not fool stress that must get from spindle
to chainring.

Quoted message said:

They have an interesting cold forged and CNC'd 110 bcd double crankset, Granfondo. The 113 BB,
"Boitier de pédalier SBB", works with it.

What is also interesting is the endless different and incompatible models of cranks. This has got to
be more expensive than it is worth. I also notice that they are still offering the disproven needle
head bearing, apparently under the belief that bearing failure is from Brinelling, which it is not.
Not only that, but needle bearings are noted for binding because the needle complement becomes
un-centered with use. They are not immune to fretting dimples. I have examples.

Oh well. It will be tough going against <C> and STI. Who finances these products?

Jobst Brandt [email hidden] Palo Alto CA

I guess I got excited about a Euro 110 bcd crank. The price for the Granfondo is right at $125.00.
What crank with this bcd is not doomed? Sugino? TA Zephyr? Ritchey Logic? I think Pinerello has a
carbon 110 crank. I really think Campy would have a winner if they marketed a 110 as an alternative
to a triple.

GJ

<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Gary Jacobson said:

stronglight.comprodf1.htmOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

In the recent past I 've had trouble finding an English Stronglight website. Thought to share it
with NG readers.

The one that comes up with GOOGLE: stronglight.comstronglight.comOpen ↗ is good enough, having icons for
Francaise/English, however, looking at their "Cranks" oops, "Cranksets" gives me the willies about
their designing. The spider of the Ironlight is doomed to fail under torque, possibly even from
overload , but fatigue for sure. The ramped features do not fool stress that must get from spindle
to chainring.

Quoted message said:

They have an interesting cold forged and CNC'd 110 bcd double crankset, Granfondo. The 113 BB,
"Boitier de pédalier SBB", works with it.

What is also interesting is the endless different and incompatible models of cranks. This has got
to be more expensive than it is worth. I also notice that they are still offering the disproven
needle head bearing, apparently under the belief that bearing failure is from Brinelling, which it
is not. Not only that, but needle bearings are noted for binding because the needle complement
becomes un-centered with use. They are not immune to fretting dimples. I have examples.

Oh well. It will be tough going against <C> and STI. Who finances these products?

Jobst Brandt [email hidden] Palo Alto CA

"Gary Jacobson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I guess I got excited about a Euro 110 bcd crank. The price for the Granfondo is right at $125.00.
What crank with this bcd is not doomed? Sugino? TA Zephyr? Ritchey Logic? I think Pinerello has a
carbon 110 crank. I really think Campy would have a winner if they marketed a 110 as an
alternative to a triple.

What about the "Asphalt" on the Stronglight site (look under Products/Range). It's heavier than the
Granfondo, but comes in a 110 double or 110/74 triple. The heaviness may be a good thing, if the
Granfondo spider would be subject to fatigue.

Jobst brandt wrote:

"I also notice that they are still offering the disproven needle head bearing, apparently under the
belief that bearing failure is from Brinelling, which it is not. Not only that, but needle bearings
are noted for binding because the needle complement becomes un-centered with use. They are not
immune to fretting dimples. I have examples. "

Well, here's one you don't have. The Stronglight A9 needle bearing headset on my tourer has been
running fine for almost 8 years now (about 24000 miles)...

Even the Campy Nuevo Record I had on my Lygie didn't last that long!

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": geocities.comczcornerOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Jobst brandt wrote:

"I also notice that they are still offering the disproven needle head bearing, apparently under
the belief that bearing failure is from Brinelling, which it is not. Not only that, but needle
bearings are noted for binding because the needle complement becomes un-centered with use. They
are not immune to fretting dimples. I have examples. "

Chris Zacho The Wheelman wrote

Quoted message said:

Well, here's one you don't have. The Stronglight A9 needle bearing headset on my tourer has been
running fine for almost 8 years now (about 24000 miles)...

This is a great example of where theory and practice diverge.

The Stronglight roller bearing headsets are full of theoretical flaws--but in actual practice,
they're among the most reliable and long-lived headsets ever!

Quoted message said:

Even the Campy Nuevo Record I had on my Lygie didn't last that long!

Actually, that's an Italian product, not Spanish, so it's "Nuovo."

Sheldon "I Know I Just Used This Quote, But It's The Best I've Got" Brown
+---------------------------------------------------+
| In theory, there's no difference between theory | and practice; but, in practice, there is. |
+---------------------------------------------------+, Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Sheldon Brown said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I also notice that they are still offering the disproven needle head bearing, apparently under
the belief that bearing failure is from Brinelling, which it is not. Not only that, but needle
bearings are noted for binding because the needle complement becomes un-centered with use. They
are not immune to fretting dimples. I have examples.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Well, here's one you don't have. The Stronglight A9 needle bearing headset on my tourer has been
running fine for almost 8 years now (about 24000 miles)...

