All cranks do have a lifespan, but it's usually in the 100s of thousands of miles. It depends on the rider – some riders are harder of drivetrains than others, but it also depends on the cranks. Material choice, the way they are made (net shape forging <https://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/net-shape-forging-and-crank-length/> vs. machining to length), and even the surface finish all will affect the fatigue life of the part.
The VO cranks are made from 7000-series aluminum, which is very strong, but also suffers from stress corrosion cracking. Most people consider it a poor choice for a crank for that reason, especially if it's just polished and not anodized. Disclosure: Compass Bicycles manufactures and sells René Herse cranks. Jan Heine Compass Bicycles Ltd. http://www.compasscycle.com Follow our blog at http://janheine.wordpress.com/ On Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 5:50:44 AM UTC-8, Eric Norris wrote: > > I agree that alloy parts have a finite lifespan, but 13,000 miles for a > crank arm seems a little short to me. I would definitely contact VO for a > replacement--I've had very good experiences with them in this regard. > > Eric N > www.CampyOnly.com > Twitter @CampyOnlyGuy > Blog: CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com > > On Feb 12, 2015, at 12:31 AM, Benedikt <neutral...@comcast.net > <javascript:>> wrote: > > I seem to remember seeing a similar post to this a few weeks/months ago > but here it is ... > My VO crank that had 13,000 miles on it busted this morning on my way into > work. I was at a stop. Pushed down with my right foot, locked my left clip > in, pushed down with the right and "clunk" crank arm came right off. > Fortunately I wasn't going that fast, hammering down the road. What causes > this? Do ALL cranks have a life span? These are an aluminum alloy. > Here's a pretty good picture of the break - > https://www.flickr.com/photos/neutralbuoyancy/16320815710/ > > - Brian in Seattle > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com > <javascript:>. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
