What's your favorite crankset?
 

Any reason to go outside of Shimano except cost?

The one that doesn't give me a reason to notice it. I've had several different brands that served their purpose.

If you like Shimano, the answer for you is no.

I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but I'm a Rotor guy. So stiff.

But if a bike came with an Ultegra crankset on it, would I rush out to put a Rotor on it? Probably not.

Besides cost, some cranks look cooler but for any given msrp price point I don't think any one brand truly excels. I swapped out one crank that was ok for an FSA gossamer pro that was 200g lighter and stiffer then what I had and came with more optimal chainrings. With it being on sale for only 60.00 that was a no brainer, only other reasons I ever replaced a crank was damage to the original or a complete groupset swap.

Ever since you linked me that Rotor 3D, the thought of upgrading my crank to a Rotor or Praxis just lingers in the back of my head... watching a few on eBay now :notamused:

My favorite crankset of all time would probably be the Phil Wood Track crank or the Super Sugino 75 DD crank. If I was looking beyond track cranks the White Industries GR30 is a favorite and the Cook Bros Dogbone cranks are super sexy. Also on that list are Kooka (rasta anodized please), the new Cane Creek eeWings cranks and Old Campy cranks (Nuovo Record)

Though I have Shimano cranks on 5 or 6 bikes at least so no issues there. I will say I would love to swap to the eeWings on my Ti MTB which currently has SLX but only because they are titanium not because of issue with Shimano.

I should note most of my decisions are aesthetic because that is what makes most of these my favorite, they look nice. They also tend to have decent performance if not top notch performance but really it is looks on this on.

My answer would be 'absolutely' on the basis that I find the Shimano cranksets hideous. None of them are exactly pretty nowadays, sadly, but I think my SRAM Force crankset is much better looking than an Ultegra one. The prettiest one I own is a Campagnolo Chorus crankset dating from somewhere around 1998. Aesthetics are important to me; I'm happy with stuff that looks merely functional but when it descends into horrible it's got to go. Beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder so I assume that whoever designed the current range of Shimano gear thought it looked good.

I've recently liked the looks of the FSA Gimondi crank set. For modern production, it has classic lines. Affordable, too.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4d350db16f.jpg

Yup, that's a pretty crankset.

Praxis Zayante. 5 arm design, easy to install, quick shifts. And it comes in many gear combinations so I have it on a road bike and my gravel bike.

Well, fate decided for me. I just got a Praxis Zayante w/ BSA BB for $110 shipped! Goodbye FSA Gossamer, even though I just bought a brand new Shimano BBR60 and 2 BB tools to change it out!

i may be the minority here, but i enjoy SRAM cranksets. I like the way they look and they function as any other crankset. I have seen one of the new Shimano cranksets fail out on a ride. I have heard of a couple other ones also.

So I've spent some time researching and the results are that older and cheaper cranksets use steel, which has a weight penalty vs alu, but more significantly imo has a tendency to get bent while aluminum seems to resist bending.

Steel may resist wear to chainring teeth better.

7075 alloy alu appears to be the best material for use in chainrings.

As I am looking for parts for an 8 speed bike, most 8 speed cranksets use cheap steel, and it is hard to tell what a crankset uses.

The eclypse r9 crankset has caught my interest because it uses 7075 alu

Besides 8-sp compatibility (9-sp works fine, too)
What kind of crank are you looking for? MTB triple? 53-42 Road Double? Compact? Half-step? Potential big or small ring sizes?
Modern or ‘classic’ aesthetic? Black or silver?

Typically brand new 8-speed cranks will be intended for the lower level groups, so they’ll be heavier cast arms with steel rings.
You could also go with an older higher level crank, and fit it with new rings, since using a new high end crank may require updating the BB as well.

You know about this, right?

"Bottom Bracket: JIS 110mm (47.5mm chainline)."

From an aesthetic viewpoint, I've got an old Sakae crank on an old Schwinn LeTour III I rehab'd, looks something like the one Phil Gretz posted above Not a lot of cool features, just a simple and clean looking crank.

From a mechanical view: Square-taper bottom brackets and cranks. Easy to remove/replace. The mechanical unit is a sealed cartridge, so easy screw-out/screw-in replacement when it goes bad (do they ever?), and you can buy them in varying qualities depending if its for your classic roadie or an urban 'beater' bicycle.

i didn't know FSA made a retro looking crank like that. Its a nice look. I have an FSA Gossamer triple on my Roubaix, that is chrome with gunmetal chainrings, but I like the classic look of yours. My all time favorite is the classic Campagnolo, but the large diameter BCD, limits chainring choices.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...89b9f91268.jpg
Classic Campagnolo, my all time favorite
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5c910e1012.jpg
Another classic Campy on the left, Stronglight TS, (my least favorite) center, Sugino GT on the right, another favorite.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6ed523b717.jpg
I picked up this Stronglight 99, with drilled rings at last year's Eroica, and like it very much too.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7cc0a8c86c.jpg
I've been very happy with the looks and performance of this Sugino AT triple. Lots of great choices out there.

Curious if everything was installed correctly. I am sure a lot of folks don't actually torque their cranks to spec or install them properly. I have never had a Shimano crankset fall out on a ride. I did have a Sugino 75 DD crank arm come a little loose while riding as I was just getting close to home but I since reinstalled everything and torqued it properly to spec and it hasn't moved. I installed the crankset a long time ago and didn't actually finish the bike for quite a while and probably forgot to check it before finishing the bike which was on me and not a fault of the crankset.

I would say it was installed correctly. this happened after a couple 1000 miles on an ultegra crankset on an uphill climb. broke halfway across on the drive side arm.

thanks.

oddly enough, my order for a Shimano un55 bb was cancelled by the seller because they say that their supply was defective.

I wonder if all un55 bb are defective. If so, what other bb brand to get?

Was it a larger rider? Are they a hard rider? Any material has a fatigue limit so maybe this person hit theirs or maybe it was a defect or maybe they are a torque monster or shifting under load. So many different factors that could cause issue.

That looks alot like my 1970s Sugino Mighty Competition. In other words, GREAT!

Still prefer silver components.

Just got my Praxis Zayante. Looks gorgeous compared to my FSA Gossamer. Excited to try it out tomorrow!

Wow, just tried out the Zayante. Didn't think it would actually be noticeable, but high resistance pedaling is noticeably easier! Appreciate DrIsotope for planting the thought in my mind hah.