Sheldon Brown wrote:

Someone wrote:


I have bought an S & S coupled frame and need to add a crank that
will easily come off when I want to pack it up. I usually use Campy
triple cranks as I am running Campy 9 spd but I could go compact or
some other brand in a triple if it worked better. I already
stripped out a Campy crank when the add-on self-extracting bolts
self-destructed and wiped out the threads on the crank. Any thoughts
about a good way to go that is reasonably priced? Any triple cranks
that come with self-extracting bolts?


David L. Johnson wrote:


I don't think it's a good idea to regularly pull the cranks, no matter
what design. Self-extracting bolts don't help here, either. Such
components are not designed for frequent removal and replacement.


I agree. This might be a good application for one of the new two-piece
cranksets, such as the "10-speed" Ultegra.

The cranks on my travel bike need to be removed to pack it in its
suitcase and they've been on and off a few dozen times without any
apparent harm. They're the old '8-speed' Ultegra with square tapers and
self-extracting bolts.