Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Miche Cranks

Require a Miche BB?
What are the other options?

Also, what do people think of these cranks?

Mine are amazing, and gorgeous.

http://static.flickr.com/40/117814588_70b5b26186.jpg

I'm running a miche bottom bracket as well, but I don't think you have to.

You just need an ISO, not JIS BB.
Thus, Campy is another option.

I'm not famaliar with ISO Taper, what is that exactly? Not splined? Not square taper?

After looking at BusinessCycles, I see the BB is only $23. I was under the assumption they were expensive (from doing a search on here, actually). Are the BBs nice?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/esolochek/Michebb.jpg

I used to have one on a phil. Its italian taper, all you need is a bb for that. From what I've heard (never used one myself) the miche bbs are kinda crap.

edit: oh and i think they're really great, good looking cranks. Great deal for the $

Also, what do people think of these cranks?

From reading a few comments about these cranks from track racers, it seems that they can be a bit "soft", but good entry level cranks and people wind up upgrading to Suginos or DA.

But, soft for a 180-220lb sprinter may be "stiff enough" for the average 150lb commuter/courier.

I also remember John Darcy of BC telling me that the BB is actually quite nice and great value.

Personally, I like the look of the Miche, but opted for Suginos.

there are 2 different versions of square taper. All Japanese cranks and most cranks these days are JIS. Campy, and some campy knockoffs including old Suginos were ISO.

I think Miche, and Phil Wood are the only brands of ISO bbs currently offered in 107mm length which is the prescribed length for the Miche cranks. Depending upon your setup you might be able to fudge good chainline with a 103 or 110.5 campy bb

A search answered my ISO vs. JIS question.
I have 75s on my main bike and love them am looking for something different and not crazy expensive (like campy or superbe) for my new Cannondale (maybe) down the line.

I can hardly wait until I get strong enough on the track to worry about my Miche cranks being "soft". I will GLADLY drop $300 on DA's if/when I get that strong...

I currently am 215...

p.s. In case anyone thinks I am being snarky, I am serious!!!

If Miche are stiff enough for ZappCatt, I highly doubt I'll be able to notice any softness.

Miche are nice cranks for the money, but have their idiosycracies (sp?) -just like all other Miche products.

- 135 BCD... you already own a set of 75's which are 144BCD. I would stay away from the Miche just so you can share a set of chainrings between your bikes. Same goes for if you want to race this bike at the track. It's easier to borrow 144 chainrings.
- integrated chainring bolts... the chainring bolts thread into the spider if you strip one, you're hosed
- limited BB choice... the miche "track" bottom bracket is a 107mm ISO taper. (beware, there's a "road" version of this BB too that has, I think, a 113 mm spindle). I have heard mixed reviews of the Miche BB - not very long-lived, but cheap. Other BB options are limited. a 102mm Campy BB also works, or Phil also makes one

Above 75s, the price seems to jump rather quickly. Grand Mighty (or whatever the other Suginos are), Campy, Superbe.
Am I missing anything?

Mine are amazing, and gorgeous.


+1

and you can see em in that link down there \/

Not a lot of miles on it, but I can't tell the difference between the Miche unit and a un72 (or un5x or any other cartridge so far). Only thing I don't like is the aluminum bb cups (that I managed to damage the splines by just wrenching hard), but apparently nicer bbs all have al cups.

230 pounds today, and the wild increase in stiffness over my old setup/old frame makes it difficult to gauge how much stiffer, but it feels good to me.

I think they're damn stiff. After riding on some Shimano 600's for a while, and going to this, I saw a big difference, although mainly when going hard from a full stop to full steam.

I think I'm sold on them.
I'll use my Truvativ Titanium BB and cranks for now but will go Miche in the near future.
Can't wait!

Welcome to the club. you wont be dissapointed!

- integrated chainring bolts... the chainring bolts thread into the spider if you strip one, you're hosed

Interesting fact... duly noted and tucked away in gray matter folds.

- integrated chainring bolts... the chainring bolts thread into the spider if you strip one, you're hosed

on the other hand, no messing with those chainring bolts that no chainring bolt tool ever fits properly, no need for anything but your hex set...

there are 2 different versions of square taper. All Japanese cranks and most cranks these days are JIS. Campy, and some campy knockoffs including old Suginos were ISO.

I think Miche, and Phil Wood are the only brands of ISO bbs currently offered in 107mm length which is the prescribed length for the Miche cranks. Depending upon your setup you might be able to fudge good chainline with a 103 or 110.5 campy bb


this is what i've heard too. i bought a primato crank and campy bb off a board member and i have excellent chainline. i'm not sure which bb it is (i imagine it's 103 given how close to the stay the inside of the spider is), but it works.

I think I'm sold on them.
I'll use my Truvativ Titanium BB and cranks for now but will go Miche in the near future.
Can't wait!

Did you get those damn white tires yet??? :D

Did you get those damn white tires yet??? :D

HAha, not yet.
My current tires are still in good shape.
The money went toward a Cannondale Track.

I have miche cranks, never had any probs so far. Feel stiff and strong enough. The bb seems o.k too, just bought a new one after my other one needed replacing. Oh and they are good if you are on a budget. Only grumbles is the odd bcd, limited chainrings.

Business Cycles offers Miche chainrings in sizes from 46 to 52.
That seems like a great selection, so why would you need another option?
How nice are their chainrings? Stiff and true?

i know it's pronounced mee-kay, but i still wanna say meesh.

Mee-kay?
In what language does Miche = Mee-kay?

