Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - sugino RD + formula hubs + bb + c = perfect chainline?

When using sugino RD cranks and formula track hubs, what bottom bracket + cog = a 0 offset chainline?
Does anyone have experience with this combo and achieving a perfect line?

I have that setup with a stamped steel cog. I run a Sugino 103 bb. You need to run the chainring on the inside of the crank arms to get a perfect chainline.

wtf... there's no way around that?

Mine's on the outside, but I'd have to check if the chainline is perfect; I have no problems, but it's a 3/32 ring, 1/8 everything else.

I don't think so. I think the 103 is the narrowest english threaded bb. I made that mistake and rode about 10 miles with the chainring mounted to the outside of the crankarms, listening to the advice of a bike mechanic who told me that my chainline was "within tolerances." One weekend it hit me that running the CR on the inside would give perfect chainline.

That's frustrating.

Is there a way (spacer, et al) to get the cog to move 2mm or so (or more?) away from the center of the hub without introducing safety concerns?
Does that even make sense?

2mm isn't worth worrying about.

it seems to be doing quite a bit...
my gf's bike is off ~2 or 3mm (making the chain click noise when she rides). I haven't measured precisely, but using a ruler seems to indicate that a small bit of adjustment (sub 5mm, more like 2.5/3) would get everything lined up perfectly. there's no more room on the bb axle to play with, so i'm wondering if there's a different cog i can use (or spacers, etc) that might adjust the line closer to perfect.
i'm not worried about it, though it'd definitely be nice in the long run.

www.sheldonbrown.com/bbtaper.html

You may be able to get a 42 mm chainline if you get an ISO tapered bb rather than jis. If you can find a 106 mm ISO square taper cartidge symmetrical bb then that should work. I don't mind my chainline being off a few mm tho so I haven't tried.

On my new build I have a 103bb with the RD cranks... running my messenger ring on the outside... My chainline (without a proper tool for measurement) is about 2-3mm off. People list the crank set as having a 45mm chainline with a 103mm bb. I have heard that this leads to negligible noise but until my chain comes in the mail... I have yet to test it out.

The problem I have is I don't have enough clearance on the chain stays to run the ring on the inside of the crank my chain ring would hit the stays... my Mark V wont allow it.

so frustrating. Sucks, as the cranks are powdercoated and will be a hassle to replace. There has to be a way around this-- why would sugino make a crankset it's impossible to get a straight line with?

I believe Paul hubs are all about the 44mm chainline, if that'll get you closer to your desired straightness.

Interesting. I'll look into that, thanks.

so frustrating. Sucks, as the cranks are powdercoated and will be a hassle to replace. There has to be a way around this-- why would sugino make a crankset it's impossible to get a straight line with?

i agree. just doesnt make sense.

I had rd's with a 103bb and formula hub and had no problems.

so frustrating. Sucks, as the cranks are powdercoated and will be a hassle to replace. There has to be a way around this-- why would sugino make a crankset it's impossible to get a straight line with?


did you powdercoat them with the ring on the spider? if so then that was stupid. If not, just put it on the inside and have a perfect chainline. I don't understand what the problem is. Get over aesthetics, and get silence your off kilter chainline.

did you powdercoat them with the ring on the spider? if so then that was stupid. If not, just put it on the inside and have a perfect chainline. I don't understand what the problem is. Get over aesthetics, and get silence your off kilter chainline.

As far as I can tell, aesthetics are the motivating factor around here.

did you powdercoat them with the ring on the spider? if so then that was stupid. If not, just put it on the inside and have a perfect chainline. I don't understand what the problem is. Get over aesthetics, and get silence your off kilter chainline.
no.
she took the time to powdercoat her crank arm for a reason.
there's nothing wrong with investing patience and resources to research and do things the right way.

(ps, powdercoating a crank + chainring is probably one of the dumbest assumptions you could've made about the situation)

so frustrating. Sucks, as the cranks are powdercoated and will be a hassle to replace. There has to be a way around this-- why would sugino make a crankset it's impossible to get a straight line with?

I believe RD stands for Road Double. If it was truly a crank made for single speed bikes it would have only one place for a chainring and that would almost certainly have a 42mm chainline. The difference between RDs and most other double road cranks is that they are marketed towards fixed gear/single speed riders and that is about it.

i wasn't aware.
maybe going with a completely different crankset is the way to go here...

*ed **** that. determined to get this working.

I believe RD stands for Road Double. If it was truly a crank made for single speed bikes it would have only one place for a chainring and that would almost certainly have a 42mm chainline. The difference between RDs and most other double road cranks is that they are marketed towards fixed gear/single speed riders and that is about it.

wait a second- are you sure about the road double thing? it doesn't have anything in place to allow for a second chainring, and is sold as a track/ss crankset.

the fact that you can put the chainring on the other side usually means it can be run as a double. i've run one on a 103 for a while and have had a silent drivetrain and no problems, i wouldn't worry about, you won't notice it. only problem is that the cliche velospace picture won't come out as nice.

I run the Sugino 103mm bottom bracket with the Messenger crankset (RD cranks and Messenger chainring). With the chainring mounted on the inside of the crank spider, I have a perfect chain line.

And really. It looks way cooler with the chainring on the inside. It's a win-win.

it's definitely a road double; mine came with both chainrings on it off of a specialized road bike.

[QUOTE=sp00ki;6030435]

there's nothing wrong with investing patience and resources to research and do things the right way.

[/QUOTE


then research the ****ing crank before purchasing it. also, trying it out on the bike before powdercoating it would've been a great idea.

isnt that the point?

am i misinterpreting something? are the cranks not powdercoated yet? and i really don't think that the chainring looks ugly on the inside of the spider, but i do understand why some people find it frustrating.

