Road Cycling - Crank swap advice needed for a newbie

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA
almarktool
07-10-04, 07:36 AM
I need some advice on how to handle my crank upgrade, I was looking to purchase the FSA Pro Carbon compact cranks, my current bike is a Specialized alez sport

My 2nd option was to get a new bike was considering the Trek 5500 , and having the dealer swap put the dura-ace cranks for the FSR , I do not have the leg strenth at this time to turn the dura ace double, and i really hate the triples, but since it is my first season riding i was trying to well lets say be conservative in my spending so i don't have to hear the usual stuff like i have been riding x amount of years and i ride a 900.00 junk bike and do centurys all the time with it, u didn't need a new bike!

My latest idea was this one let me know if it makes sense
i get a new double crank ( shimano 105 ) and bottom bracket i need also i think ?
put a new front delrailer on , and run a 52/38 front rings with the 12-32 rear cassette?
this will give me the easier gearing i am looking for as well as get me into a double
as opposed to a triple , i believe the shifters can stay as they are correct ?

Retro Grouch
07-10-04, 08:03 AM
I need some advice on how to handle my crank upgrade, I was looking to purchase the FSA Pro Carbon compact cranks, my current bike is a Specialized alez sport

My 2nd option was to get a new bike was considering the Trek 5500 , and having the dealer swap put the dura-ace cranks for the FSR , I do not have the leg strenth at this time to turn the dura ace double, and i really hate the triples, but since it is my first season riding i was trying to well lets say be conservative in my spending so i don't have to hear the usual stuff like i have been riding x amount of years and i ride a 900.00 junk bike and do centurys all the time with it, u didn't need a new bike!

My latest idea was this one let me know if it makes sense
i get a new double crank ( shimano 105 ) and bottom bracket i need also i think ?
put a new front delrailer on , and run a 52/38 front rings with the 12-32 rear cassette?
this will give me the easier gearing i am looking for as well as get me into a double
as opposed to a triple , i believe the shifters can stay as they are correct ?

Shifters will work OK but you'll likely need a mountain bike rear derailleur to handle the 32 tooth cog.

I installed a compact FSA Energy crank on my Klein and I love it. I got rid of some gears that I never really used, gained some gears that I needed, and kept my double crankset and normal cog spacing.

I got the octolink version of the crankset so I kept the same bottom bracket and the only thing I had to buy was the crankset. Installation took me right at an hour which included lowering the front derailleur, removing and reinstalling the bottom bracket, resizing the chain, and reprogramming my Flight Deck computer.
Grampy™
07-10-04, 08:23 AM
Retro is correct the max size of your rear cassette with 105, ultegra, or DA rear der. would be 27 tooth.