dafydd

donut, how am i messing with him? what he just described is exactly what i described--a ramp in the chainring teeth to promote better shifting under load. on top of that, which i forgot to mention in the first post, if his chainrings were that badly worn he'd probably need a new chain and cassette/freewheel as well. unless he's riding in the granny gear all the time, there's no way the chainrings have worn out before the rest of the drivetrain was symptomatic. and to tell him to use any ole crank off a beater when he doesn't even know what a BB is just doesn't make sense.

shawn m, yes, the bottom bracket is the crank bearings. but i think perhaps someone else should inspect your crank before you go and buy anything. i suspect there's not a whole lot wrong.