In article
<[email hidden]>,
Chris M said:I have been in the market for a 110 BCD since 2002, when the only
options were cyclo-cross or the sole carbon fiber alternative from
FSA. There were also options for Stronglight and a few other European
brands but I could not locate products for sale. I guess I just never
had the desire enough to put up with the various compromises. I was
worried about whether I would need my 53 back. I think a 50 * 12 is
enough for almost anything except for extended descents in a race
situation with no turns significant enough to slow down the others
with 53*12 or bigger. I also had a problem pulling off an expensive
crank and either wasting a Record crank-set while using a cheaper
compact crank. Neither was I too motivated to spend $600 and up for c
comparable crank-set and nobody was offering any for free.
So, I keep seeing great prices on various options and I am pleased
that they are becoming more widely used. Anyone who thinks that they
are going to be slowed down by a 110 is a chump. When you factor in
the various aftermarket chain-rings going up to at least 52 for a 110,
the risk is virtually nill.
If I pick up a budget crankset with integrated BB, what tools would I
need to remove the pre-ultra Record cranks and BB? I have done
virtually every kind of labor involved in cycling with the exception
of BB and headset.
Practically all the tools you need are on this page:
http://www.cecilwalker.com.au/category203_1.htm
Campy cranks do not come with self-pulling crank bolts as a rule, so
you'll need a crank puller, the proper BB remover (probably a Park BBT-5
type tool; cleverly, this is also a Campy lockring remover, so you may
already have one), and that's it.
Weirdly, everyone from Campy to Shimano seems to have standardized on a
single external-bearing spanner spec, so getting the right tool for
putting in the new BB ought to be easy. Most systems recommend a torque
wrench for properly installing the cranks.
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=95#campy
If you have done everything else on a bike, this is a fairly easy job.
Speaking more generally about compact gearing, I like it (I have it on
my CX bike, but it has seen a fair bit of roadracing duty) though I
still find the roughly 4-cog difference between the big and small rings
a bit odd. The payback is that I can reasonably use two rings and a
12-25 (I think) 9s cassette for everything from slow cyclocross to fast
crits.
It ends up that I do most of my CX racing in only the small ring, and
most of my road racing only in the big ring (I'm too fat right now to
compete on hilly courses). I think it's a 50-34 ring combo, which may
betray my mediocre CX speeds.
I suggested some Park tools up there by name, and I use and like their
stuff, but I'm mostly using their part numbers because they have a good
website with some great repair reference guides, and it's easy to find
their tool's identities and web pages. There's several good companies
that make the necessary tools.
I like working on my bikes, but if you really don't anticipate doing any
more BB work after this swap, it may be simpler and about the same price
to get your local shop to do it. Park all but says you have to face the
BB shell for proper fitting of the new BB. If so, the tools to do facing
are very expensive and it becomes an easy choice to go to a shop that
already has them and knows how to use 'em. FWIW, I've installed an
external-bearing crankset into a frame without facing, but it was a
brand new frame, and I essentially made the guess that the manufacturer
had built the BB shell to spec. Your fault-tolerance may vary.
--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."
