Chainset Upgrade - What Do You Recommend

maxcars1

Considering upgrade of a Truvativ ISIS standard chainset with a budget of £60 - £90 - hopefully get a good deal with sale items :0

Anonymous

90 quid might get you the new xt chainset and BB, i just bought one from merlin for 95 quid and it is a touch of class.

maxcars1

sheepsteeth wrote:

90 quid might get you the new xt chainset and BB, i just bought one from merlin for 95 quid and it is a touch of class.

Sorry for ignorance but is that the Shimano top of range model?

Anonymous

xtr is the top of the range but with a price tag of over 200 quid. xt is very high spec kit and is found on many top notch bikes.

Anonymous

that is the one i mean, it might well be cheaper elsewhere.

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... egoryId=12

artillerydave

2nd vote for the XT chainset, why pay more as this is quality and durable for a good price.

realnumber 1

Can't go wrong with the XT imo.

dave_hill

Shimano Hone or LX with Hollowtech 2 bottom bracket. Only marginally heavier than XT, and if you ask the insiders they'll tell you that they prefer LX to XT. Well within your budget too.

Anonymous

those lx are a lovely looking bit of kit, i had a set on my (eurgh) p7 and as you say, not much weight difference and an ace price.

triop

done 5000ml + on xt ht 2 chainset , bottom bracket still ok had to replaced middle ring at @ 3000 and outer @ 4500 both replaced with middleburn. Im 17 stone and would recommend this product. hope my reply helps.
regards
pete

passout

XT, or LX if on a budget.

dave_hill

sheepsteeth wrote:

those lx are a lovely looking bit of kit, i had a set on my (eurgh) p7 and as you say, not much weight difference and an ace price.

CRC are knocking 2008 LX chainsets out complete with BB for £49.99. That would leave you plenty to get the tools as well to fit if you don't have them already.

duckson

Sorry to chip in but i assume you need a BB that is the same brand as the chainset?
I also assume chains are "universal" and work on any brand of chainrings?
And (finally) will the rear cassette of one brand (eg SRAM) work with the chainset of any other brand (eg Shimano).

Moose.

Another vote for LX stuff:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=25146

And you'll also want the two Shimano tools to fit it::

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=3785

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=3784

Get your LBS to remove the old bottom bracket and face the bearing surfaces to ensure they're square with the threads in the frame. Don't bother buying the tools for this as once you've converted to Hollowtech you'll never need them again.

Chains, rings and cassettes should all work ok with each other provided you stick with the same number of gears. A 9 speed chain is slightly thinner than an 8 speed. Other than that you can interchange brands without issue.

dave_hill

duckson wrote:

Sorry to chip in but i assume you need a BB that is the same brand as the chainset?

Not necessarily. Shimano Octalink BBs will only fit Octalink cranksets; ISIS BBs of any brand will fit ISIS cranksets of any brand; Shimano Hollowtech II and Race Face X-type are interchangeable (Hope and Superstar BBs can be used with both).

Just to confuse the issue, there are one or two odd-balls out there - Truvativ Howitzer BBs are an ISIS unit with outboard bearings, like X-type - but they are only compatible with Truvativ cransets.

Square taper units are a different matter altogether. Whether or not the cranset will fit depends on a) the length of the axle, and b) the angle of the taper. Italian, British and Japanese square tapers have different standards.

duckson wrote:

I also assume chains are "universal" and work on any brand of chainrings?

More or less, as long as the width is correct - for example you can't use a 6-speed chain on a 9-speed cassette, as it would be too wide.

duckson wrote:

And (finally) will the rear cassette of one brand (eg SRAM) work with the chainset of any other brand (eg Shimano).

Yes, as long as the chain pitch is the same (length of the link). Which it will be.

cjw

Moose. wrote:

Chains, rings and cassettes should all work ok with each other provided you stick with the same number of gears. A 9 speed chain is slightly thinner than an 8 speed. Other than that you can interchange brands without issue.

