Bicycle Mechanics - square taper crank upgrade

i have an old road bike converted to single speed. it has a cup and cone BB with a square taper sindle, with bolts on the end to hold the crank on.


i want to upgrade my crank and chainring to somthing more modern and lightweight. ill try to select a classic style to go with the bike.



can i get new cranks for square taper, or should i change out the BB for a modern sealed BB that fits my shell?

NOS cranks or lower end new cranks and changeout cranks from the '90s are all
available for cheap. Heck I have a couple of pairs of Nuovo Record campy cranks
collecting dust. They should be readily available. You can get a sealed bearing
sq taper BB from Shimano for $20-30 depending or a new axle and bearings for a
bit less. Not sure what you mean by bolts on the end, but assume the axle has
a threaded part and a nut+washer is used to hold the cranks on. This has been
out of favor for a long time. Another assumption is that you aren't going
whole hog and want a track single speed, but rather a road single speed setup.

Not sure what you mean by bolts on the end, but assume the axle has
a threaded part and a nut+washer is used to hold the cranks on. This has been
out of favor for a long time.
I took this to mean the OP's current spindle is bolted, not nutted so it is a better quality spindle.

NOS cranks or lower end new cranks and changeout cranks from the '90s are all
available for cheap. Heck I have a couple of pairs of Nuovo Record campy cranks
collecting dust. .

If they are Nuovo Record, they probably are 70s or early 80s rather than 90s. You can get a pretty good price for those on ebay. I do agree that NOS might be the way to go for square taper cranks with a vintage look. If the BB is Campy and in good shape, I'd be partial to the C-record pista cranks from late 80s and early 90s. They were sweet looking cranks and I see them up for sale on ebay fairly regularly. Can be pricey though when NOS or near NOS condition.