Touring - need advice about 26/40t crankset

Hey everyone,

Noticed Rivendell is selling a wide range compact crank from Sugino XD for 140. It's a 26-40t. Anyone with any experience with a double in this range? I'm building up a secondary bike that'll be for commuting/touring/light off road use. I use a 30/46 on my primary bike and like it for roads, but want a smaller granny for offroad hills.

Also, is 140 a good price? Could I buy the crankset and a cog and assemble it myself for cheaper?

Sorry I can't answer your question directly, but I will offer something close. I had a Sugino triple that came OME on my bike. I could never get it to shift crisply (9 spd 105 FD and STI shifters). One of the worst feelings on tour is shifting to the smallest chain ring on a slow steep grade and having the chain miss the ring leaving you spinning air and trying to get your cleats unclipped in seconds flat. I took it to my LBS and the mechanic got it working a bit better than I could but he said it was designed for an eight speed chain and I was running nine. I switched chain rings to a Race Face set which also was an improvement but there was another problem. The outer pin on the big chain ring that keeps the chain from jamming between the crank arm and spider is in a different position than the industry standard. This is because the Sugino puts one of the five chain ring fasteners right behind the crank arm and that can be a real pain to remove.

I finally nixed it and put a Shimano LX crank set on and am much happier now.

Sorry I can't answer your question directly, but I will offer something close. I had a Sugino triple that came OME on my bike. I could never get it to shift crisply (9 spd 105 FD and STI shifters). One of the worst feelings on tour is shifting to the smallest chain ring on a slow steep grade and having the chain miss the ring leaving you spinning air and trying to get your cleats unclipped in seconds flat. I took it to my LBS and the mechanic got it working a bit better than I could but he said it was designed for an eight speed chain and I was running nine. I switched chain rings to a Race Face set which also was an improvement but there was another problem. The outer pin on the big chain ring that keeps the chain from jamming between the crank arm and spider is in a different position than the industry standard. This is because the Sugino puts one of the five chain ring fasteners right behind the crank arm and that can be a real pain to remove.

I finally nixed it and put a Shimano LX crank set on and am much happier now.

I can't vouch for that product directly, but I will point out that Sugino chainrings are usually not ramped or pined to nearly the extent that Shimano chainrings are. This means that shifting can be a bit slower, but you have more flexibility to mix and match. I use them with friction shifters and have no problem, but I'd imagine setting up indexing on them would be more difficult.

I've also used a compact double and severely disliked it, but it was my own fault. I used a combination with far to large of a gap (46/22) and found myself always in between gears. A smaller outer chainring should solve that problem easily though.

I have Suguino XD600 26/36/46 on 3 of my bikes and have never had a problem. My one trike has over 20k miles and the chainrings are as straight as the day I bought it. Can't say the same for the one it replaced. Shifting has always been on the money and I have a mix from Sram. Shimano and Microshift. I have no experience with a double but shifting from 26 to 46 is smooth. My 1st purchase price was about $100 from Jenson. My last was about $125. To me this Suguino crank is quite reasonable compared to others and $140 seems to be a fair price. FWIW I first learned of this crank from Rivendall and they were only $5 more than Jenson.

dvald001

I have a XD600 compact triple 175mm crank in my "junk box." If you or anyone else here wants it, it is available for the price of postage. I have a handful of chain rings to go with it, including a couple of Race Face rings. No bottom bracket (it went on a grandchild's bike). Just drop your mailing address in my message box and we can work out the details.

... only as the middle and 'granny' gear on a triple..

I looked.. that is 2 out of 3. with a chainguard disc instead of a big ring..

IF I were you, I'd set it up with the Triple BB, so a single ring, with a bail out low.

Western Flyer
If the OP has not already expreses an interest in your offer of the Sugino crankset and rings I would sure like to give them a try, looking to end up with a 24x36x46. I tried to PM you but I don't have enough posts. I assume you can PM me. I have a Brooks B17 that I could offer in return.

I used a 39/26 crank on my Southern Tier (San Diego to Sarasota) and liked it very well. Mine was actually a triple with the outer ring removed.

Hey everyone,

Noticed Rivendell is selling a wide range compact crank from Sugino XD for 140. It's a 26-40t. Anyone with any experience with a double in this range? I'm building up a secondary bike that'll be for commuting/touring/light off road use. I use a 30/46 on my primary bike and like it for roads, but want a smaller granny for offroad hills.

Also, is 140 a good price? Could I buy the crankset and a cog and assemble it myself for cheaper?

I have the Sugino GP 110 which was a triple converted to a double and I assembled it myself with the help of the bike co-op. They have all the parts I need for less. If you were to assemble it yourself with all new parts, you may have to pay the same price as new. New chain rings are like $20 to $40 each, then the cranks and then 5 single speed type chain ring bolts (shorter thread than regular for just the middle ring only) for the middle ring (110 portion) and the 5 spaces and chain rings bolts for the 74mm portion. The spacers will vary if you running a 9 speed or 10 speed and fine tuning the shifting between the 40T and 26T. I currently run a 36T/26T which I assembled together using co-op parts for a total of $40 with the chain rings that are barely 100km. Sure beats $140 and the parts I got were almost brand new thanks to those people who love to upgrade to the latest and greatest and donate the rest to moi (cyclist poor). There are 2 popular ranges I've seen used by actual tourers. 26-40T (29"/700c) or 28-45T (for 26"). With the 26-36T and a 11-36SLX 10 speed rear, my lowest is 19" and highest 90" perfect for loaded and light touring!

I'm running a vintage SR Apex with 52, 40 and 28 chainrings. I'm using a sram 8-speed chain. The chainrings lack modern ramps and pins. However, it shifts superbly with friction downtube shifters.