Collie

hi folks,
i'm just pricing up a thorn sherpa build at the moment.
i'm a little stuck. i don't know alot about cranksets.
i've no manufacturer preferences to be honest, but i am looking for a quality product at an affordable price!
looking at the shimano website they have:

1- deore xt (fc-m760 or fc-m761)
2- deore lx (fc-m580 or fc-m581)
3- deore (fc-m530L or fc-m530S)


can anyone give me more focus as regards what one would be suitable for my touring needs? i won't be (intentionally) jumping from heights, or putting the bike through anything other than loaded touring. so with that in mind can someone explain the differences between the above crank sets?
do crank sets generally come with the bottom bracket or is that a separate purchase?

can anyone recommend a crank set, either shimano or other?

I also need a bit of education regarding the crank length, 170mm/175mm etc etc

thanks
Collie

Robert_in_ca

ALl of those cranksets will work fine. THe higher you go in the Shimano lineup, generally the lighter and stronger you get.

The LX crankset will work fine. I bought the Hone version of the LX crankset because I liked the color.

How tall are you and what is your inseam, that might help to figure out the length of crank arm you need.

Another popular version for a touring crankset is the Sugino XD and Shimano UN72 bottom bracket.

The Shimano LX and XT cranksets come with an integrated spindle, so the bottom bracket is included.

vik 

I built up my Thorn Sherpa with a shimano deore crankset. It came stock with 42/32/22 rings and I am going to swap out the 32 with a 36. The Sherpa will come with a BB installed that takes a square taper crank. I have an 11-32 cassette on the back.

Collie

ok cool, so the deore crank set will do? i don't need to pay the extra cash for the deore lx or xt? that'll suit me better!!!
so the sherpa frame set comes with a headset (i assume i'm good there and won't need to buy another?), seat post (again i assume i'm good there and won't need to buy another? for a brooks saddle), and a bottom bracket.

now some bb science please:
you say the bb takes a square taper crank, what does this mean, and will it take the shimano deore crank or sugino xd600? or will i need to replace it?

oh yeah, is a "crank set" inclusive of a bottom bracket generally? as apposed to just a crank? or is that only for the chain rings?

Bekologist

From talking to the parts buyer at our shop, shimano is getting out of the square taper business. they stopped producing the hollow spindle un-72s altogther and are only making limited sizes of the solid un-52's.

I know there are plenty of square taper cranksets out there, but i sense a change, a paradigm shift in the market to the ease and convienence of external bearing cranks and two piece cranksets.

they are easier to install, lighter, stiffer, and easier to determine spindle width (no need, as the crank already has the spindle attached)

they may not last as long, have more drag, and the bearings get compromised more quickly by dirt and water, but i think the industry is going in that direction.

that being said, don't expect ready supplies of square taper bottom brackets in 10 years time, square taper is being phased out. if you're intending to hold onto the bike for a while, maybe look for a new two-piece crank and external bearing bb.

just my opinion. i'm running octalink on one tourer and a sugino square taper on the other and will stick with them as long as bottom brackets are available, but we may all find square tapers in short supply in a few years.

vik 

Well the sherpa comes with a square taper BB installed and a deore crankset will cost you all of $50cdn. When the times comes to replace them you can always start with some other BB & crank combo.

ScituateJohn

The problem with the Shimano two-piece cranksets is that the chainline is 50mm. You can get a better chainline with the Deore square taper.

Collie

is there a difference between shimano and deore?

...

so what is the suitable product for the sherpa bottom bracket? is the shimano deore crankset suitable?
do i just buy "crank" or a "crank set"???
what's the difference between just a crank and a crankset? is there any difference?

Collie

so vik (or anyone that can answer!) if i buy a deore crankset and it comes with a (octalink) bottom bracket (can't find any square taper deore cranksets online) is it possible to change from the sherpa BB to another type? is there a compatibility issue for the frame or are they universal?
is it a straight forward job?

eric von zipper

Collie -
FYI-There is an excellent online resouce that explains bottom bracket, cranks and a just everything you need/want to know here: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/
I used it when I first started learning and still do. Use the glossary; it has links to pages that explain parts, terms, and a plethora of other bike related things.

Bekologist

if it comes with a square taper installed, just roll with it. Sugino makes nice touring cranksets for square taper. some with steel rings, cheaper and longer lasting, and luminum rings. 46-36-26 is one standard ring combo on the sugino triples.

Collie

hey Bekologist,

i just saw, on a previous post, some pics you posted. you have mounted some bottle cages onto the front forks, good call. are they just standard cages? how are they fixed/held to the fork?

Bekologist

standard cages, yes. cages mounted to the mid-fork thrubolts tend to break from vibration after a few rough road trips,(i've been running 1-liter bottles in them)

i've had better results mounting cages on the front end directly on the front rack, using hose clamps. this summer i will again outfit the light tourer with bottle cages mounted directly to the thrubolts and with a hose clamp, and run smaller bottles to reduce the weight in them.


certainly increased my at-hand water capacity for long arid, no water portions of a ride. I do a far amount of back raods where there is no ready resupply of water. I'm sometimes am carrying 3 gallons plus as i roll towards a campsite.

yeah, and look around for a Sugino touring triple for your Sherpa.

vik 

Hey Collie,

You should be able to walk into any LBS and buy a shimano deore square taper crankset for a reasonable price.

Nasbar has a crank here , but at least in Canada, I could get a deore crank even cheaper than that.

You could switch the BB out, but unless you have a specific crank you gotta have why bother? Also if you plan to tour internationally square taper is going to be easier to find in less developed parts of the world than ISIS or OCTAlink.

nun

The Sugino XD is the best crank for the money out there. I've never been able to go over to 4 arm MTB type cranks and the Sugino XD is a great 5 arm 110/74 compact crank, I think the only better one was the much missed TA Zephyr. You'll see Sugino XD 300 and 600's out there the only difference is that the 600 has aluminum outer rings andcosts more.

https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/cranks/11074.html

If you want to get a bit fancy you can buy just the crank and put some TA rings on it