BMX - 3pc cranks or 1pc

I was wondering if its worth upgrading a GT JAMIE BESTWICK to 3pc cranks
3pc seems to be heavier
so what makes 3pc cranks so much better

theyre stronger and they look a lot better. and theyll last you longer, as long as you dont put cheap pedals on it, coz theyll just snap off. they also dont need as much attention as a 1pc (tightening, greasing etc)

1pc. sucks so much a**. I used to use 1pc till i got my 3pc Profile from a friend..Much stronger, stiffer, and overall better

get the 3pc

3pc. are easier to take off too...

3pc. should be what every good rider rides

Originally posted by DynoVFR
Much stronger, stiffer, and overall better

Yeah, that's what she said.

the 3piece acellerate so much faster

If you want to look cooler and have money to spend, go for it.

3pc cranks won't make you faster. Won't make you a better rider. Won't be significantly lighter unless you go with alloy crank arms. In which case, you end up with less durable cranks that are harder to service.

1pc are easy to service. All you need is a large adjustable wrench. They're dirt cheap. Plenty durable. Typical BMX 1pc cranks are forged chromoly and will be as strong as any 3pc except titanium.

3pc cranks do look nice, though. Counts for something.

3 peice bmx cranks are by far stronger than 1 peice. I had a set of the original gt alloy ones that never had any problems for the 10 years or so that I rode them. 1 peice on the other hand have a nasty habit of breaking and stabbing the person riding them in the leg.

ride your one piece cranks until you KNOW why you should go to three piece. you will figure it out on your own if you continue to ride hard for any period of time.

if your one piece aren't bent, continue to use them.

I would have to say that this person is dead on. Ignore my last post.

QUOTE=pnj]ride your one piece cranks until you KNOW why you should go to three piece. you will figure it out on your own if you continue to ride hard for any period of time.

if your one piece aren't bent, continue to use them.[/QUOTE]

If you want to look cooler and have money to spend, go for it.

3pc cranks won't make you faster. Won't make you a better rider. Won't be significantly lighter unless you go with alloy crank arms. In which case, you end up with less durable cranks that are harder to service.

1pc are easy to service. All you need is a large adjustable wrench. They're dirt cheap. Plenty durable. Typical BMX 1pc cranks are forged chromoly and will be as strong as any 3pc except titanium.

3pc cranks do look nice, though. Counts for something.

1pc cranks are a lot less durable. I don't know if you race, ride flat, dirt, park, street, or whatever but 1pc will bend with any stress on them. I've had the same 3pc cranks for three years and i ride almost every day. I do tailwhip tailtaps and if I'd have 1pc I'd have snaped a million of them already. I know because when i did have 1pc I bent so many.

heck yeah man upgrade to 3pc, i rode one piece 4ever they're such a pain in the butt. bending, clicking, and snapping. yuck! UPGRADE!!! 3pc feels tighter better and stronger.

Yeah, that's what she said.

hahahahha. thumbs up to immaturity.

I was wondering if its worth upgrading a GT JAMIE BESTWICK to 3pc cranks
3pc seems to be heavier
so what makes 3pc cranks so much better

A 3pc crank is so much better because it is stronger looks better and alows the bike to travel faster with less work besides the extra weight isnt that much

i brought a redline 3pc forged cromo it snapped the other day wasnt cheap either. i would stick to alloy 3 pce, depending on wat you ride but.

I have experience working in a bike shop.....I'd suggest the 3pc if you are doing anything stressful like stunts etc.... they do not bend like 1pc. The only thing that happened with the 3pc was bent chainrings, but hey that's gonna happen anyway if you wack it good on the ground. It's then only a 5min job to swap the chainring, where as a 1pc (same with bent cranks) you have to take out the bottom bracket and everything and uggh its just a job we try and flog off to another worker.

Brendon

3pc is nice but 1 piece are so cheap!!!! what do good 3pcs run now a days like... 150??? 1 piece cranks you can get for 10 bucks. just depends how hard you ride and if you want to spend the 150 once or spend 10 bucks 15 times :lol:

and what Brendon said. 1pc is a pain to replace. gotta wiggle it in and and play around with greased up bearing rings and get the bolt tension just right.

..... and one last thing if youre a good rider nobody is going to be looking at your crank so who the hell cares what it looks like. :rolleyes: ...crazy kids these days

3pc is nice but 1 piece are so cheap!!!! what do good 3pcs run now a days like... 150??? 1 piece cranks you can get for 10 bucks. just depends how hard you ride and if you want to spend the 150 once or spend 10 bucks 15 times :lol:

and what Brendon said. 1pc is a pain to replace. gotta wiggle it in and and play around with greased up bearing rings and get the bolt tension just right.

..... and one last thing if youre a good rider nobody is going to be looking at your crank so who the hell cares what it looks like. :rolleyes: ...crazy kids these days

He said, "crazy kids these days"...Old people like us are the BEST!! I'm 34yrs old and can out bunnyhop most people in this forum...Have fun!! Ken :D :D :D

I'm right behind ya Ken! only, I'm one year younger.....:)

Some of you would spend the
extra cash just to look good??

Wow.

Let your riding to the talking ..
.. if you have any style anyway.

Go with a 3pc, with sealed crank

3 pc cuz then of it bends only one of the 3 pcs will need to be replaced!!

hi, ive been wanting and waiting to upgrade my 1pc crank on my HARO BACKTRAIL X2 2003, to a 3pc crank. I wanted to know that if i do buy a 3pc will i even be able to get it on my frame, and make it work properly?

thanks

If they're not broken, don't bother replacing them. I used the same pair of one-piece cranks for two years before getting some XS 3-piecers.

