Latest Broken Crank/FSA

Quoted message said:

I broke a Cannondale frame a few years ago and got a free replacement.
Because I saved money on the frame, I decided to splurge on a some
components, including an FSA carbon crank and an FSA Ti BB (ISIS).
So, I'm riding on the coast over the holiday, and the bike is creaking
like crazy -- more than the usual Cannondale creak. I pulled the BB,
and the bearings were shot. I could barely turn the spindle. Jim
Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure, IMO,
because it does not allow for large enough bearings, enough seals,
etc. Too much packed in a small space.

Darn, now you've got me concerned about some creaking on my own bike!
However, the cranks still turn very smoothly, and I suspect if the bearings
were totally shot (as yours were), even with the crank arms attached, they'd
probably still feel rough. Overall, I've been impressed with how well the
silly Ti BB has held up. I had always assumed it would be a limited-life
product for me, but it's at about 20k miles so far.

Quoted message said:

Well, I returned to town and sprinted over to Universal Cycles (a net
seller and LBS) on my commuter and bought a CroMo Isis BB. When I
went to reinstall the left arm, I noticed that there was a crack all
the way through the splined Al insert. This explained a weird "bent
pedal spindle" feeling I had on the left -- the ISIS interface was
opening up, and the crank was flexing. Two strikes for FSA. This was
a moderate mileage bike, and the whole set-up crapped out in three
years.

Ick. Which version of FSA crank? I don't detect any looseness (bent-pedal
feeling, which I know very well from my days with Time pedals), but
definitely a fair amount of creaking lately.

Quoted message said:

So today, I bought an Ultegra Hollowtech crank on sale at Performance
(also an LBS in PDX). Freaky. It takes like five minutes to install
-- I hope this is not more sh** techology. I'll live with the 150
gram difference. That was my eighth broken crank -- or ninth. I quit
counting with the old Campy NRs. -- Jay Beattie.

The Ultegra Hollowtech cranks are very boring, but work very well. As has
been pointed out previously, the main problem with them is that it's
possible to not have the splines lines up correctly (during installation),
which will destroy them. I've never had a problem myself, and for the many,
many hundreds (more likely thousands) we've installed at the shop, we've
only had one screw-up. Zero, of course, would be better.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Jay Beattie said:

I broke a Cannondale frame a few years ago and got a free replacement.
Because I saved money on the frame, I decided to splurge on a some
components, including an FSA carbon crank and an FSA Ti BB (ISIS).
So, I'm riding on the coast over the holiday, and the bike is creaking
like crazy -- more than the usual Cannondale creak. I pulled the BB,
and the bearings were shot. I could barely turn the spindle. Jim
Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure, IMO,
because it does not allow for large enough bearings, enough seals,
etc. Too much packed in a small space.

Well, I returned to town and sprinted over to Universal Cycles (a net
seller and LBS) on my commuter and bought a CroMo Isis BB. When I
went to reinstall the left arm, I noticed that there was a crack all
the way through the splined Al insert. This explained a weird "bent
pedal spindle" feeling I had on the left -- the ISIS interface was
opening up, and the crank was flexing. Two strikes for FSA. This was
a moderate mileage bike, and the whole set-up crapped out in three
years.

So today, I bought an Ultegra Hollowtech crank on sale at Performance
(also an LBS in PDX). Freaky. It takes like five minutes to install
-- I hope this is not more sh** techology. I'll live with the 150
gram difference. That was my eighth broken crank -- or ninth. I quit
counting with the old Campy NRs. -- Jay Beattie.

why did you break so many cranks ?

who? said:

Jay Beattie said:

I broke a Cannondale frame a few years ago and got a free replacement.
Because I saved money on the frame, I decided to splurge on a some
components, including an FSA carbon crank and an FSA Ti BB (ISIS).
So, I'm riding on the coast over the holiday, and the bike is creaking
like crazy -- more than the usual Cannondale creak. I pulled the BB,
and the bearings were shot. I could barely turn the spindle. Jim
Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure, IMO,
because it does not allow for large enough bearings, enough seals,
etc. Too much packed in a small space.

