Cyclocross - crankset for single speed and geared?

I'm looking to get a new crankset/chainring setup for my Surly Crosscheck. I'm a bit new, so sorry if any of my questions are stupid.

For now, I will be riding it as a single speed, but would eventually like to try out a geared setup as well. For the geared setup, I plan to run a single chain ring only.

With that being said, can I use the same crankset for both applications? If so, any recommendations?

yeah, you can definitely use the same crankset for both.

what will you be using for the rear wheel of your singlespeed?

I just bought this crankset for a similar reason, http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_STOR20.cgi?Action=Details&ProdID=1110.

I figured at the price it was worth a try. I'll mostly be commuting and running a 1x9, but I wanted to be able to run a double, or a single with a bashguard.

I just got the crankset yesterday. I'll put it on today and post my first thoughts on it.

yeah, you can definitely use the same crankset for both.

what will you be using for the rear wheel of your singlespeed?

Do I need to look for a specific type of crank set? I have an Andel crankset that was used for my fixed geared bike, but I'm not sure if this will work if I ever go the geared route?

It's this one: http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=188_193_660&products_id=1532



The rear wheel I'm using will come off my other bike.. a Open Pro/Dimension flip flop.

cool, the only reason i asked was chainline. but if you're taking the same crankset, bb and rear wheel you used on the fixed gear then the chainline should be the same.

you will need to think about the rear spacing though. you could just run your 120mm hub as it is and pinch the rear dropouts together a little bit. doing this will probably not cause catastrophic failure and death, but it's also not ideal since one dropout can bend in more than the other, throwing off your alignment.

if you can, it's best to space the axle out to ~130mm to fit the crosscheck's rear. the only issue with this is that it may not leave enough axle outside the dropouts to fully engage the track nuts. i ended up doing a combination of the two for my rob roy and the alignment is still good.

when you do go to geared, you may find that you're dropping the chain on the outside from time to time because the chainring is so far in. if that happens, a longer bb and/or a chainguard should fix things.

Do I need to look for a specific type of crank set? I have an Andel crankset that was used for my fixed geared bike, but I'm not sure if this will work if I ever go the geared route?

It's this one: http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=188_193_660&products_id=1532



That crankset won't work great when you switch to geared. You could run it 1x9(or 8 or 10), but considering the 144BCD you won't be able to get a chainring smaller than 46t which is a bit big. Road chainrings come in 130BCD or 110BCD.

You might also have problems dropping the chain without some sort of chain guide.

cool, the only reason i asked was chainline. but if you're taking the same crankset, bb and rear wheel you used on the fixed gear then the chainline should be the same.

you will need to think about the rear spacing though. you could just run your 120mm hub as it is and pinch the rear dropouts together a little bit. doing this will probably not cause catastrophic failure and death, but it's also not ideal since one dropout can bend in more than the other, throwing off your alignment.

if you can, it's best to space the axle out to ~130mm to fit the crosscheck's rear. the only issue with this is that it may not leave enough axle outside the dropouts to fully engage the track nuts. i ended up doing a combination of the two for my rob roy and the alignment is still good.

when you do go to geared, you may find that you're dropping the chain on the outside from time to time because the chainring is so far in. if that happens, a longer bb and/or a chainguard should fix things.

Thanks for the help!

The chain dropping when running it multi geared scares me a bit. Other than that Andel Crankset I mentioned earlier, I also have an FSA Gossamer setup. It came with the Surly and I was planning on selling it, but if it works, than that'd be great. The bike is currently setup with a Shimano XT group and the FSA Gossamer crankset. If I take the inner rings off the Gossamer, and ran it only with a single. Would this be better for running both geared, and single speed?

If that setup worked.. it'd be perfect. I wouldn't have to spend money on a bb, and ring for the andel cranks.

looks like the gossamer has a 43.5mm chainline with the ring on the inside of the spider (if you want to use the large ring you can just mount it on the inside with ss chainring bolts). i'd say that's a pretty good bet, and then you can just switch it to the outside when you switch to geared.

105's and ultegras do double duty for me generally...... sugino's work also