Actually, on my last pair of profiles, they were all rusted out on the inside which I think may have contributed to the breakage. Water was able to enter in through the hole and weaken the metal by rusting.
-Dylan
It’s a style issue and a strength issue. You can’t drill a hole in the crank, weld a threaded insert in the hole, and not weaken the crank. My Profile crank cracked and broke right at the hole. The breakage was likely due to the chainwheel nub being ground down which also ground down much of the weld, but still.
Some frames have more clearance problems with the nub and require that the chainring nub be ground down, more spacers added to increase the Q-factor, or a combination of both.
What I do now is plug the hole with a big set screw. I Loctite the set screw so it won’t jiggle loose and fall inside the crank. The big set screw plugs the hole and keeps water and dirt from getting inside the crank.
The Profile cranks have an anti-rust coating inside the crank. You don’t need to be super paranoid that your Profile cranks are going to rust away. However, the areas around the welds are more susceptible to rusting than the rest of the crank. If the crank does get weakened by rust it’s going to be right at one of the welds.
- On my Profile cranks there is a hole on both that is located inside the area where the pedal threads into the crank. I assume that this is where water can drain from the crank and allow it to dry (as well as enter the crank). IF your nubless profiles have those holes that may have been the problem, if not, those holes may be the solution to the problem. The hole where the nub is has been sealed well on mine - they either came that way or perhaps Darren Bedford did it.
- And that is when the lifetime warranty kicked in, right?
Safety issues aside, if they replaced it, then the it is only inconvenient that it broke. IF the hole weakens their product and they have to replace enough cranks because of it - they will correct the error - otherwise the hole will probably remain to cut costs. (Which may be why they stopped making them without the nub).
- Actually, mine ARE rusting inside the area where the pedal threads into the crank. I am more concerned that that area will be weakened and break than I am about the nub area (even though there seems to be more leverage on the nub area).
Still, I ride carefree on the rumor (there doesn’t seem to be any written warranty) that Profile will replace the crank if it breaks from:
a. a defect in the design or manufacture (nub falls into this catagory)
b. they rust out (because of the nub hole or holes in the thread area)
c. I (230 pounds) do a drop from the roof of my house and break them
If my understanding of the rumored warranty is correct, then the last remaining issue is safety. We’d need to determine and consider:
- If the crank with the nub always breaks first
- What the rider was doing to break the crank (there is probably more danger related to doing big drops).
All Profile cranks have a little hole right next to the pedal threads. There is also a similar little hole in the splined area by the hub. These holes allow moisture to escape from inside the main crank body. The holes are also probably there so gasses can vent as the crank is welded. If water does get inside the crank there ways for it to drain. Frames will also have similar vent holes.
The reason I plug the big chainwheel hole is because it’s a big hole that can let in a lot of water.
When my crank broke there was no rust at all inside the crank. The coating they put inside the crank seems to do the trick. I will ride in the rain and mud, but I don’t ride through streams or deep water.
There are products like J. P. Weigle Framesaver that will rust proof the inside of a steel frame or the inside of steel cranks. There is a description of J. P. Weigle Framesaver at Branford Bike and at MTBR.com.
I have not yet sprayed frame saver inside my muni frames or my trials frame or my road frames. I should, but I haven’t gotten around to it.
My broken Profile crank was replaced under warranty. No cost to me other than shipping the broken crank back. I did the warranty replacement through Unicycle.com since that is where I bought the crank and unicycle.com said they would handle it. That’s good, because I don’t have the receipt for my muni or any of the warranty paperwork from Profile.
I bow to the fine people at Profile Racing. their cranks are pretty damn strong I am around 230lbs and have had no problems in the three years of 8’ drops, grinding. and other abuse.
I take that back I have had one problem the axle boss (splined area) where the spacer goes in betwen the crank and the axle bolt, has bent so I have to pry the spacer out every time I go to regrease my cranks. but this is more annoying than it is a problem with the crank.
has this happened to anyone else.
-mike
Drew
I do seal the chain ring bolt hole on every set
of profile cranks I sell and always have.
I do not grind the nub off. That looks really bad and the crank rusts in that spot.
As for rust starting in the pedal thread area,
put some anti-seize (or water proof grease) in that threaded hole before installing the pedals.
Enjoy the ride,
Darren
man this thread just wont die…well ive had lots of interesting offers but none have quite sealed the deal so to speak.
anyone else interested in 145’s without the hole? PM me if your shy…
I don’t have the cash right now, but in a few months, if they’re still there, I’ll take 'em. Otherwise, good luck getting 'em away, Jag.
Gerblefranklin
Yep, same with my profiles from crank grabbing/grinding. Also not major, just annoying. Same happened with Trip’s Onza, only worse.
the cranks are sold.
50 bones and a shirt,told you i was easy…
Does sealing the hole with a screw and some loctite make your warranty void?
Plus what documentation will I get when I buy profiles on a wheelset, the arrow racing trials wheelset with profiles, if any at all? Man I really gotta find out about profiles alot, I think I need to add john childs to MSN to make sure I don’t screw my cranks up!
Putting a set screw in the hole won’t void the warranty. There is no reason why it would. It’s not like you’re welding the screw in place. The only issue is making sure the set screw does not fall inside the crank. That would be bad. It would clink around and be almost impossible to remove.
If you keep your receipt and other sales records you should be fine.