Mountain Biking - Square Taper V.S. Splined

I have found some amazing deals on square taper cranks, but I am not sure it is worth it if splined cranks are a lot better. I have looked around but cannot find any good advice. I was wondering if any of you guys can help me out. Thanks a lot

Toshi

Here's my two cents worth to get you started. This is not a professional opinion, just an observation. Splined bottom brackets are new technology. They make a lot of sense and are probably a real improvement over the old square tapered interface. BUT...the square spindle was the standard for a long, long time. It is a proven technology. All of my bikes, road and mountain, have square spindles. They have never given me any problems. I don't think you'll go wrong with square spindles.

Now, Pokey can explain to you why my opinions are applesauce. :)

Yeah 'cause its crazy, I found this site thats selling next lp (square tapers) for 170, and I am very temped to just jump on the offer, considering they're 300 something retail

And even though your advice is not professional advice, I often times appreciate opinions more than professional advice, becauce professionals often times think too much based on the given facts of the product and dont bother to veer from it, or see for themselves. Note that I'm not speaking for all pros. they're are some really knowledgeable ones out there.

ok pro opinion here...ha ha

I've used sqaure taper on all my bikes...the only reason i changed is because my new bikes came with them. As long as you get a good set of cranks( the raceface are) you wont have issues with the sqaure taper.

here's the reason they are going to splined: It is easier to make cheapr cranks with a splined bottom bracket work longer with less problems. That is really the only reason why.

I've not had a single issue with my square tapers and I've been racin DH for quite a few years now! :crash:

Heavyweight amateur opinion.

I broke 100% of my square taper bb's . All of them all the time never lasted a year. PEriod...was I pushing the bike to hard..yes but they should still take some punishment. And if didn't break the bb it was the cranks.

Now the splined. 1 year harder riding, tougher terrain and I am heavier than before. Low end bb (xc raceface) and decent cranks. Not a thing wrong with them still going strong.

Coincidence...maybe but I know where I personally stand on the issue :)

The new technology is the spline, we've been riding the square taper for years, when properly torqued, they work well and perform for many years without problems. Campy still uses the square taper bottom bracket. I use both types and truthfully can't tell the difference from one to the other. For now the best bang for the buck is the deal cranks with the square taper that you can find on the net, make sure there is no grease on the tapered shaft when you install the cranks and torque them to the manufacturers spec and enjoy the ride and the savings.

I've got to agree with everything that's been mentioned. If you are a heavy rider or are a Pro DHer, get the splined. It's lighter and stronger. IMO, this is the reason this was developed, not cheaper to produce. I'm guessing CNC'ing all those splines cost more than punching a square into the crank, but I digress.

For what you've described as your style and ability, save your money and get the square taper. The only reason I switched was the splined was on my new bike too.

L8R

Just for some info...the splines aren't machined on most bb's...the spindle on most bb's is stamped...thus it's cheaper, the spline was developed as a cheaper/ easier way to make the bb and crank interface work without any issues. As you do get into the higher end bb's they aren't stamped...but that is as you get into the higher end.

Enh, I've got a splined crank/BB on my Jekyll, and honestly I can't tell a difference. If anything the square tapered one feels stiffer, but probably just because it's on a hardtail. I've never broken a crank, or a BB, but then again I weigh 135 pounds and I'm not hucking off rooftops or anything. But I do ride hard and fast, and to me the stiffness is not worth the money. The square tapered cranks are going for a song. A crank that previously cost 350+ is now under 200 bucks. Personally I'd rather have a fatter wallet than a stiffer crank :o



I'll be running square tapered on my new ride. I just bought new rings, so I'm all set to go :)

Here's what I have found from running both types:

Square: The Square Taper BB is a good starting point. The Square in itself is a strong structure, and a decent place to begin engineering. The problem comes in that any time the crank becomes even the slightest amount loose, it rounds the corners of the BB and the crank, starts creaking terribly.. and cannot be fixed without replacement. (I.E: the crank will keep coming loose... this exact thing happend to my brothers Trek)

Splined: The spline, or Flute in its nature is MUCH stronger because the Crank is pushing on all sides of the BB at once, instead of just one.. (sort of like using a Box-End Wrench, or a properly sized socket instead of a crescent wrench). The Flutes are made in a specific shape to keep the crank-arm in place, and one of the coolest features is that they rarely, if ever creak. (Square BBs... at least every one I've ever owned.. have creaked at some point or another). The Spline.. if you think about it is HUGE in the auto industry... used in transmissions, driveshaft output yokes, axles, and has been proven through very high-horsepower racing applications. If these race cars can put 1,000 + HP through a splined axle (FWD cars now)... why can't we put 150+ FT LB's of Torque (pushing) on the BB's ? The newer designs are far superior in the strength department. Downhillers and Freeriders are liking them even more, and are proving more and more every day just how much stronger they are. (there's a video on Kazaa of a few guys doing about a 10-12 ft drop to flat... 3 guys take the drop... 2 out of 3 are running square spindles. BOTH Square-Spindled cranks BREAK... and the Splined crank doesn't even think about it twice).

Anyway. I hope that clarify's some ****. My fingers are sore from typing this much.. so I hope it was useful!

:beer: :beer:

-Matt

Square taper works fine. My only recomendation is that you check the tork on the crank bolts every few rides. Reason, if they start to loosen and you ride with them like that you will damage the cranks.
Other then that the SQ bb will work fine.

Slainte

You have to be careful when checking the crank bolt torque, in order to properly torque these bolts you must loosen them first. The problem is whenever you remove and reinstall a taper shaft crank arm, you slighly enlarge the square hole, it actually gets pushed farther on the shaft each installation. When properly done, the arms can be removed and reinstalled many times without a problem. The proper way to check and maintenance square taper cranks and bottom brackets is as follows. Remove the crank arms with a crank puller, clean the square holes in the arms and the square ends of the shaft with a degreasing solvent to remove any grease or lube that may have been used in the past. After everything is clean and dry, slide the crank arms onto the square using NO grease or lube, Again USE NO Grease, the arms must be installled on a dry shaft. Put a small amount of grease on the bolt threads and screw the bolts in till you need to use a wrench. From here on you must use a torque wrench to complete the job properly, tighten the bolts to 350 to 400 inch pounds in one motion, once you have them at the proper torque leave them alone, if the parts are good to begin with they will stay tight and creak free untill you need to remove them for routine maintenance. With a spline type crank arm the maintenance should be done the same way excep the spindle should be greased before the arms installed.