Originally posted by WBC
BTW, profiles SUCK. They're NOT strong and the bearings do not last. you'd be far better off going with X drives and saving money as well as not having to pay $75 USD for a set of bearings every several months…
Hah! I have owned lots of Profiles going back to the 80's, on 20's, 24's, hardtails, and my Bullit, and never had a problem. No that's not true; I had one spindle with slightly loose splines replaced for free and shipped back to me in one day. Never a bent arm or spindle. I've never even stepped up to DJ arms or an SS setup because I haven't had reason to. The only reason I have ever gotten rid of a set of Profiles is when I sell a complete bike.
I have heard that the bearings in RF bottom brackets can be extremely short-lived, too, and don't even bring up any junk made by Shimano. . . The bearing problem in FR/DH bikes, and especially anything hardtail, is mostly due to the fact that the BB shell is too small too fit a bearing that is strong enough in there.
Another hint; the bearings don't cost $75 US. The whole bottom bracket with cups and spacers (but no spindle) is listed at $65 full retail, and you can mail order them for less. If you call Profile, I am pretty sure that they sell the bearings for less than $10 each. Note that getting those bearings from an aircraft bearing supply store will set you back $30-40 each.
Originally posted by WBC
I HATE mine…and they are setup properly.
What do you hate about them? What happened that makes you think they are not strong, and compared to what? I'm not trying to pick on you, but I just have too much first hand experience with Profile cranks not to call you out.
Salami, give me a call when the boss authorizes some bad-ass cranks for that hardtail!