Are these crankset repairable?

defever · January 2018

Hello fellow vintage bikers,

I bought a pair of Azzuro (old Gipiemme / pre-Campagnolo company) crankset in November on eBay, which turned out to be damaged. The seller kindly settled the issue and I'm now left with two pairs of crankset, both identical but with damages which need repairing (I don't need these anymore, I got a NOS crankset in the end).

I wondered if the damages are repairable, and whether it's worth putting them on eBay as "for repair" 0.01p + postage:

Fourth arm on the spider is not in line with the other arms, causing the chainring to wobble (detectable visually when spun):

Already repaired pedal thread bush split in half:

Another repaired thread but the thread bush does not cover the whole depth (causing the above damage if pedal installed, due to insufficient thread):

Rounded and bulging square taper (visually wobbles and doesn't sit well on the BB):

What do you think?

With the right skill and tool, do you think anyone would be interested in paying a postage (approx. £3.90 per pair) for these?

Or are they for bin?

Happy cycling!

trivial_poursuivant · January 2018

Apart from top end frames or wheels, generally with bike components, If they are damaged they are very rarely cost effective to repair unless you can do a cheap diy one. You also have to think if you would still have confidence in it while riding. If it breaks again while out riding miles from home you’re not going to be happy.

defever · January 2018

Thanks TP,

Very valid and realistic advice. In fact, the second pair of the very crankset (the one with broken pedal thread), was installed professionally at a LBS, I went for a test ride, and 6miles later the pedal fell off (hence the damage). I wasn't happy.

I guess they are for the bin; I wanted to seek others opinion on whether they are salvageable as I'm for recycling and reducing unnecessary waste. I might keep the chai rings but the BCD is an odd 116mm (old and obsolete Campagnolo BCD)...

Any other thoughts anyone??

veronese68 · January 2018

I disagree, repairing threads is not problematic if done properly. The wobble may be repairable, the square taper I suspect not.

Matthewfalle · January 2018

threads are simple - helicoil. shop will do for a tenner.

wobbles - if it doesn't affect the ride I wouldn't worry - use them on the turbo/winter bike.

b/b: again, if they work, don't worry about it.

defever · January 2018

Thanks both for your opinions.

Threads: I agree that they are repairable. However, 3 out of 4 pedal threads are already repaired with helicoil and new thread bushings, but the depth of the bushings are short of the original depth (i.e. the thread is not long enough to support the pedal fully). Can these be re-threaded with helicoil again and replaced with correct depth thread bushings?

Crank spider wobble: The shop mechanic showed me the wobble in situ and it is noticeably wobbly. Since I don’t have front derailleur, it was deemed unsafe, or at least it’ll get worse and eventually bend under load. If it was a slight wobble, then yes some wobble is tolerable. I’ve seen a YouTube clip of a guy straightening the slightly mal-aligned spider arm with a plier; the mechanic also suggested that but he also added that it’ll weaken the alloy once it is forced (which I can imagine).

BB rounded taper on cranks: This is rounded enough and the corners are bulging enough to prevent the crank to sit flush as intended on the BB. Again the mechanic showed me in situ and it was visually and disturbingly wobbly.

If the sets required a repair on only the threads then I wouldn’t hesitate to list them on eBay as “for repair”, but with the addition of spider mis-alignment and rounded taper, I’m not sure.

Are these crankset repairable?

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