# Upgrade: Campagnolo Record Alloy to Carbon chain set ?



## bolo yeung (Jul 14, 2008)

I ride my bikes with Record alloy square taper and Centaur CT alloy square taper chainsets and have yet to ride the Campagnolo carbon crank with the UT outboard bearings.

After having a little spin on a friends bike however I have been tempted to upgrade to a carbon gruppo or at least a newer chainset (the bike was actually a vintage steel frame with modern gruppo and not a full carbon modern rig). 

I'm interested in the Record 10spd UT or 11 spd model but I've some concerns regarding max rider weight. Obviously there will be horror stories floating around on the web as I've found a couple of threads and reviews with riders who have had the bonded pedal thread detach itself from within the crank arm and another who actually snapped a crank arm.

Can any riders on here comment?

How's the long term durability on that chainset? is there any reason to believe it wouldn't last as long as the alloy Record model it replaced (errr basically forever bar corrosion or crash )?


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## orange_julius (Jan 24, 2003)

bolo yeung said:


> I ride my bikes with Record alloy square taper and Centaur CT alloy square taper chainsets and have yet to ride the Campagnolo carbon crank with the UT outboard bearings.
> 
> After having a little spin on a friends bike however I have been tempted to upgrade to a carbon gruppo or at least a newer chainset (the bike was actually a vintage steel frame with modern gruppo and not a full carbon modern rig).
> 
> ...


Having ridden an alloy Record square-taper (~2004) crankset, and newer UT-based carbon cranksets (Chorus and Centaur), I can tell you the UT design is significantly stiffer. Overall I think that the UT design is great: easier to install and maintain, nicer to ride. But I am not a clyde. 

As far as durability goes, I don't recall reading anything negative about carbon Campagnolo cranks. Can you share some of these horror stories you cite? Are they specific to Campagnolo or do you speak of other crank brands?


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## bolo yeung (Jul 14, 2008)

Apart from a couple of other links I'd spotted, I had read a couple of the reviews on this site, but realize these are experiences of two riders amongst hundreds of thousands so was not sure how serious the problem might be:

Campagnolo Record Carbon UT 10sp Cranksets Reviews

Perhaps would have been better to ask if there is a rider weight limit on the 10 spd Record UT cranksets. I'm currently weighing in at 203lbs.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

I've been reading Campy forums for a while now and have not seen this issue come up. Personally I have a couple of UT carbon cranksets and have had no problems - and i'm in the 190-200# range.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

I can't quite remember the specifics (and I'm too lazy to search the numbers down), but you also save a good quarter to half a pound by switching to the modern Campy crank/BB set up.


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## orange_julius (Jan 24, 2003)

bolo yeung said:


> Apart from a couple of other links I'd spotted, I had read a couple of the reviews on this site, but realize these are experiences of two riders amongst hundreds of thousands so was not sure how serious the problem might be:
> 
> Campagnolo Record Carbon UT 10sp Cranksets Reviews
> 
> Perhaps would have been better to ask if there is a rider weight limit on the 10 spd Record UT cranksets. I'm currently weighing in at 203lbs.


That's interesting, thanks for sharing. I never thought about checking the reviews for the 10-sp UT crankset. For what it's worth, there are very few reviews of Campag cranksets, even normalized to the number of Campag groupsets out there. So statistically it is very likely to be biased. I've been happy with many Campag groupsets and never thought to actually write a review about them parts . 

It's fair to ask whether there is a weight limit, and the answer is no. There is just the usual disclaimer to be careful and check your equipment periodically if you are on the heavy side. Which I never think of 200 lbs to be very heavy at all.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

I don't know, I had pedals seize in my Centaur carbon cranks and they're still in there despite applying 600 ft lbs of force with an impact wrench. I may have to drill them out, but there is no way that the insert is ever coming loose. It must have been a problem with a production run that has been corrected.


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## orange_julius (Jan 24, 2003)

DrSmile said:


> I don't know, I had pedals seize in my Centaur carbon cranks and they're still in there despite applying 600 ft lbs of force with an impact wrench. I may have to drill them out, but there is no way that the insert is ever coming loose. It must have been a problem with a production run that has been corrected.


Yikes, sorry to hear about your pedal seizing problem! Did you try the old "dip the thing in diet coke and let diet coke eat into the grit and grease" treatment? I've applied this successfully to small and larger bolts (up to #6 allen) successfully. Get a bucket or some other container, fill with diet coke, and dip the pedal/bottom of crank arm into said container overnight. Then try your impact wrench again in the morning. 

Could this have been a corrosion issue?


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## Chris-X (Aug 4, 2011)

orange_julius said:


> Having ridden an alloy Record square-taper (~2004) crankset, and newer UT-based carbon cranksets (Chorus and Centaur), I can tell you the UT design is significantly stiffer. Overall I think that the UT design is great: easier to install and maintain, nicer to ride. But I am not a clyde.
> 
> As far as durability goes, I don't recall reading anything negative about carbon Campagnolo cranks. Can you share some of these horror stories you cite? Are they specific to Campagnolo or do you speak of other crank brands?


I can't really speak to the stiffness of the Record S/T v Record U/T as my S/T is on a Look kg381 which is kind of flexy and the U/T is on a S Works SL2 Roubaix which is significantly stiffer. 

I do think the S/T and bottom bracket is more durable than the bearings on a U/T crank. My first set of bearing on the U/T lasted 11k miles and the second set only about 8k. I got a couple of mm's of side to side play at these mileages.


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## flatlander_48 (Nov 16, 2005)

Personally, unless you can put Cavendish-power into the pedals, I doubt if you will have a problem.

The Campagnolo instruction booklet (a pdf of the original sheets issued with the parts) for the Super Record crank says:

_If the inspection reveals any deformation, cracks, impact marks or stress marks, no matter how slight, *immdeiately* replace the component; components that have experienced excessive wear also need *immediate *replacement.The frequency of inspection depends on many factors; check with your authorized representative of Campagnolo S.r.l. to select a schedule that is best for you. If you weigh 82kg/180lb or more, you must be especially vigilant and have your bicycle inspected more frequently (than someone weighing less than 82kg/180lb) for any evidence of cracks, deformation, or other signs of fatigue or stress. Check with your mechanic to discuss whether the components you selected are suitable for your use, and to determine the frequency of inspections._

They are not saying No. They're saying check your stuff; something you should do anyway...


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