Originally Posted by
TexasLonghorns
Thanks for your reply. Current crank is rusted but still works. I'm currently station in Seoul South Korea at Camp Humprey's (US Army Base) so buying parts here isn't that simple. Mostly over-sea's shipping so I could only find 24/34/42 local shopping. Since it's a cheap bike, your right, not worth the money to buy all new matching expensive parts.
So the two teeth difference shouldn't be a problem once I order the new parts right? Problem meaning when I change gears, etc. I'm newbie to fixing up the bike & since its a cheap bike, not worth to take it to bicycle store since they over-charge.
Thanks again for the helpful info!
I would get involved with the forums and then post photos once you get 10 posts that way we can see how bad it is. A little surface rust isn't so bad and can generally be cleaned or will be taken care of with a properly lubricated chain and some riding at least enough to not be a bother.
The big issue with replacing is knowing what crank you have and what crank you are replacing to as square taper cranks require different bottom brackets and there are of course some overlaps but we would need to know what you have and what you are getting. If the new crank is not square taper then you would need the proper bottom bracket for that crank but I have a feeling both are probably square taper. Shimano has tech docs for all their products going back a ways so you can get the info you will just be looking for an FC-______ mark on your cranks and then you can search that at si.shimano.com and that will get you set up.