Cranksets question

[FHII]

I have a Scwhinn Tourist bike. The crankset is 48/38/24 I think. Not sure.... It's a Suntour crankset. I'm thinking of upgrading to a newer bike or at least a new crankset. I see some that are 50/34 and wondering if it's right for me. I also notice that many of the 50/34's are meant for 9 gear cassettes.

I am a commuter, but I have a little bit of a competitive spirit inside me. My rides are often with a lot of up and down hills. I love turning in good times and am wondering if I should consider looking at a crankset that has 50 teeth.

In any sense, my plates are looking worn down. The teeth on my plates are so worn down I'm thinking I have to bring my bike to the dentist!

Any thoughts?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

You have one of these?

http://www.target.com/p/schwinn-men-s-700c-tourist-28-road-bike-red/-/A-13241183

A $234 bike??

I would suggest that you either buy another one for $234 or upgrade to another bike. Why put a $100-$150 on the $234 bike that had enough miles put on it to trash the chainrings?

As for a 34-50 compact crankset...only you can determine if your fitness and terrain will match up with the new gearing. That said, careful shopping will probably get you 'close' to your current triple gear ratios.

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by FHII .

I have a Scwhinn Tourist bike. The crankset is 48/38/24 I think. Not sure.... It's a Suntour crankset. I'm thinking of upgrading to a newer bike or at least a new crankset. I see some that are 50/34 and wondering if it's right for me. I also notice that many of the 50/34's are meant for 9 gear cassettes.

I am a commuter, but I have a little bit of a competitive spirit inside me. My rides are often with a lot of up and down hills. I love turning in good times and am wondering if I should consider looking at a crankset that has 50 teeth.

In any sense, my plates are looking worn down. The teeth on my plates are so worn down I'm thinking I have to bring my bike to the dentist!

Any thoughts?

Maybe the bike also needs a new chain. If the chain is busted too then it might also need a new cassette. There are probably used cranksets on ebay.

 

[maydog]

Chains and cassettes should wear out long before you have issues with chainrings, those are probably steel chainrings as well which should last a long time.

A jump up to a compact crankset is not much of a change from a 48 - just 2 teeth. I spend a fair amount of time in my 42 middle ring on my road bike and I fancy myself faster than average. 42 is more than sufficient to cruise in the low to mid 20's of mph. I don't think that you are going to see the jump in performance that you are expecting by changing the crank.

 

[dabac]

A 48 big should be able to take you to about 30 MPH before spinning out. Personally, I'm quite happy to coast those few moments I might be sniffing around up there. Outside a race setting it doesn't do anything important in terms of average speed.

Also consider if you're currently using your smallest gear, as you'd lose that if you go to a compact double.

Doubles and triples tends to need different bottom brackets to sort out the chainline, so you're probably looking at replacing other parts too.

And yeah, wearing out the crank before having worn out the chain or cassette is pretty much unheard of. But maybe you've replaced those a few times already?

Teeth on chainrings for bikes running doubles or triples today will have funny silhouettes already from the start, they're contoured and shaped in all sorts of ways to help with shifting.

 

[FHII]

I appreciate all the advice, folks!

The bike Campybob mentioned is the one I have and it seems silly to pour alot of money into one that only cost $230-250. I was looking to upgrade to a better bike. I thought I was going to come into some money to do that, but it doesn't appear that I am.... Guess I'll have to save up for that. I was asking more about whether I should consider a 50 tooth chainring when I go to pick out a new bike.

I asked a cyclist friend of mine who's in the area (and thus, knows the terrain I ride) what he thinks.... He said it wouldn't really be that useful. I do have a lot of hills and sometimes do reach speeds where I start to spin out, but not that often considering my overall ride.

I got the bike used and for free and have had the cassette replaced. I didn't replace the chain although I know I should have. I do believe I'll have to replace the chainrings and chain soon (I do want to keep the bike even if I get another), but I'll look for something more economical.

Thanks again for to the advice!