I wonder if the messenger ring is offset somehow to compensate for the difference.

wait a second- are you sure about the road double thing? it doesn't have anything in place to allow for a second chainring, and is sold as a track/ss crankset.

http://harriscyclery.net/merchant/370/images/large/sugino-rd.jpg


definitely a double.

I wonder if the messenger ring is offset somehow to compensate for the difference.

I have a messenger ring, it isn't offset in any way. sucks.

[QUOTE=sp00ki;6030435]

there's nothing wrong with investing patience and resources to research and do things the right way.

[/QUOTE


then research the ****ing crank before purchasing it. also, trying it out on the bike before powdercoating it would've been a great idea.

it was assembled months ago by someone else altogether. research was an option, but we didn't think it would be an issue until she spent time riding distances on it.
thanks for the *sshole comments though, greatly appreciated. uncalled for, but appreciated.

That's frustrating.

Is there a way (spacer, et al) to get the cog to move 2mm or so (or more?) away from the center of the hub without introducing safety concerns?
Does that even make sense?

There are many options, and using spacers on the rear hub axle is just one of them. You can also use spacers on the BB - a little aluminum ring that will push the BB a tiny little bit (depends on the width of that spacer/ring) towards the right.

Are you a FG rider? If so, then you can also flip the sprocket (cog) thus moving the chainline 3 (on some sprockets even more) to the right.

There are even more options, but these are the stealthy ones. Seeing as though you are a hipster that can't fathom having the chainring mounted on the inside of the spider, I thought I'd spare you those :D

obviously this doesnt pertain to the messenger chainring cause those things are stiff as hell, but i remember in another thread about this same topic, someone mentioned that running the chainring on the inside can be extremely dangerous? someone posted a pic of a destroyed ring and crank due to this. im on break so i dont have time to look for it now.

obviously this doesnt pertain to the messenger chainring cause those things are stiff as hell, but i remember in another thread about this same topic, someone mentioned that running the chainring on the inside can be extremely dangerous? someone posted a pic of a destroyed ring and crank due to this. im on break so i dont have time to look for it now.

thats how a lot of conversions are, like mine. but i thought running the larger ring, with the smaller one removed was dangerous.

well thats what i was thinking. if you have the 2 chain rings stacked than its much stiffer. but when you take the outer one off and you have just the inner ring than its much weaker and cant handle the amount of torque.

[QUOTE=ThunderChunky;6032998]

it was assembled months ago by someone else altogether. research was an option, but we didn't think it would be an issue until she spent time riding distances on it.
thanks for the *sshole comments though, greatly appreciated. uncalled for, but appreciated.

i blame this forum for making me cold-hearted. i apologize spooki.

i blame this forum for making me cold-hearted. i apologize spooki.

I am amazed at the character-morphing powers of this subforum - from a normal, people-loving, supportive and outgoing young man, in barely two months you became a cold-hearted mean ****ing *******! :D ;)

I am amazed at the character-morphing powers of this subforum - from a normal, people-loving, supportive and outgoing young man, in barely two months you became a cold-hearted mean ****ing *******! :D ;)

yeah that was true, until I became KAZAAM!!!

in case anyone was curious, we're going to explore the paul hubs option.
yes, this is a vanity bike. she rides the iro group buy as her every day lockup/rain/etc bike.
this bike, however, is all about looks and performance. it's a sunday bike. i know a lot of you don't like the idea of having something the rider feels looks as good as it rides, but this is how it is.
from what i've discussed with other riders/mechanics, the paul high flange hub is not only a viable solution but a good performance upgrade (if it rides nicely, the fhub may be an option for the front).

Thanks for yr input, pretty informative stuff.

in case anyone was curious, we're going to explore the paul hubs option.
yes, this is a vanity bike. she rides the iro group buy as her every day lockup/rain/etc bike.
this bike, however, is all about looks and performance. it's a sunday bike. i know a lot of you don't like the idea of having something the rider feels looks as good as it rides, but this is how it is.
from what i've discussed with other riders/mechanics, the paul high flange hub is not only a viable solution but a good performance upgrade (if it rides nicely, the fhub may be an option for the front).

Thanks for yr input, pretty informative stuff.

Ummm... what's up with the 'tude, buddy? By the way, I thought your problem was the chainline? Could you share with us the details of your solution?

that's really it, the chainline. paul hubs offer a 44mm chainline, which is 2mm closer to 45 than her current hub. since it's a upgrade that's worth it, it's a go.
the tude is really just in response to reading a thread full of posts attacking the idea of her wanting to work out a problem without compromising asthetics.

'k, fair enough. You could have solved it without changing components, as per my post, you know that, right? But if the new hubs were considered in the budget anyway, then what the heck.

i'm actually looking at it now, i missed it initially.

thx...

When using sugino RD cranks and formula track hubs, what bottom bracket + cog = a 0 offset chainline?
Does anyone have experience with this combo and achieving a perfect line?

in case anyone was curious, we're going to explore the paul hubs option.
yes, this is a vanity bike. she rides the iro group buy as her every day lockup/rain/etc bike.
this bike, however, is all about looks and performance. it's a sunday bike. i know a lot of you don't like the idea of having something the rider feels looks as good as it rides, but this is how it is.
from what i've discussed with other riders/mechanics, the paul high flange hub is not only a viable solution but a good performance upgrade (if it rides nicely, the fhub may be an option for the front).

Thanks for yr input, pretty informative stuff.

i'm actually looking at it now, i missed it initially.

thx...

Monumental failure. No wonder dutes left.

idgi. pls xplain.

Just hit the same problem you did sp00ki... My drivetrain is making major noise too... Here I thought i might get lucky:P

If it isn't just because its all new components of course.