# Cracks - Hollowgram SiSL2 cranks



## cooldollar (Jun 4, 2012)

Hi All.
If you have the Hollowgram SiSL2 cranks fitted to your bike (these were the first ones to come out fitted with the spidering one piece chainwheels) keep an eye on the ends of the crank arms where they are machined out. There may be hairline cracks appear like these. I have a couple of hairline cracks which are in the end of each crank arm through the thinnest part of the alloy end. Weight saving design is not always a good idea in practice!


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

oh snap.


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## jmess (Aug 24, 2006)

So what does Cannondale say about the cracks?


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## Cni2i (Jun 28, 2010)

Reviving old thread...

Since I am currently looking into getting this SiSl2 crankset, any new or more information about the quality/durability of these cranks???


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## cooldollar (Jun 4, 2012)

The SiSl2 has been sweet ever since replacement. Of course I will be keeping an eye out for cracks but as with everything I am sure faults in alloy castings are few and far between.
You can now get a mid compact 52/36 SPIDERING with is almost the do-it-all answer to gear selection.
I just wish I didn't have to pull the BB apart every month to stop the infuriating Cannondale Creak / Click. 
Ah well at least I can fix it in 15 minutes now.
Cheers


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## Cni2i (Jun 28, 2010)

Thanks for the update! Monthly really??? That [email protected]#s. Is that b/c of the Bb30/pf30 bottom brackets and not necessarily exclusive to cannondale cranks??


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

cooldollar said:


> The SiSl2 has been sweet ever since replacement. Of course I will be keeping an eye out for cracks but as with everything I am sure faults in alloy castings are few and far between.
> You can now get a mid compact 52/36 SPIDERING with is almost the do-it-all answer to gear selection.
> I just wish I didn't have to pull the BB apart every month to stop the infuriating Cannondale Creak / Click.
> Ah well at least I can fix it in 15 minutes now.
> Cheers


FWIW, my Cannondale with SiSl2 never creaks. I'm actually quite surprised given the notorious BB30. I've had issues on other bikes.

Have you greased the BB before inserting the bearings and torqued the crank to spec when installing?


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## Cni2i (Jun 28, 2010)

I have an sworks with a PF30 and I know press fits tend to creak more than threaded bbs. But I haven't had that issue yet....over a year now?


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## cooldollar (Jun 4, 2012)

I am a bike mechanic and most of my customers have high end bikes. 75% of my Cannondale Evo customers have experienced the same thing. In my opinion and I stress only my opinion. The creaking /clicking is because the Cannondale axle OD is ever so slightly oversized for the ID of the 30mm bearings. On my personal bike,every time I take it apart to fix it I shave a tiny amount off the axle OD where the bearings sit. I do this by spinning the axle with a battery drill and polishing it with 800 grit emery paper. 
I hope all this is helpful. Cheers


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

I hear Shimano makes really nice cranks. Super stiff.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

cooldollar said:


> I am a bike mechanic and most of my customers have high end bikes. 75% of my Cannondale Evo customers have experienced the same thing. In my opinion and I stress only my opinion. The creaking /clicking is because the Cannondale axle OD is ever so slightly oversized for the ID of the 30mm bearings. On my personal bike,every time I take it apart to fix it I shave a tiny amount off the axle OD where the bearings sit. I do this by spinning the axle with a battery drill and polishing it with 800 grit emery paper.
> I hope all this is helpful. Cheers


In your opinion, why do you think a slightly oversize axle would cause creaking?
How do you know it's oversize? Did you measure it with a micrometer? Do you know what the tolerances are for the press fit? Do you know an axle is supposed to be larger than the bearing?


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## tranzformer (Dec 27, 2007)

I have had good luck with my BB30 bikes. No creaking. No noise.


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## cooldollar (Jun 4, 2012)

Hi Tig.
Love your work with the custom mounts. Really nice products, you obviously know a thing or two about design.

How do I know its oversize? - I don't ....but a Cannondale axle is always harder to "Slide" out of the BB bearings than any other type of crank I work on......so I have assumed (as you should never do) that it is oversized when compared to other crank spindles.
Did I measure with a micrometer? - No ....but I will from now on and compare diameters.
Do I know the tolerances for press fit? - No ....my "theory of creaking" only involves the bearing ID and spindle OD interface. It has nothing to do with the PF to BB shell fit.
Do I know an axle is supposed to be larger than the bearing? - I don't think so in this case. The bearing is "Pressed" into the PF cups and stays put. The spindle should slide through the bearing ID and hence assembly / disassembly is possible. This is the purpose of the wave washer to keep it all nice and snug.
Looking forward to my creak / click returning in the name of physics.


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## tnicoluci (Aug 22, 2016)

Same issue with my SiSL2 cranks. Both sides showing *cracks* after only 5 months of normal use.
What does Cannondale say about it? Well, in Brazil they say "go ask warranty to the retailer you purchased it from". Well, I got it brand new on ebay.... Thanks a lot Cannondale!
Crap upgrade - run away from Hollogram if you can. 
Same as throwing away money (and time)

Ah, I have had a pair of SL cracking as well....


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## jlandry (Jan 12, 2007)

I have the creaking problem on my 2013 Scalpel. A search around the interwebz suggested pulling out the BB30 bearings and reinstalling with blue locktite. Thoughts?


cooldollar said:


> How do I know its oversize? - I don't ....but a Cannondale axle is always harder to "Slide" out of the BB bearings than any other type of crank I work on......so I have assumed (as you should never do) that it is oversized when compared to other crank spindles.
> Did I measure with a micrometer? - No ....but I will from now on and compare diameters.
> Do I know the tolerances for press fit? - No ....my "theory of creaking" only involves the bearing ID and spindle OD interface. It has nothing to do with the PF to BB shell fit.
> Do I know an axle is supposed to be larger than the bearing? - I don't think so in this case. The bearing is "Pressed" into the PF cups and stays put. The spindle should slide through the bearing ID and hence assembly / disassembly is possible. This is the purpose of the wave washer to keep it all nice and snug.
> Looking forward to my creak / click returning in the name of physics.


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## allenpg (Sep 13, 2006)

I've had no issues with my SiSL2 cranks after 25K miles. My only problem is that I stripped some of the threads on the NDS arm when using a steel crank puller. For creaking, I use a Chris King PF30 bottom bracket pressed in using Phil Wood grease. I've had no noise issues at all. The one thing I would recommend is ditching the FSA chainrings and going with something like Praxis. That's a huge upgrade right there.


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## thumper8888 (Apr 7, 2009)

Rotor 3D's do this, too I had it happen to me, and there are fair number of photos and postings out there to that effect.
Appears some of the lighter BB30 options are a tad under-engineered.
I'm not running SISL2 on one bike, no cracks after 8000 miles or so, but a bit of corrosion, not something you want to see in an expensive and very thin alloy skinned crankset...


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