Dura Ace anodization

Quoted message said:

I bought a first year 7701 Dura Ace crank and the anodization was
pretty soft. It corroded very quickly even with frequent cleaning.
I've still been riding it, but I'm getting tired of it, because it
makes my otherwise nice looking bike look pretty ugly.

Shimano wouldn't cover under warranty at the time because it was
"cosmetic" and "my fault for sweating on it".

I had heard that Shimano improved the hardness of the anodization and
that this shouldn't be a problem anymore with 7800 or new Ultegra.

Can anybody comment on their experience with newer Ultegra or DA
cranks or know for a fact that this was fixed by Shimano?

Thanks,
Andy

Andy: That's a tough one. Yes, it seems the current DuraAce equipment might
be a bit more resistant to corrosion, but frankly, the corrosive content of
sweat varies dramatically from person to person. There are some whose sweat
rivals that of the nasty critter in Alien... stuff that can instantly melt
through steel floors, that sort of thing. I don't know if it's diet or what,
but it's real.

The point is, it just might not matter. The only sure-thing that will keep
your cranks arms etc from corroding is to wipe them down after each ride.
This is not to say that all evidence of corrosion is the fault of the user;
sometimes the manufacturer does screw up. But the greater variability is on
the part of the user, not the brand or model of the component.

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

android said:

I bought a first year 7701 Dura Ace crank and the anodization was
pretty soft. It corroded very quickly even with frequent cleaning.

sounds like you're "cleaning" too much. just wipe with a wet cloth.
then leave it alone. no polishing or scrubbing.

Quoted message said:

I've still been riding it, but I'm getting tired of it, because it
makes my otherwise nice looking bike look pretty ugly.

Shimano wouldn't cover under warranty at the time because it was
"cosmetic" and "my fault for sweating on it".

I had heard that Shimano improved the hardness of the anodization and
that this shouldn't be a problem anymore with 7800 or new Ultegra.

Can anybody comment on their experience with newer Ultegra or DA
cranks or know for a fact that this was fixed by Shimano?

see above - problem is "fixed" by leaving the anodizing alone to do its
intended job. i commute in all weathers across the golden gate bridge
[salt air] and even been known to sweat on occasion. i've had zero
problems with anodizing. i only clean my bike about once a year, but
when i do, all the crud wipes clean off. once your anodizing has been
removed by over-zealous abrasion, the material below will corrode and
stain with ease.

android said:

I bought a first year 7701 Dura Ace crank and the anodization was
pretty soft. It corroded very quickly even with frequent cleaning.
I've still been riding it, but I'm getting tired of it, because it
makes my otherwise nice looking bike look pretty ugly.

Shimano wouldn't cover under warranty at the time because it was
"cosmetic" and "my fault for sweating on it".

I had heard that Shimano improved the hardness of the anodization and
that this shouldn't be a problem anymore with 7800 or new Ultegra.

Can anybody comment on their experience with newer Ultegra or DA
cranks or know for a fact that this was fixed by Shimano?

Thanks,
Andy

Troll-o-meter says: 6.8

android ._c_o_m_ said:

I bought a first year 7701 Dura Ace crank and the anodization was
pretty soft. It corroded very quickly even with frequent cleaning.
I've still been riding it, but I'm getting tired of it, because it
makes my otherwise nice looking bike look pretty ugly.

Those weren't anodized... they were polished and clear coated. Very
pretty when new... but got ugly very soon. Shimano learned their
lesson and they don't do that anymore. If you went to the trouble of
removing the clear coat and polishing them, they would look very
nice... but you'd have to keep polishing and waxing them to keep them
that way.

Note that DA 10spd parts are anodized a light gray color that doesn't
match any other components... if that matters to you.

android ._c_o_m_ said:

I bought a first year 7701 Dura Ace crank and the anodization was
pretty soft. It corroded very quickly even with frequent cleaning.
I've still been riding it, but I'm getting tired of it, because it
makes my otherwise nice looking bike look pretty ugly.

Shimano wouldn't cover under warranty at the time because it was
"cosmetic" and "my fault for sweating on it".

I had heard that Shimano improved the hardness of the anodization and
that this shouldn't be a problem anymore with 7800 or new Ultegra.

Can anybody comment on their experience with newer Ultegra or DA
cranks or know for a fact that this was fixed by Shimano?

Thanks,
Andy

Get a Chorus crank, 2007, and be done with it. 'bout the same $ as the
overpriced aluminum 7800 one.

android ._c_o_m_ said:

I bought a first year 7701 Dura Ace crank and the anodization was
pretty soft. It corroded very quickly even with frequent cleaning.
I've still been riding it, but I'm getting tired of it, because it
makes my otherwise nice looking bike look pretty ugly.

Shimano wouldn't cover under warranty at the time because it was
"cosmetic" and "my fault for sweating on it".

If Shimano treated you this way for a problem you thought was
material, why are you interested in purchasing more of their
products? Why reward a company with more business when it treats you
in this manner and produces a product you have problems with? Odd.

Quoted message said:

I had heard that Shimano improved the hardness of the anodization and
that this shouldn't be a problem anymore with 7800 or new Ultegra.

Can anybody comment on their experience with newer Ultegra or DA
cranks or know for a fact that this was fixed by Shimano?

Thanks,
Andy

Thanks Ron!

That would make sense. Yeah, they polish up, but it doesn't last long.
I even considered powder coating, but that cost more than a new crank.

On 11 Apr 2007 23:21:03 -0700, "Ron Ruff" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

android ._c_o_m_ said:

I bought a first year 7701 Dura Ace crank and the anodization was
pretty soft. It corroded very quickly even with frequent cleaning.
I've still been riding it, but I'm getting tired of it, because it
makes my otherwise nice looking bike look pretty ugly.