Well, I returned to town and sprinted over to Universal Cycles (a net
seller and LBS) on my commuter and bought a CroMo Isis BB. When I
went to reinstall the left arm, I noticed that there was a crack all
the way through the splined Al insert. This explained a weird "bent
pedal spindle" feeling I had on the left -- the ISIS interface was
opening up, and the crank was flexing. Two strikes for FSA. This was
a moderate mileage bike, and the whole set-up crapped out in three
years.

So today, I bought an Ultegra Hollowtech crank on sale at Performance
(also an LBS in PDX). Freaky. It takes like five minutes to install
-- I hope this is not more sh** techology. I'll live with the 150
gram difference. That was my eighth broken crank -- or ninth. I quit
counting with the old Campy NRs. -- Jay Beattie.

why did you break so many cranks ?

Doing a lot of standing while climbing would be the most likely suspect,
as this will create the greatest bending moment relative to the minor
axis of the crank.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

I broke a Cannondale frame a few years ago and got a free replacement.
Because I saved money on the frame, I decided to splurge on a some
components, including an FSA carbon crank and an FSA Ti BB (ISIS).
So, I'm riding on the coast over the holiday, and the bike is creaking
like crazy -- more than the usual Cannondale creak. I pulled the BB,
and the bearings were shot. I could barely turn the spindle. Jim
Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure, IMO,
because it does not allow for large enough bearings, enough seals,
etc. Too much packed in a small space.

Darn, now you've got me concerned about some creaking on my own bike!
However, the cranks still turn very smoothly, and I suspect if the bearings
were totally shot (as yours were), even with the crank arms attached, they'd
probably still feel rough. Overall, I've been impressed with how well the
silly Ti BB has held up. I had always assumed it would be a limited-life
product for me, but it's at about 20k miles so far.

Quoted message said:

Well, I returned to town and sprinted over to Universal Cycles (a net
seller and LBS) on my commuter and bought a CroMo Isis BB. When I
went to reinstall the left arm, I noticed that there was a crack all
the way through the splined Al insert. This explained a weird "bent
pedal spindle" feeling I had on the left -- the ISIS interface was
opening up, and the crank was flexing. Two strikes for FSA. This was
a moderate mileage bike, and the whole set-up crapped out in three
years.

Ick. Which version of FSA crank? I don't detect any looseness (bent-pedal
feeling, which I know very well from my days with Time pedals), but
definitely a fair amount of creaking lately.

Quoted message said:

So today, I bought an Ultegra Hollowtech crank on sale at Performance
(also an LBS in PDX). Freaky. It takes like five minutes to install
-- I hope this is not more sh** techology. I'll live with the 150
gram difference. That was my eighth broken crank -- or ninth. I quit
counting with the old Campy NRs. -- Jay Beattie.

The Ultegra Hollowtech cranks are very boring, but work very well. As has
been pointed out previously, the main problem with them is that it's
possible to not have the splines lines up correctly (during installation),
which will destroy them. I've never had a problem myself, and for the many,
many hundreds (more likely thousands) we've installed at the shop, we've
only had one screw-up. Zero, of course, would be better.

I'm a guessing it is the 2 piece ultegra crank, not an Octalink
one..just a guess. AND any wrench worth his salt installs Ocatlink
cranks with the self extracor caps OFF, so you can ensure the splines
are lined up. In the stoopid bike shop section, we had a bike outta a
box that actually has a ES series BB(for XT/LX cranks) with an Ultegra
crank crammed onto it. Needless to say the crank was history.

Quoted message said:

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycleswww.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Jay Beattie said:

Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure

My FSA ISIS BB is still going strong at over 50,000km. But then it doesn't
have any of that sexy, expensive Ti stuff in it.

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

I'm a guessing it is the 2 piece ultegra crank, not an Octalink
one..just a guess.

