Hi, New here and looking for advice on Kraken

johnp801

Hi folks, gotten this cycling bug over these last six months (both riding bikes and twiddling with them) and would like some advice/opinions.

I have a 2005 version Carrera Kraken (Deore Shifters, Tektro IO Brakes, Deore cassette (9 speed), Deore Derailleurs (3+9) Deore Chain, FSA Alpha Drive Chainset and I have put Rockshox Recon Silver TK forks on it.

I am interested in fitting a Deore chainset to it, mainly to take advantage of the hollowtech bearing plus the great prices these chainsets can be had for. It is going to cost me .....say 70 quid to do it myself or maybe 85 quid to get the LBS shop to do it (Quinns in L,pool) bearing in mind, either way, I am going to have to have the BB shell faced.
My question is, might this be throwing too much money at a bike that isnt worth spending any more money on and might I be best going for something newer? So far, this bike stands me £300 and the chainset replacement will push its cost to near £400.
Hope my question makes sense.
P.S. At the moment, this 20inch Kraken is an identical weight to an 18inch 2008 Carrera Fury we have here....14.6kg

ride_whenever

Go for the slx, they're hollow and notably stiffer.

johnp801

You would justify throwing the cost of an SLX chainset at this bike?

cooldad

I'd just go for the Deore.
Way to look at value, is not what it's cost you, but if you sold it, what could you get for the cash? A comparable bike - I doubt it, so IMHO it's worth it.
I've spent far more on my bikes than they are worth, but it's spread out, and well worth it to me.

johnp801

Thanks Cooldad, that is my line of thinking as well. The FSA chainset and BB is still serviceable but will need replacing eventually. I think what I am asking is, will I feel and notice a significant difference if I were to swap it for a Deore chainset and hollowtech BB, now? (and obviously, is this Kraken worth upgrading rather then looking at unloading it and starting again with a better bike without spending significantly more money?

cooldad

I replace things when they need it, either the BB or the chainrings. Doubt you'd see enough difference until then to make it worthwhile.
Tyres, saddle, pedals make the most obvious difference at lowest cost.

johnp801

Tyres and peddles, I understand, but saddle? ??? I had also swapped the original risers on the Kraken for carbon fibre ones and that did make a difference from the Tiogre ones that were on.
What significant difference will peddles make?

The Rookie

Have a look at the link in my Sig to my 2006 framed Kraken. It's now running a Deore HT2 (picked up used, BB good for £20) on top of the other mods and the increase in stiffness over the original square taper is very noticeable, you stomp, you go.

Saddle, you want one that is as comfy as possible, if the one you have now does, then keep it, if not, change it!

Pedals, more grip is the key, you don't want your foot slipping off (been there, done that, it hurt!), some prefer true flat, some prefer ones with a slight dish to match your natural foot shape, others ride clipped in, again it's personal.

There are lots of good quality used parts out there now allowing you to upgrade a bike much cheaper.

johnp801

Interesting advice, beginner. I was especially interested in how you got your Kraken down to its current weight. The Fury, my ball and chain is using has a powerspline chainset on it, too (my FSA is square taper). I had to put a new middle ring on hers, this week. the one it came with was bent but when that Truvative chainset (Blaze)dies (or the BB does), I am looking at swapping that out for a deore too.
I too, enjoy twiddling with the bikes and making them best as can be for minimum cash layout. It must be the wannabe mechanic in me.
If as you say, there will be an immediate noticeable benefit for changing my FSA chainset for a deore, I am becoming more inclined to go down that road soon.
I would even look at a better chainset (used SLX etc) but then I would have to take the sellers word for how worn it was as I am not good at telling by the pictures, myself about wear yet.

The Rookie

The BB is the only bit that wears, so allow for that, Deore can be had quite cheap.

Try the Fury, I'd say for stiffness that the Powerspline is about 1/3 the way from a square taper to an HT2.

Weightwise the Kraken is currently being upgraded again and should loose about another 200+grams. Will be sub 11Kg without pedals.

supersonic

Hollowtech chainsets are lighter, not stiffer. many (modern) solid Shimano chainsets are stiffer than XT and SLX!

The Rookie

I can only really compare the Deore LX/square to the powerspline to the Deore HT2 (all in the same frame), each was a step up in step up in terms of stiffness and responce to pedal imputs.

johnp801

Funny you should mention the Fury. Got hold of a 2008 version fury for the missus, this last week. As I have said earlier, they are of identical weights. Went out for a spin with her yesterday and normally, I leave her for dead but with her on the Fury, I was struggling to keep up except on the hills, where I still murdered her.
I couldn't beleive how much difference her fury made to her cruising speed, etc....still trying to work out what parts on it are actually making the difference. She has Schwalbe big Apple Liteskins on Mavic 317's and on mine there are Kenda Kwest on the supplied wheels that came with the bike.

The Rookie

Much better components generally on the Fury, but I'd say the tyres were the biggest benefit in terms of rolling resistance.

johnp801

I'm thinking it has to be either the chainset, the wheels or the tyres. I would have thought my tyres would have had a similar if not better RR then the Big Apples. They are 2.3 and mine are 1.5

supersonic

it is not worth changing the chainset until it wears out.

bloghog

Personally unless the bottom bracket and chain set is worn out I would leave it alone. The hollowtech gear is fine but you will go through a lot of replacement bearings if you are riding a lot, an easy job but can get expensive over time at least more expensive versus square taper bottom bracket. Regarding stiffness and lightness I doubt you will notice that much difference.

In my experience the best upgrade you can make for a little bit more money is on a nicer set of wheels, I would do this before looking at chainsets and bottom brackets.