Why do people put such big stock in 3-piece cranks?

Honestly, half the information here is at least partway wrong and PNJ and Beerman have about the only level heads (a few others as well, sorry).

1 piece cranks are fine, there is nothing wrong with them ESPECIALLY if you aren't breaking them and having problems with your bearings all the time. If it ain't broke - don't fit it!

The bottom line is that cheap 3-piece cranks (like Redline forged chromoly) will break and fall apart on you and snap. So, if you DO eventually upgrade, you really must get high quality (READ: PROFILE!) 3-piece cranks which will be about $150.00 or so.

But, that may be almost as much as your bike cost. It also should be noted that while the 3-piece cranks may be a tiny bit lighter and a lot stronger, they will not be faster than 1-piece cranks with loose ball bearings that are setup properly.

So, enjoy your 1-piece cranks, they will almost definitely NOT snap on you ever and may eventually bend... But, until they do, ride them and save your money!

Why do people put such big stock in 3-piece cranks?

I'll tell you why they put so much stock in them: the media. When I was younger, I always lusted for three-piece cranks because BMX Plus! was putting out articles in nearly every issue about how one-piece cranks bend easily and putting "one-piece cranks" as a negative factor on all their reviews, even though for the cheapest of completes.

If your noy having any trouble with the ones u have dont bother replacing them. If I was to use 1pc crancks i would probably just bend them in half. it just depends on the type of riding you do. I dont see y they wouldnt fit your frame. Have fun ridin MAVE :)

thanks, im probably gonna get a 3pc crank, either a profile one or a demolition, but whats the difference between a EURO bb and a US bb, ?

thanks

How Would You Change A 1pc Ti A 3pc? Would Any 3pc Fit My Eastern 9volt

How Would You Change A 1pc Ti A 3pc? Would Any 3pc Fit My Eastern 9volt

Please don't type in all caps.

And don't bring back threads from a year ago.

Good point. Tommo never stayed around for the BB answer anyway. 2 posts was all he wrote.

3-Pieces are alot better then any 1-piece crank.

i got happy when i saw the top of this thread because i saw bmxtrix...then i read the date

Little more on the subject, only not really adding anything new. Found at:
http://www.crackedfork.com/letters21.html

WHO CARES ABOUT WHAT'S LIGHT, CARE ABOUT WHAT'S STRONG

from byker18@hotmail.com (John Wyatt)...

Q: Hey, I'm a vert/street rider and I was wondering what's lighter, having 1-piece cranks on your bike or 3-piece? All I've ever ridden is bikes with one piece and I know 3-pc are stronger, but what's lighter?

A: Depends on the cranks you're comparing. Generally though, 3-piece cranksets tend to be the lighter, and the stronger. 1-piece cranks are heavy because they're cast into a solid, single piece of steel, hence the name. Manufacturing them is very low cost, but it also makes them quite heavy and though most of the casting is extremely strong, it has some very weak areas. One weak point is where the left crank arm bends sharply to form the 'spindle', it's a very small kink, and very weak. Another problem area is at the ends of the crank arms where the pedal spindles thread into. Because the solid casting is very heavy, it's made as skinny as possible, hence the smaller pedal spindle size of 1-piece cranks, another weak area. Whereas, 3-piece cranks consist of three separate pieces, the spindle, and the two arms. The strongest of these types have tubular chromemoly steel crank arms, which because they're made from tubes, they're hollow and light. They're also overall much stronger than a 1-piece crank, and noticeably stiffer (there are also solid aluminum 3-piece, but they lose their weight advantage by having to increase their size to make up for the weaker metal, but they're cheaper to make). Manufacturing them is a bit complicated though, and because of this you end up with a product than can cost 5 to 10 or even 20 times as expensive as a 1-piece crank. Up until recently, I've always used 1-piece cranks just because I felt ripped off by the over-$100 3-piece cranks, when I could be riding my bike for $15 with a set of 1-piece, which also have the advantage of never coming loose (there's nothing to come loose since it's all one piece). Unfortunately, they only last about a year, and when they fail, sometimes they fail in a big way. Once I tore muscles in my hip/upper thigh area, cranking hard on the street from a dead stop trying to sprint through red light traffic. The 1-piece arm snapped off with the pedal still attached, ricocheting ahead of me through the intersection, and overextending my leg violently. I didn't realize I was injured at all until I got home, and tried to climb my stairs, but I couldn't lift my leg at all, for whatever muscle or tendon combination that lifts the leg was obviously not connected anymore. Ouch. I had to literally lift my leg up with my hands for every step! I have 3-piece cranks now, the ultra burly PROFILE SS cranks, but they're so extra beefy that they actually weigh 1.5lbs. HEAVIER than my 1-piece Odyssey Excalibur's (one of the best 1-piece)! So, to answer your question, generally 3-piece cranks are lighter than 1-piece, but not always.

I can't believe that that site is still up. It hasn't been updated since '98 or '99.

three piece cranks arent usually lighter....but not much heavier and there stronger...i think

There will always be a compromise between weight and strength. But stiffness counts too. Regardless of how strong anyone thinks a 1 piece is, they're worthless for racing. Unless you're 5.

Yeah, that's what she said.
:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

I've got profile tubular chromemoly 3 pc crank on my GT.

Big me up.

wewt.