Looking up the loadratings of these bearing (look under thin section
instrument bearings) and comparing them with a size which used to be
normal will explain a lot when they go south 😉

--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman said:

who? said:

Jay Beattie said:

I broke a Cannondale frame a few years ago and got a free replacement.
Because I saved money on the frame, I decided to splurge on a some
components, including an FSA carbon crank and an FSA Ti BB (ISIS).
So, I'm riding on the coast over the holiday, and the bike is creaking
like crazy -- more than the usual Cannondale creak. I pulled the BB,
and the bearings were shot. I could barely turn the spindle. Jim
Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure, IMO,
because it does not allow for large enough bearings, enough seals,
etc. Too much packed in a small space.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Well, I returned to town and sprinted over to Universal Cycles (a net
seller and LBS) on my commuter and bought a CroMo Isis BB. When I
went to reinstall the left arm, I noticed that there was a crack all
the way through the splined Al insert. This explained a weird "bent
pedal spindle" feeling I had on the left -- the ISIS interface was
opening up, and the crank was flexing. Two strikes for FSA. This was
a moderate mileage bike, and the whole set-up crapped out in three
years.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So today, I bought an Ultegra Hollowtech crank on sale at Performance
(also an LBS in PDX). Freaky. It takes like five minutes to install
-- I hope this is not more sh** techology. I'll live with the 150
gram difference. That was my eighth broken crank -- or ninth. I quit
counting with the old Campy NRs. -- Jay Beattie.

Quoted message said:

why did you break so many cranks ?

Doing a lot of standing while climbing would be the most likely suspect,
as this will create the greatest bending moment relative to the minor
axis of the crank.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

--
Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Understood, but I've never broken a crank; nor took one off and found
a crack- I do a lot of hilly rides forcing bigger gears- (it's slower
and harder, but I'm not racing)- so breaking so many cranks is very
curious to me

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

... AND any wrench worth his salt installs Ocatlink
cranks with the self extracor caps OFF, so you can ensure the splines
are lined up. In the stoopid bike shop section, we had a bike outta a
box that actually has a ES series BB(for XT/LX cranks) with an Ultegra
crank crammed onto it. Needless to say the crank was history.

FWIW, I've installed my Octalink DA cranks incorrectly a number of times --
started tightening them up and realized the splines weren't aligned. Backed
'em off -- got things right -- tightened the bolts and all has been fine.
(Same crankset -- few incidents -- no discernable damage.)

I don't think they're as fragile as some on here say they are. Mine have
well over 16K miles (two bikes), and have never hiccupped.

Bill "granted, I did suffer moments of dread" S.

Quoted message said:

On Jul 8, 10:36 am, Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman

Quoted message said:

who? said:

On Jul 8, 1:25 am, Jay Beattie <[email hidden]> wrote:
> I broke a Cannondale frame a few years ago and got a free replacement.
> Because I saved money on the frame, I decided to splurge on a some
> components, including an FSA carbon crank and an FSA Ti BB (ISIS).
> So, I'm riding on the coast over the holiday, and the bike is creaking
> like crazy -- more than the usual Cannondale creak. I pulled the BB,
> and the bearings were shot. I could barely turn the spindle. Jim
> Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
> In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure, IMO,
> because it does not allow for large enough bearings, enough seals,
> etc. Too much packed in a small space.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Well, I returned to town and sprinted over to Universal Cycles (a net
> seller and LBS) on my commuter and bought a CroMo Isis BB. When I
> went to reinstall the left arm, I noticed that there was a crack all
> the way through the splined Al insert. This explained a weird "bent
> pedal spindle" feeling I had on the left -- the ISIS interface was
> opening up, and the crank was flexing. Two strikes for FSA. This was
> a moderate mileage bike, and the whole set-up crapped out in three
> years.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> So today, I bought an Ultegra Hollowtech crank on sale at Performance
> (also an LBS in PDX). Freaky. It takes like five minutes to install
> -- I hope this is not more sh** techology. I'll live with the 150
> gram difference. That was my eighth broken crank -- or ninth. I quit
> counting with the old Campy NRs. -- Jay Beattie.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

why did you break so many cranks ?

Quoted message said:

Doing a lot of standing while climbing would be the most likely suspect,
as this will create the greatest bending moment relative to the minor
axis of the crank.