Those weren't anodized... they were polished and clear coated. Very
pretty when new... but got ugly very soon. Shimano learned their
lesson and they don't do that anymore. If you went to the trouble of
removing the clear coat and polishing them, they would look very
nice... but you'd have to keep polishing and waxing them to keep them
that way.

Note that DA 10spd parts are anodized a light gray color that doesn't
match any other components... if that matters to you.

Ron Ruff said:

android ._c_o_m_ said:

I bought a first year 7701 Dura Ace crank and the anodization was
pretty soft. It corroded very quickly even with frequent cleaning.
I've still been riding it, but I'm getting tired of it, because it
makes my otherwise nice looking bike look pretty ugly.

Those weren't anodized... they were polished and clear coated.

but shimano say they're anodized.
http://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycle/products/component.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441770739&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302050546&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181674&bmUID=1176437592096
that's the 7710, but it's the same thing as the 7701.

Quoted message said:

Very
pretty when new... but got ugly very soon.

not when treated properly.

Quoted message said:

Shimano learned their
lesson and they don't do that anymore.

but this says they're still anodized.
http://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycle/products/component.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441762834&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302050515&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181674&bmUID=1176437757393

Quoted message said:

If you went to the trouble of
removing the clear coat and polishing them, they would look very
nice... but you'd have to keep polishing and waxing them to keep them
that way.

why? just leave the anodizing alone as was intended by the
manufacturer. if the op rode the bike enough, he wouldn't have time to
rub the anodizing off.

Quoted message said:

Note that DA 10spd parts are anodized a light gray color that doesn't
match any other components... if that matters to you.

that's inconsistent with the statement above.

jim beam said:

but shimano say they're anodized.http://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycle/products/component.jsp?PRODUCT%...
that's the 7710, but it's the same thing as the 7701.

You are right jim... it looks the same as that. All I can say for
certain is that there was a clear layer of something on the crank
(looked like clear-coat), that scratched easily. And if I didn't seal
the scratch the aluminum would corrode, and the corrosion would spread
*underneath* the clear coating. None of the other Dura Ace 7700 parts
were finished with this coating, and none of them showed this
corrosion behavior.

Quoted message said:

not when treated properly.

I thought I treated mine pretty nice. Take a look at the used ones on
ebay sometime.

Quoted message said:

but this says they're still anodized.

The new cranks appear to be anodized just like all the other
components. The 9spd cranks were different.

You can re-polish the crankset with sandpaper (400 ... 2000, plus nevr
dull or simichrome), then take it to a paintball shop and get it
re-anodized. Or, take it to a full-service shop and get them to
polish it AND anodize it.

The logos are harder to produce, but you can get almost any sign-shop
to cut the DURA ACE logo in vinyl and tell DO NOT weed the vinyl. You
install the decal, weed out the logo, and use it as a stencil to paint
on the logo. victory circle graphix (www.vcgraphix.com) offers nice
thick crankset protector decals, invest in those to protect a polished
crank or your own stenciled logos ..

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

After anodization you typically seal the crank's anodization layer by
boiling it. Often the anodizer will add color to the boiling water,
to get color anodization. The boiling step might have been
accidentally missed in some batch of shimano cranks.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

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

Quoted message said:

After anodization you typically seal the crank's anodization layer by
boiling it. Often the anodizer will add color to the boiling water,
to get color anodization. The boiling step might have been
accidentally missed in some batch of shimano cranks.

Hmmm. In my experience, Shimano (or their local distubutor) would have
admitted that [censored]. Also, wouldn't the component have ended up visibly
different? I'm not defending big S, but it seems unlikely that they'd miss
a big step, especially on their top-grade product.

Quoted message said:

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

Skippy
E&OE

My experience matches pretty closely with Ron's.

All of my other Dura Ace 7700 components still look brand new. This
include the rear hubs, which can turn crappy pretty quick if not
cleaned regularly.

I had no shoe or strap wear or any part of my foot rubbing the arms.
All it took to corrode was a good and sweaty 4 hour ride acrosss the
Texas countryside in the summer to trash the finish. The only way to
stop it might have been to stop and clean it every 20 miles.

As to previous questions about why I want to get Dura Ace again, I can
give a few reasons. First, Shimano's warranty explicitly excludes the
finish, so I didn't really expect them to replace it. Second, I don't
believe in Frankenbikes, so I'm not going to put on a Chorus crank as
someone suggested when the rest of the bike is Dura Ace.

I'm really pretty please with how well this gear has performed and
held up, so I'm not going to buy a new gruppo when everything has
functioned perfectly for several years.

Anyway, it sounds like the 7800 is made of tougher stuff, so I'm going
to give it a try.

Thanks,
Andy

On 12 Apr 2007 22:15:23 -0700, "Ron Ruff" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

jim beam said:

but shimano say they're anodized.http://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycle/products/component.jsp?PRODUCT%...
that's the 7710, but it's the same thing as the 7701.

You are right jim... it looks the same as that. All I can say for
certain is that there was a clear layer of something on the crank
(looked like clear-coat), that scratched easily. And if I didn't seal
the scratch the aluminum would corrode, and the corrosion would spread
*underneath* the clear coating. None of the other Dura Ace 7700 parts
were finished with this coating, and none of them showed this
corrosion behavior.

Quoted message said:

not when treated properly.

I thought I treated mine pretty nice. Take a look at the used ones on
ebay sometime.

Quoted message said:

but this says they're still anodized.

The new cranks appear to be anodized just like all the other
components. The 9spd cranks were different.