Quoted message said:

This is a great example of where theory and practice diverge.

Quoted message said:

The Stronglight roller bearing headsets are full of theoretical flaws--but in actual practice,
they're among the most reliable and long-lived headsets ever!

Well mine always bound up and did not allow the wheel to swing freely on the bearing adjustment
test. To make up for that, it got dimples just like the ball bearing ones that I also experienced.
These failures are what initiated my correlating effect and cause. I think we all know more about
steering bearing failures now than at that time (Brinelling and stretching chains).

Jobst Brandt [email hidden] Palo Alto CA

Sheldon Brown <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

The Stronglight roller bearing headsets are full of theoretical flaws--but in actual practice,
they're among the most reliable and long-lived headsets ever!

Agreed. Careful installation is the key, to ensure that the bearings run true; all the A9s (and one
X12) I've had have been fitted by bike shops or framebuilders [1], rather than attempting a
bodge-it-yourself job, and I've yet to experience any problems.

David E. Belcher

Dept. of Chemistry, University of York

[1] And no, I wasn't charged a fortune for doing so. Customer loyalty pays dividends here - I've
used quite a few UK shops where they'll gladly fit a headset for free, provided you buy it from
them in the first place!

"Gary Jacobson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I guess I got excited about a Euro 110 bcd crank. The price for the Granfondo is right at $125.00.
What crank with this bcd is not doomed? Sugino? TA Zephyr? Ritchey Logic? I think Pinerello has a
carbon 110 crank. I really think Campy would have a winner if they marketed a 110 as an
alternative to a triple.

Bit of a specialist market, but the 110 mm BCD is just the job for cyclo-cross, where an inner ring
less than 39T (135 BCD) or 38T (130 BCD) is often of use on a double chainset.

David E. Belcher

Dept. of Chemistry, University of York

Jobst said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>I also notice that they are still offering the disproven needle head bearing, apparently under
>the belief that bearing failure is from Brinelling, which it is not. Not only that, but needle
>bearings are noted for binding because the needle complement becomes un-centered with use. They
>are not immune to fretting dimples. I have examples.

I replied:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

This is a great example of where theory and practice diverge.

Quoted message said:

The Stronglight roller bearing headsets are full of theoretical flaws--but in actual practice,
they're among the most reliable and long-lived headsets ever!

Jobst torted again:

Quoted message said:

Well mine always bound up and did not allow the wheel to swing freely on the bearing
adjustment test.

It is true that these headsets don't turn as freely as ball bearing units, probably due to the use
of cylindrical rather than conical rollers.

However, they do turn freely enough to permit riding "no hands" and that is as free as is needed.
It's not as if the headset were part of the drivetrain.

Quoted message said:

To make up for that, it got dimples just like the ball bearing ones that I also experienced.

Your experience in this, as with the broken cranks, is unusual and anomalous. Most people don't have
either of these problems.

Perhaps you need to see an exorcist...

Sheldon "Perfect Is The Enemy Of Good Enough" Brown +----------------------------------------------+
| If it was God's purpose to create Humanity | in his own image, we must conclude that he | is
| omniscient, omnipotent and incompetent. |
+----------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Sheldon Brown said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> I also notice that they are still offering the disproven needle head bearing, apparently under
> the belief that bearing failure is from Brinelling, which it is not. Not only that, but needle
> bearings are noted for binding because the needle complement becomes un-centered with use. They
> are not immune to fretting dimples. I have examples.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

This is a great example of where theory and practice diverge.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The Stronglight roller bearing headsets are full of theoretical flaws--but in actual practice,
they're among the most reliable and long-lived headsets ever!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Well mine always bound up and did not allow the wheel to swing freely on the bearing
adjustment test.

Quoted message said:

It is true that these headsets don't turn as freely as ball bearing units, probably due to the use
of cylindrical rather than conical rollers.

Not so. I think you can visualize that there is no radial locating mechanism in the roller
compliment, held together by its plastic cage, with no inaner or outer contact with either race. The
conical slope does not center these rollers, its effect being cosine error (aka zero for small
angles). Therefore, the roller complement prefers to slide off to the low side of the head bearing
and thereby causes the binding as rollers skew across the parallel conical races.

Quoted message said:

However, they do turn freely enough to permit riding "no hands" and that is as free as is needed.
It's not as if the headset were part of the drivetrain.

You can ride no-hands with a plastic bushing. That is not the problem. When adjusting the bearing,
its free motion without clearance (clunking on bumps) cannot be assessed, there being no free
position. This becomes evident when adjusting these units.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

To make up for that, it got dimples just like the ball bearing ones that I also experienced.

