cheap chainset Options

[craigf]

Happy New Year to all on MTB Britain.

I'm looking to replace my chainset on my old stumpy.

Currently it has the one that came with it (Truvativ Stylo 3.3), but all the rings are worn and the crank arms have seen better days.

Can anyone recommend a (cheap) replacement.

[Rod]

What £?? are you calling cheap?

Me, I'd go for an SLX every time. CRC = £89 currently

[craigf]

Hi Rod.

I was looking at the SLX. £89 isn't too bad. Although cheaper would be nice

So would it be a straight swap over or is there a bit of faff involved?

[Gareth]

I would go for the SLX myself as well if not Deore. These chainsets come with a BB and spacers which are a doddle to fit as long as your BB shell is faced properly. This is needed to get the two separate BB cups to align with each other which they must do to avoid rapid wear issues. You could just bosh it in and see how long it lasts of course the BB’s are not so expensive...

£51 with a BB included is cheap as chips.

<Edit>
Who else has just boshed in a Shimano Type II BB and got away with it?

[Weak Knees]

Who else has just boshed in a Shimano Type II BB and got away with it?

Yep

[craigf]

Thanks Gareth.

Is it worth getting the Deore over the SLX?

I've already ordered a new chain and Deore Cassette.

It's a big difference in price. (I like that as I need to be frugal at the moment)

Now, about the facing bit. Who does it and is it expensive?

[Rod]

If £90 is too much £40 less get's you the capable Deore as Gareth poits out. (please bare in mind you need a tool to fit the bottom bracket < £5


As for who as boshed 'em in and got away with it without facing... me x 3

Facing in my experience costs a tenner or there-abouts and needs to be done at a reputable bike shop. Make sure they only take the bare minimum off the faces and preferably leave a very light, barely visable witness mark of uncut piece of metal.

Rod

[craigf]

Thanks Rod.

Think i could go the boshing route as well.

Still undecided about which cranks to go for. Ideally it would be the SLX.

What about crank lengths? Think mine are 175mm long. I've noticed there's shorter ones. Are they just for ground clearance?

[jes]

Crank length can be dependantant on a couple of things.

Classicaly it is related to inseam length, more critical if your putting the miles on a road or cross country bike.
Do a google search for a crank length claculator.

Clearance - DH may run 165mm to give better clearance
Leverage - BMX bikes used to run up 180mm to get the leverage for gate starts but still run a high enough gear not to spin out.

Due to bike design I've moved over to 170mm (30" inseam) from 175mm to get better clearance, bonus is theoretically is matches my stumpy legs bettter and if I do decide to go out for a few mile I find I'me not getting as saddle sore.

You do have to spin more and you can't muscle up stuff in a high gear as much.

I too have never faced a BB as I mostly have unpainted frames, not experienced an issue yet except with using plastic Raceface/Hope spacers causing them to loosen (now use alloy ones) some of my BB are 3-4 years old.

[Rod]

I have 170s on the MsIsle and 175mm on other bikes and if I really think about it I can notice the difference but it's nowt that makes a huge change in life. I went for 170mm as that's what came up, I wanted to try 'em, my lad was using the bike too and he was shorter than myself and I wanted a little more ground clearance to play on the pump track.

Rod

[craigf]

Thanks a lot chaps

Some good info there.

Jes, I've got stumpy legs as well lol so have gone for the shorter crank length.

[jes]

Stumpy legs ftw