Folding Bikes - SRAM Rival or Shimano 105 for my Dahon Folding Bike

Hi All,

I am planning to change my standard crank from my Dahon speed-P8 into dual crank system.
right now, i'm still confuse to choose the crank that i will buy, Shimano 105 or SRAM Rival ?

please give me review & suggestion between Shimano 105 or sram 105 (price, reliability, durability, installation)

thank you very much

shimano 105. i installed it on my boardwalk d7. i don't know how the BB is on the speed 8 but it's a pain to change the BB on my boardwalk. it took me almost 1 hour just to remove the old one. but once i had it removed it's an easy install all the way. you need to get s BB specifically for the 105. it's one of the best upgrade i've done to my D7. i can tell the difference between the old and new crank. since it is a double crank and if your planning to use the 39T make sure that you get the FD adaptor from Thor. you wouldn't be able to put the FD without this adaptor. check this out at jensonusa. a 105 crank for $22.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/CR706B00-Shimano+105+Fc-5502+Crankset.aspx

thanks
vic

Personally, I believe that the two are pretty similar and that the choice matters little. Modern versions of both come with external BB and (from memory) have a high quality aluminum construction. So the last three criteria are a wash, IMO. Which one is better from a price perspective depends on the sale that you happen to catch.

BTW, the 105 crank at Jenson is Octalink if I remember correctly.

I have used both 105 and SRAM and currently have 105 components on my bike. They are pretty much interchangable quality wise. I reccomend trying both out if you can since they switch gears differently and you might prefer one way over the other. Outside of that preference, pick the one you think will look the coolest on your bike! :)

I'm using a 105 Octalink crankset on my Vitesse which is 468 grams according to my scales, i.e. very light indeed (excluding bolts and chain rings).

you'll need to use a square taper system, a crankset that allows you to change the BB spindle width, or use some chainring spacers and long bolts to allow the chainrings to sit out wide.

Reason is, with a double you'll need to use a FD, and in order to mount a FD on a dahon, you'll need to use the clamp-on from thorusa.
Now the thorusa clamp-on sits out quite far from the seat tube and this doesn't give enough range with a crankset that has the chainrings sitting close to the seat tube, like a road crankset will. Both 105 and Rival cranksets (modern ones) use external BBs with fixed spindle lengths designed for a road bike and these spindles are not wide enough.

I've done this here: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?544582-My-Dahon-Vitesse-hot-rod&p=9022483&viewfull=1#post9022483

To highlight, you need a 117~120 x 68mm BB. Both octalink/ISIS and square taper have these lengths while external systems do not. The good thing is, the chainrings are interchangeable between old and new.

@ AEO - Great bike !!!