Quoted message said:

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Quoted message said:

--
Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com-Hide quoted text -

Quoted message said:

- Show quoted text -

Understood, but I've never broken a crank; nor took one off and found
a crack- I do a lot of hilly rides forcing bigger gears- (it's slower
and harder, but I'm not racing)- so breaking so many cranks is very
curious to me- Hide quoted text -

I have ranged between 187lbs ('70s) to an all time high of 225lbs.
I'm running between 210 and 215 these days. I climb out of the saddle
and do bend crank arms. As for the Campy cranks, they had design
flaws at the spider and the pedal eye that lead to many failures. I
think Jobst failed a dozen of these things. I broke an Ofmega track
crank that was a POS and died within months, a Stronglight that was a
million yeas old (off a '69 PX-10), a Shimano Ultegra Octalink that
could not hack the low gear climing out of the saddle while pulling my
son in a trailer (my guess). The FSA should have lasted longer. It
only had 10K miles or so -- maybe 15K, which is not a whole lot,
really. The carbon arm did not break. It was the aluminum insert at
the top of the arm with the ISIS grooves. Unless the crack migrated a
lot, the failure probably would not have been spectacular or
particularly dangerous. BTW, my crank failure history goes back to
the mid/late 70's with 20 years of off-and-on racing and lots of miles
until the 2000s when I realized I needed to mow the lawn and attend to
my family rather than piling on miles in the hopes of coming in 12th
in some Masters criterium. Oh boy, I won another box of Kettle Chips
in a prime. Woo hoo! (meanwhile, offstage, kid graduating from
highschool).-- Jay "We'll Have a Good Time Then" Beattie.

Quoted message said:

FWIW, I've installed my Octalink DA cranks incorrectly a number of

times --

Quoted message said:

started tightening them up and realized the splines weren't aligned.

Backed

Quoted message said:

'em off -- got things right -- tightened the bolts and all has been fine.
(Same crankset -- few incidents -- no discernable damage.)

I don't think they're as fragile as some on here say they are. Mine have
well over 16K miles (two bikes), and have never hiccupped.

Bill "granted, I did suffer moments of dread" S.

-----------------
I've never had any problem with octalink, with over 60,000 miles on 3
different bikes. The BB's get a little rough after 20,000 miles, and I
change 'em. If you take some time, it's easy to line them up right, the
cranks. If you have a blaring radio, with people talking to you, while
you're doing it, it might be a different story. I've never understood the
"goofy footed" theory, and something about how they come loose. I tighten
them up when I put the new bb in, and never touch them again, until another
20,000 miles has gone by.

Now I do have an FSA seatpost, with the huge setback, to accommodate a
Brooks saddle, so I'm kind of worried about that, with the huge failure rate
of FSA products. I have had 4 seatpost failures, with 3 different kinds of
seatposts. They were all single bolt clamps, so now I strictly only get two
bolt clamps, don't know if that makes a difference, but no failures yet.
The FSA seatpost is a two bolt design so maybe it'll work, I hope. I can't
ride standing up, so it's a ride ender for me.

Jay Beattie said:

Quoted message said:

On Jul 8, 10:36 am, Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] who? wrote:
> On Jul 8, 1:25 am, Jay Beattie <[email hidden]> wrote:
>> I broke a Cannondale frame a few years ago and got a free replacement.
>> Because I saved money on the frame, I decided to splurge on a some
>> components, including an FSA carbon crank and an FSA Ti BB (ISIS).
>> So, I'm riding on the coast over the holiday, and the bike is creaking
>> like crazy -- more than the usual Cannondale creak. I pulled the BB,
>> and the bearings were shot. I could barely turn the spindle. Jim
>> Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
>> In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure, IMO,
>> because it does not allow for large enough bearings, enough seals,
>> etc. Too much packed in a small space.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> Well, I returned to town and sprinted over to Universal Cycles (a net
>> seller and LBS) on my commuter and bought a CroMo Isis BB. When I
>> went to reinstall the left arm, I noticed that there was a crack all
>> the way through the splined Al insert. This explained a weird "bent
>> pedal spindle" feeling I had on the left -- the ISIS interface was
>> opening up, and the crank was flexing. Two strikes for FSA. This was
>> a moderate mileage bike, and the whole set-up crapped out in three
>> years.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> So today, I bought an Ultegra Hollowtech crank on sale at Performance
>> (also an LBS in PDX). Freaky. It takes like five minutes to install
>> -- I hope this is not more sh** techology. I'll live with the 150
>> gram difference. That was my eighth broken crank -- or ninth. I quit
>> counting with the old Campy NRs. -- Jay Beattie.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> why did you break so many cranks ?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Doing a lot of standing while climbing would be the most likely suspect,
as this will create the greatest bending moment relative to the minor
axis of the crank.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

