Why do Boonen and other pros using Campy not use the available carbon cranks? Are the pros worries about the cranks snapping under load? I can only speculate.
I for one love the non-carbon Record crankset.
It is a sponsor thing - some teams get them others dont. Even a pro team has a budget…ever wonder why some Pro’s are on an Alu Cervelo and others on Carbon?
Its a sad day when the world champ can’t get a set of carbon cranks for free.
I bet there is putty at his seat tube / seat stay hidden in the frame too 
.
That was his P-R bike. No mention of the cranks, but the write up of the bike is here…
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006/apr06/roubaix06/?id=/tech/2006/features/boonen_time
Believe me…he can ride whatever the hell he wants. Makes me wanna sport a mullet…
Yeah, I guess using alloy instead of carbon must be a serious disadvantage.
Look at the road he is riding on and draw your own conclusions.
Alright we’re starting to get to the bottom of this. I’m asking if there’s any functionality difference between the campy aluminum and carbon cranks that would influence his decision.
It is a sponsor thing - some teams get them others dont. Even a pro team has a budget…ever wonder why some Pro’s are on an Alu Cervelo and others on Carbon?
This is a joke, right?
"Even a pro team has a budget…This is a joke, right? "
Actually no. Even on some of the pro teams, only the top riders will get DA or Record for example. The domestiques will have to make do with Ultegra or Chorus.
Tom boonen uses alu cranks because campy doesnt make a long enough length in carbon for him. he needs like a 180 or something or 177. Its also stiffer than carbon and will last longer on those coble stones in belguim.
To imply that the World Champion rides alu because they won’t give him the better stuff is simply ridiculous.
remember when only the team captain had the time trial bikes, everyone else rode their standard road bike.
did I really say remember when? that was only like 5 years ago…
"Even a pro team has a budget…This is a joke, right? "
Actually no. Even on some of the pro teams, only the top riders will get DA or Record for example. The domestiques will have to make do with Ultegra or Chorus.
That is one super domestique!
for one, Boonen rides 175.5 cranks and they don’t make those in carbon - or at least didn’t when he started out. For another, Boonen is somewhat of a retro grouch.
also, it’s not so uncommon to see sprinters use Alu cranks rather than carbon.
WOW! I guess I’ll have to throw my new Zipp cranks in the trash now that the pros aren’t using them. What on earth was I thinking? Why, oh why, didn’t I check Slowtwitch before I bought them? I will never forgive myself for this transgression.
They were a gift from Boogerd and he feels rude not to ride them? 
"To imply that the World Champion rides alu because they won’t give him the better stuff is simply ridiculous. "
That’s not what I said. I know who the guy is. Reality is that many teams do have budgets.
Even more ridiculous to imply that carbon cranks would make him any faster.
Even more ridiculous to imply that carbon cranks would make him any faster.
Yeah, but noone said that either. 
The crank length explanation makes sense. Case closed?
(I don’t see how P-R cobblestones would have anything to do with it, btw- I can’t imagine that a carbon crank would be anymore likely to disintegrate on the cobblestones than alloy cranks.)
"any functionality difference between the campy aluminum and carbon cranks "
Carbon looks cooler. Possibly a tiny weight advantage that is .0000001% increase in overall performance. Could be a sizing issue as others have suggested.