Crank arms

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My el cheapo mountain bike left crank arm is really sloppy on the taper. ARe all square hole arms the same taper fit?

My el cheapo mountain bike left crank arm is really sloppy on the taper. ARe all square hole arms the same taper fit?No.

see: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bbsize.html

I read the info on that link (thank you btw). However, for all of the "Square" fits, it just says square. So can i assume that if the crank arm has a "square" and not splined, it will fit?

(I'm a rookie, so please bare with me)

I read the info on that link (thank you btw). However, for all of the "Square" fits, it just says square. So can i assume that if the crank arm has a "square" and not splined, it will fit?

(I'm a rookie, so please bare with me)I'm sorry. Yes, most of the square ones are the same. The notable exception is the ones made by Campagnolo. The taper on the square is slightly different, so the Campagnolo cranks / BBs are not easily switchable with the all the rest of the square ones. (I ride Campagnolo, so I'm more in tune with this difference).

If you are looking at MTB stuff, just about anything square taper should be fine.

The problem then becomes spindle length, because some cranks have a wider "Q Factor" than others and require wider BB spindles.

Good luck.