--
Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com-Hidequoted text -

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Show quoted text -

Quoted message said:

Understood, but I've never broken a crank; nor took one off and found
a crack- I do a lot of hilly rides forcing bigger gears- (it's slower
and harder, but I'm not racing)- so breaking so many cranks is very
curious to me- Hide quoted text -

I have ranged between 187lbs ('70s) to an all time high of 225lbs.
I'm running between 210 and 215 these days. I climb out of the saddle
and do bend crank arms. As for the Campy cranks, they had design
flaws at the spider and the pedal eye that lead to many failures. I
think Jobst failed a dozen of these things. I broke an Ofmega track
crank that was a POS and died within months, a Stronglight that was a
million yeas old (off a '69 PX-10), a Shimano Ultegra Octalink that
could not hack the low gear climing out of the saddle while pulling my
son in a trailer (my guess). The FSA should have lasted longer. It
only had 10K miles or so -- maybe 15K, which is not a whole lot,
really. The carbon arm did not break. It was the aluminum insert at
the top of the arm with the ISIS grooves. Unless the crack migrated a
lot, the failure probably would not have been spectacular or
particularly dangerous. BTW, my crank failure history goes back to
the mid/late 70's with 20 years of off-and-on racing and lots of miles
until the 2000s when I realized I needed to mow the lawn and attend to
my family rather than piling on miles in the hopes of coming in 12th
in some Masters criterium. Oh boy, I won another box of Kettle Chips
in a prime. Woo hoo! (meanwhile, offstage, kid graduating from
highschool).-- Jay "We'll Have a Good Time Then" Beattie.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

thank you for the followup. I fully understand the family needs as
I've 3 young-uns myself (oldest turning 5)- there's no substitute for
spending quality time.

regards

Jay Beattie said:

I broke a Cannondale frame a few years ago and got a free replacement.
Because I saved money on the frame, I decided to splurge on a some
components, including an FSA carbon crank and an FSA Ti BB (ISIS).
So, I'm riding on the coast over the holiday, and the bike is creaking
like crazy -- more than the usual Cannondale creak. I pulled the BB,
and the bearings were shot. I could barely turn the spindle. Jim
Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure, IMO,
because it does not allow for large enough bearings, enough seals,
etc. Too much packed in a small space.

Well, I returned to town and sprinted over to Universal Cycles (a net
seller and LBS) on my commuter and bought a CroMo Isis BB. When I
went to reinstall the left arm, I noticed that there was a crack all
the way through the splined Al insert. This explained a weird "bent
pedal spindle" feeling I had on the left -- the ISIS interface was
opening up, and the crank was flexing. Two strikes for FSA. This was
a moderate mileage bike, and the whole set-up crapped out in three
years.

So today, I bought an Ultegra Hollowtech crank on sale at Performance
(also an LBS in PDX). Freaky. It takes like five minutes to install
-- I hope this is not more sh** techology. I'll live with the 150
gram difference. That was my eighth broken crank -- or ninth. I quit
counting with the old Campy NRs. --JayBeattie.

FYI, I contacted FSA today to see if I could get replacement bearings
for my ISIS BB and/or a new left crank arm. The answer was (drum roll
please) . . . no. The guy at FSA said that I was lucky to have gotten
three years out of my BB. He told me what I already knew about small
bearings in ISIS BBs going south early. FSA does not support ISIS any
more. It will not fix my BB. It does not have any ISIS left crank arm
haning around. He confirmed that my approximately $350 purchase is
dumpster fodder. Great. -- Jay Beattie.

