Hollowtech vs square taper for a commuter that eats cranks?
I've snapped two square taper spindles in 14 months on my wet-weather daily rider in Seattle, and I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet on Hollowtech instead of just replacing the BB every three weeks, anyone else switch and notice a real stiffness gain or is it just marketing?
Snapped spindles usually means the BB shell threads are shot or your frame alignment is off, not that square taper is weak. Hollowtech won't fix a bad shell, and the bearings sit outside where road spray kills them faster than a sealed cartridge ever would. Fix the frame first, then decide, otherwise you'll be eating cranks and outboard bearings.