Square taper compct cranlset for cx

Moonbiker

Anyone bought theese?

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s109p2003

Weight 510g S

Thinking about it for my cx bike fed up with replacing gxp BB's on the current sram elita crank.

From gxp service manual:

Maintenance
Use only water and a mild soap to clean the crankset and bottom bracket. Do notuse a pressure washer.
If creaking of the assembly occurs, check that all parts are torqued to specification, and grease is liberally applied on all surfaces noted.
Verify that chainring bolts are torqued to 8–9 N∙m (71-80 in-lb). If creaking continues, consult your local SRAM dealer for assistance.
Bearings require regular maintenance. Regrease bearings after 100 hours of use in dry conditions or immediately following any
significant exposure to water; such as riding in heavy rain or through water crossings

So it basically saying I should service after every CX race. :roll:

Noticed some pro's have square taper on there bikes fro reading cx mag pro bike profiles .

Only downside sqaure taper is weight maybe?, hard to find figures to work out how much heavier though....

trek_dan

I find Shimano external BBs to be much more reliable than SRAM GXP.

tgotb

I've raced CX with all sorts of inappropriate BBs; as far as I can see there are two options:

1. Whichever BB is easiest to service. For instance I have a PF30 on one bike. Fills with mud at the drop of a hat, but relatively easy to prise off the bearing seals and regrease.

2. Whichever BB does the best job of keeping the mud out. My daughter's square taper does a good job here, but when it does die I need to replace the whole thing (which means I need to keep a spare handy in case it dies at an awkward time).

GXP makes an awkward compromise between these two philosophies; well enough sealed to be a pain to service, but too exposed to keep the mud out. Added to which, GXP BBs have a reputation for being manufactured mostly from cheese.

Servicing your bike after every muddy race seems to be a fact of life if you want to keep your bike reliable. I already have to regrease my jockey wheels to keep them reliable, so the BB's not much extra hassle.

Beware of reading too much into the spec of pros' bikes. Aswell as potential sponsor obligations, they generally have mechanics and a much larger budget. For all we know they might replace some bearings after every muddy race; the cost would be trivial in the context of a pro team budget, but not necessarily something us amateurs would want to absorb.