Jay Beattie said:

Jay Beattie said:

I broke a Cannondale frame a few years ago and got a free replacement.
Because I saved money on the frame, I decided to splurge on a some
components, including an FSA carbon crank and an FSA Ti BB (ISIS).
So, I'm riding on the coast over the holiday, and the bike is creaking
like crazy -- more than the usual Cannondale creak. I pulled the BB,
and the bearings were shot. I could barely turn the spindle. Jim
Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure, IMO,
because it does not allow for large enough bearings, enough seals,
etc. Too much packed in a small space.

Quoted message said:

Well, I returned to town and sprinted over to Universal Cycles (a net
seller and LBS) on my commuter and bought a CroMo Isis BB. When I
went to reinstall the left arm, I noticed that there was a crack all
the way through the splined Al insert. This explained a weird "bent
pedal spindle" feeling I had on the left -- the ISIS interface was
opening up, and the crank was flexing. Two strikes for FSA. This was
a moderate mileage bike, and the whole set-up crapped out in three
years.

Quoted message said:

So today, I bought an Ultegra Hollowtech crank on sale at Performance
(also an LBS in PDX). Freaky. It takes like five minutes to install
-- I hope this is not more sh** techology. I'll live with the 150
gram difference. That was my eighth broken crank -- or ninth. I quit
counting with the old Campy NRs. --JayBeattie.

FYI, I contacted FSA today to see if I could get replacement bearings
for my ISIS BB and/or a new left crank arm. The answer was (drum roll
please) . . . no. The guy at FSA said that I was lucky to have gotten
three years out of my BB. He told me what I already knew about small
bearings in ISIS BBs going south early. FSA does not support ISIS any
more. It will not fix my BB. It does not have any ISIS left crank arm
haning around. He confirmed that my approximately $350 purchase is
dumpster fodder. Great. -- Jay Beattie.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

you might check out www.biketoolsetc.com he has a lot of fsa parts in
stock and I can vouch for them as an online source

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Show quoted text -

thank you for the followup. I fully understand the family needs as
I've 3 young-uns myself (oldest turning 5)- there's no substitute for
spending quality time.

regards

...and quantity has a quality all its own...

Wayne

Jay Beattie said:

Jay Beattie said:

I broke a Cannondale frame a few years ago and got a free replacement.
Because I saved money on the frame, I decided to splurge on a some
components, including an FSA carbon crank and an FSA Ti BB (ISIS).
So, I'm riding on the coast over the holiday, and the bike is creaking
like crazy -- more than the usual Cannondale creak. I pulled the BB,
and the bearings were shot. I could barely turn the spindle. Jim
Beam predicted the failure of the FSA Ti BB bearings, so kudos to him.
In fact, that whole ISIS cartridge set-up is doomed for failure, IMO,
because it does not allow for large enough bearings, enough seals,
etc. Too much packed in a small space.

Quoted message said:

Well, I returned to town and sprinted over to Universal Cycles (a net
seller and LBS) on my commuter and bought a CroMo Isis BB. When I
went to reinstall the left arm, I noticed that there was a crack all
the way through the splined Al insert. This explained a weird "bent
pedal spindle" feeling I had on the left -- the ISIS interface was
opening up, and the crank was flexing. Two strikes for FSA. This was
a moderate mileage bike, and the whole set-up crapped out in three
years.

Quoted message said:

So today, I bought an Ultegra Hollowtech crank on sale at Performance
(also an LBS in PDX). Freaky. It takes like five minutes to install
-- I hope this is not more sh** techology. I'll live with the 150
gram difference. That was my eighth broken crank -- or ninth. I quit
counting with the old Campy NRs. --JayBeattie.

FYI, I contacted FSA today to see if I could get replacement bearings
for my ISIS BB and/or a new left crank arm. The answer was (drum roll
please) . . . no. The guy at FSA said that I was lucky to have gotten
three years out of my BB. He told me what I already knew about small
bearings in ISIS BBs going south early. FSA does not support ISIS any
more. It will not fix my BB. It does not have any ISIS left crank arm
haning around. He confirmed that my approximately $350 purchase is
dumpster fodder. Great.

IMO, FSA is to be avoided. Mostly, they make bogus "high tech" [censored]
which they sell cheaply to various OEMs. YMMV.