Business Cycles offers Miche chainrings in sizes from 46 to 52.
That seems like a great selection, so why would you need another option?
How nice are their chainrings? Stiff and true?

I am really impressed with the whole set-up. Beefy chainrings, beautifully constructed and strong. If you were in NYC I'd let you fondle it for a while, but I doubt you're gonna make the trip just to see 'em.

Does anyone know if you can just buy the cups for a miche bb?

Mee-kay?
In what language does Miche = Mee-kay?

eye-talian.

HAha, not yet.
My current tires are still in good shape.
The money went toward a Cannondale Track.

Well I might get some soon. I'll let you know how they are.

Italian...I think

http://static.flickr.com/40/117814588_70b5b26186_o.jpg for that picture before in super large mode. you can see how the chainring is really beefy all the way through and sits perfectly on the spider. The laser engraved information on the chain-ring is a really nice touch too.

eye-talian.

Ugh, right.
I got my Italian 'ch' and 'c' confused.

ch = k
c = ch

http://static.flickr.com/40/117814588_70b5b26186_o.jpg for that picture before in super large mode. you can see how the chainring is really beefy all the way through and sits perfectly on the spider. The laser engraved information on the chain-ring is a really nice touch too.

So hot.
Can't wait.

http://static.flickr.com/40/117814588_70b5b26186_o.jpg for that picture before in super large mode. you can see how the chainring is really beefy all the way through and sits perfectly on the spider. The laser engraved information on the chain-ring is a really nice touch too.

purty. what's the rest of your bike?

http://flickr.com/photos/mrredfixed/

Soma Rush
Miche Cranks and BB
Miche Supertype Seatpost
King Headset
Cinelli Grammo Titanium Stem
Used to have B123's, but now a Profile Design TT Bars (bullhorns).
Phil Wood Hubs (fixed fixed)
Continental GT3000's
and Cinelli cork tape.

i know it's pronounced mee-kay, but i still wanna say meesh.

the company's called Fac (is that like Italian "inc"?) Michelin, with the name stolen from French Michelin, with the pronunciation stolen too.

Kind of like how English stole words for meat from french like beef, pork, veal and then just kind of englishized their pronunciations.

That's the word on the street anyway.

Does anyone know if you can just buy the cups for a miche bb?

Second that. I killed the splines on my nondrive side.

someone find out if phil rings work with the miche BB

rings??

Does anyone know if you can just buy the cups for a miche bb?

aebike.com sells the whole bb for $20, with italian or english cups. I bet if you could find the cups alone, they wouldn't be much less than that.

they also have the cranks for like $150, which is way cheaper than I've seen them for anywhere else.

rings??

yeah. phil wood bottom bracket mounting rings
they're not "cups"

this is what i've heard too. i bought a primato crank and campy bb off a board member and i have excellent chainline. i'm not sure which bb it is (i imagine it's 103 given how close to the stay the inside of the spider is), but it works.

********** Its a Campy Chorus BB that I got from the good folks at Veloshop in Portland when I was on tour. Its a good combo.

aforementioned board member....

i run a SHIMANO BB-UN5368 sealed - safe as fu.ck .


ps - if you break a set of miche then what can i say youre riding right .

on the other hand, no messing with those chainring bolts that no chainring bolt tool ever fits properly, no need for anything but your hex set...

yes.. this is my favorite part about these cranks.. if youre stripping chainring threads, maybe you should put the wrench down.. i dont think ive stripped a chainring bolt ever.. and thats a long time

yes.. this is my favorite part about these cranks.. if youre stripping chainring threads, maybe you should put the wrench down.. i dont think ive stripped a chainring bolt ever.. and thats a long time

true. you'd have to be pretty ham-fisted to do it.
however..... with regular chainring bolts you're threading steel into steel (or aluminum into aluminum, but aluminum chainring bolts suck so let's not talk about them). In the case of the Miche cranks you're threading steel into aluminum. thus the possiblility of ham-fisted-strippage increases. marginally.

oh, and Ronex, your shimano BB has the wrong taper. You may have deformed your crank.

oh, and Ronex, your shimano BB has the wrong taper. You may have deformed your crank.



I know but it still works and the arms are still o.k

Mismatching tapers and cranks seems like a horrible idea.
Saving, what, 5 to 10 bucks for a UN53 instead of getting the proper bb.

oh, and Ronex, your shimano BB has the wrong taper. You may have deformed your crank.



I know but it still works and the arms are still o.k:eek:

Note to self...don't jump when ronex offers his used miche cranks for sale....:D

someone find out if phil rings work with the miche BB

Haw haw, just checked, phil cups cost nearly twice what a Miche bb does, plus you need their bb tool. I still don't even know why I bought a Phil cog, except that it works and I was feeling blingy at the time.

But it does provide an interesting way to solve a problem expensively *and* have mismatched parts, which is usually my style.

Yeah, I see that Miche bbs are cheap, but my beef is that Chucks sent me the wrong size (in a box marked with the right size) and their reply was well, whatever, that's what was in the box, you can buy a shimano unit (gah!) anyway. Whatever, an extra thirty bucks that I already spent (to avoid having a chainline a cm off), but that's an extra thirty bucks.

back from the dead.
Miche Primato guys, do your cranks go on the spindle very far. I bolted my Primatos onto my Miche ISO taper BB and these cranks are going on like they are JIS taper...WTF.
my old campy nuovo record cranks slide on the spindle further by hand than the Primatos slide on bolted up tight...
i'm considering filing the inner chainring mount off the spider of the campy's and running those on the Miche BB, it's 107mm...thoughts.