Almost.... Chains and cassettes are interchangable, however chain rings have different fit sizes noted as BCD (Bolt Circle Diameter) and if changing just the chainrings you need to make sure you get the right bolt pattern and size - Also one of the XTR fittings is a bit different even thoughquoted as BCD 104. Cranksets are also not always interchagable with different external bearing bottom brackets, for example Truvativ GXP bottom bracket won't take Shimano cranks and vice versa. And then you have the internal bearings with different tapers and splines :?

cjw

dave_hill wrote:

duckson wrote:

Sorry to chip in but i assume you need a BB that is the same brand as the chainset?

Not necessarily. Shimano Octalink BBs will only fit Octalink cranksets; ISIS BBs of any brand will fit ISIS cranksets of any brand; Shimano Hollowtech II and Race Face X-type are interchangeable (Hope and Superstar BBs can be used with both).

Just to confuse the issue, there are one or two odd-balls out there - Truvativ Howitzer BBs are an ISIS unit with outboard bearings, like X-type - but they are only compatible with Truvativ cransets.

Square taper units are a different matter altogether. Whether or not the cranset will fit depends on a) the length of the axle, and b) the angle of the taper. Italian, British and Japanese square tapers have different standards.

duckson wrote:

I also assume chains are "universal" and work on any brand of chainrings?

More or less, as long as the width is correct - for example you can't use a 6-speed chain on a 9-speed cassette, as it would be too wide.

duckson wrote:

And (finally) will the rear cassette of one brand (eg SRAM) work with the chainset of any other brand (eg Shimano).

Yes, as long as the chain pitch is the same (length of the link). Which it will be.

He he, great minds think alike

Milkie

What about the SuperStar Crankset...

700grams, SKF Bearings, £99 including BB..

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=75

cjw

No idea, but they're 800g not 700. Still good price though and pretty light.

I've been considering their ceramic bottom bracket to replace my GXP when it goes again (usually last about 500 miles as mine are made of cheese )

Milkie

No idea, but they're 800g not 700. Still good price though and pretty light.

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/

Check above.... they say 725grams on that page. I don't have one, so can't confirm the weight.. But probably will buy one when my raceface gives up.

EDIT: I see what they've done, quoted this model Aerozine X12-SL-Ti

But they sell Aerozine X12-SL-SKF, I'm guessing the difference would be some Titanium somewhere.

Could be little miss-leading to the weight weenies.

cjw

And it doesn't look as though you can buy the Ti one on the web site. The £99 price seems to be for the Aerozine X12-SL-SKF. Confusing :?

Anonymous

those cranks were given a brief review in an mbuk recently and were rated pretty highly, in fact i think they went onto one of the writers test bikes (might have been the genius) and he said he would fight anyone who tried to take it back,

MattRhino

SLX?

daniel_b

I currently have a Truvativ crankset, and have had to change the £12 bottom bracket once already.

Am I correct in thinking that these HT2 cranksets do without a BB altogether?

Are there bearings, parts that will need replacing over time, or is it a fit and forget solution?

Next time it goes I think I will switch to one of these.

Any advantage in going for a 170mm crank over a 175mm?
I guess it means you have more ground clearance, but less leverage?
So swings and roundabouts.

Dan

Anonymous

no, the bb is externally mounted (it takes the form of 2 cups which screw into the bottom bracket shell of the frame and then the cranks have a spindle attached to one of the crank arms which passes through the BB, t'other crank fits to the spindle too.) it still needs replacing periodically but how often depends on all sorts.

dave_hill

Daniel B wrote:

Am I correct in thinking that these HT2 cranksets do without a BB altogether?

Errrrr no, or else it wouldn't last very long...

Daniel B wrote:

Are there bearings, parts that will need replacing over time, or is it a fit and forget solution?

Shimano HT2 bottom brackets have an unbelievably variable record. I've know them go in under a month, but mines been in nearly 2 years without any complaints.

They're designed as a throw-away part - that is once the bearings are knackered you fit a new unit and sling the old one out. They can be rebuilt if you know how, but it's debatable whether it is economic sense.

Daniel B wrote:

Any advantage in going for a 170mm crank over a 175mm?

Not that you'd notice. Shimano tend to charge more for the shorter cranks, oddly.