Quoted message said:

Your experience in this, as with the broken cranks, is unusual and anomalous. Most people don't
have either of these problems.

I think that can better be classified as do not observe that their head bearing is binding or
dimpling. That cranks fail is documented:

pardo.netFAIL 001.htmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Perhaps you need to see an exorcist...

I get plenty of exercise on my bicycle. It's obvious you need a session with King Gillette to
sharpen your appreciation of krank failures. (My father used Krank's Shaving cream, a long
gone brand.)

Jobst Brandt [email hidden] Palo Alto CA

Quoted message said:

Gary Jacobson said:

stronglight.comprodf1.htmOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

In the recent past I 've had trouble finding an English Stronglight website. Thought to share it
with NG readers.

The one that comes up with GOOGLE: stronglight.comstronglight.comOpen ↗ is good enough, having icons for
Francaise/English, however, looking at their "Cranks" oops, "Cranksets" gives me the willies about
their designing. The spider of the Ironlight is doomed to fail under torque, possibly even from
overload , but fatigue for sure. The ramped features do not fool stress that must get from spindle
to chainring.

I think it is a bit unfair to generalize negatively about their cranksets and then focus only on the
Ironlight. I agree with your assessment on that cranks but feel the Speedlight is as good as Campy
Chorus and Record. I have been riding them for a couple of years now and very much like them. >

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

They have an interesting cold forged and CNC'd 110 bcd double crankset, Granfondo. The 113 BB,
"Boitier de pédalier SBB", works with it.

What is also interesting is the endless different and incompatible models of cranks. This has got
to be more expensive than it is worth. I also notice that they are still offering the disproven
needle head bearing, apparently under the belief that bearing failure is from Brinelling, which it
is not. Not only that, but needle bearings are noted for binding because the needle complement
becomes un-centered with use. They are not immune to fretting dimples. I have examples.

Oh well. It will be tough going against <C> and STI. Who finances these products?

Zefal these days.

Terry

Quoted message said:

Jobst Brandt [email hidden] Palo Alto CA

Terry Rudd <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I think it is a bit unfair to generalize negatively about their cranksets and then focus only
on the Ironlight. I agree with your assessment on that cranks but feel the Speedlight is as
good as Campy Chorus and Record. I have been riding them for a couple of years now and very
much like them.

The Speedlight is an excellent product. The only reason I don't own one any more is that lack of
cash forced me to sell it :-( Here in the UK, they sell for about £110-£120 brand new, giving a
hefty saving compared to the Shimano/TA/Campag equivalents.

David E. Belcher

Dept. of Chemistry, University of York

Photo of dimpled Stronglight A9 headset races:
geocities.comstronglightA9dimpled.jpgOpen ↗

[email hidden] wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Sheldon Brown said:

Quoted message said:

>> I also notice that they are still offering the disproven needle head bearing, apparently
>> under the belief that bearing failure is from Brinelling, which it is not. Not only that, but
>> needle bearings are noted for binding because the needle complement becomes un-centered with
>> use. They are not immune to fretting dimples. I have examples.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> This is a great example of where theory and practice diverge.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> The Stronglight roller bearing headsets are full of theoretical flaws--but in actual practice,
> they're among the most reliable and long-lived headsets ever!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Well mine always bound up and did not allow the wheel to swing freely on the bearing adjustment
test.

Quoted message said:

It is true that these headsets don't turn as freely as ball bearing units, probably due to the
use of cylindrical rather than conical rollers.

Not so. I think you can visualize that there is no radial locating mechanism in the roller
compliment, held together by its plastic cage, with no inaner or outer contact with either race.
The conical slope does not center these rollers, its effect being cosine error (aka zero for small
angles). Therefore, the roller complement prefers to slide off to the low side of the head bearing
and thereby causes the binding as rollers skew across the parallel conical races.

Quoted message said:

However, they do turn freely enough to permit riding "no hands" and that is as free as is
needed. It's not as if the headset were part of the drivetrain.

You can ride no-hands with a plastic bushing. That is not the problem. When adjusting the bearing,
its free motion without clearance (clunking on bumps) cannot be assessed, there being no free
position. This becomes evident when adjusting these units.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

To make up for that, it got dimples just like the ball bearing ones that I also experienced.

Quoted message said:

Your experience in this, as with the broken cranks, is unusual and anomalous. Most people don't
have either of these problems.

I think that can better be classified as do not observe that their head bearing is binding or
dimpling. That cranks fail is documented:

pardo.netFAIL 001.htmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Perhaps you need to see an exorcist...

I get plenty of exercise on my bicycle. It's obvious you need a session with King Gillette to
sharpen your appreciation of krank failures. (My father used Krank's Shaving cream, a long
gone brand.)

Jobst Brandt [email hidden] Palo Alto CA