Originally Posted by
azesty
If your touring bike has road bike front cranks, the distance between the chainrings is not the same as on a mountain bike, this will explain why you cant shift properly.
Doubt it. My touring bike has an Ultegra 10-speed road triple FD that shifts a Deore 9-speed MTB trekking crank just fine. The real problem is that MTB and road cranksets have different chain lines. When I installed the MTB crank on the trekking bike, I removed one of the BB spacers so that the MTB crank is a little bit closer to the frame than normal. That was all that was necessary to allow the road triple to shift properly. YMMV, of course.
Originally Posted by
Rowan
The issue with the crank is a little more serious now. You are unlikely to ever get it to stay on the BB spindle for any period. By keeping on pedalling with it loose, you've damaged the faces on it that allow it to mate properly up to the BB spindle.
This is a possibility, but certainly not guaranteed. Best to inspect the crank arm and spindle to see if there's damage, then decide if it's going to be a problem. Modern cranks can be pretty tough. I had an improperly tightened crank arm fall off, then rode several miles home with it a bit loose... and it's never given me a
single problem since!