Want to buy new chainset but.....
 

OK, first post - bit of a newb but I've been learning real fast :-(

I bought a nice clean secondhand Claude Butler CBR Metro with 700c wheels, 21 speed and blah blah. It had a flat tyre so I went off to Evans Cycles to get a new one and while I was there had a walk around the bikes. I quickly realised my new purchase was a complele load of rubbish but grimaced at the prices of the nice ones - particularly the Cannondale Quick SL1 ( which I fell in love with in an instant )

Depressed, I went home, fitted the tyre and then went for a ride with my wife ( the whole purpose of buying the bike in the first place )
5 miles from home the chain snapped and I had to walk it - in a torrential downpour that came as if by magic from nowhere.
I now hate the bike by this time but decide to get more knowledable and replace every cr.. part on it to make it nicer and more reliable.
E Bay is great for this as you can save money but I guess wasting money is easy when you start to scratch away at the surface of this hobby ( obsession ) For example, 7, 8, 9 and 10 speed bits don't all work together ( it tells you ) Road drivetrain is NOT like MTB and is not compatible with one another, this chain will work here but not there and finally I find out SRAM is not Shimano after all and... don't mix and match. So I end up sending stupid ammounts of E Bay messages to people about ' will this work with a ... ' and ' can I fit this to a.....'
No one seems to know or they are too lazy to reply.

To avoid making a technical mistake then I change the stem, bars, forks, seatpost, seat, pedals, chain, V brakes and finally the tyres.
Easy parts done. My bike is losing weight rapidly, looking quite nice and is almost satisfying to ride. Not completely happy though as I know my bottom bracket feels lousy compared to the new one the sales assistant let me examine - and my headset is a steel thing with caged bearings urgh..... !! ( that'll be gone soon )

The reason I joined the forum, here comes the point....is about the bottom bracket. I could just change the 122 mm one and re fit the all steel Suntour chainset ( steel rings anyway ) but I've seen a nice new FSA chainset and the seller suggests I use a smaller BB. I'm now worried I'm entering the technical bit as this is now about chainline - get this wrong and it'll be a mess or at least the small ring will rub the chainstay etc. I've read Sheldons site and googled everything but I'm still not confident.
Any advice welcome on how to do this just once, and once only.
I'm OK with understanding measurements and have calipers, a crank puller, BB removal stuff and loads of other new bike tools ( including headset press - cheap btw ) and enough skills to have a go.
Is there a way of measuring that works first time or at least helps you make the correct choices ?
Thanks for you patience and I promise I'll not post another one this size.:thumb:

andcb

Right, not interesting enough or too much information ?

Just want to know how to measure my existing chainline correctly to enable me to change chainsets and what pitfalls to look out for - maybe no one knows here too !

i just changed my crankset. i measured the chainline before and after. i my case the chainline came out the same, if not a different bb is required.

This place is a joke - full of train spotters

I'm off now - won't be back - even to look at responses

Hope you all ' fall off ' tomorrow and graze yer knees - then think of me ...pah

OK dr1445 - you are the exception to my rant.....
OK before and after - good tip - thanks a lot - really, I mean that.
The rest still stands - I'm out

You should have Posted in the bicycle mechanics forum for much help.

You posted this while most people are likely working... Try being a little more patient. I've posted questions on other forums and didn't get a response till the next day, sometimes a couple days later. Just because someone didn't post a response instantly doesn't mean you won't get help. After the tantrum you just threw, you might not get any help now...

I can tell you shouldn't have any problems fitting in around here.

From what I understand you should be looking for a chain for an "7 or 8 speed". The width of the chain depends on how many gears. The 9 or 10 speed chains are not as wide.
We have 4 TREK bikes. All 21 speed. Three chain rings and 7 gears on the freewheels. Around here in Penn's Colony I see only SRAM chains for our 21 speed bikes. These have 114 links and I install them right out of the plastic box they come in. They last us between 2,000 and 3,000 miles on our bikes.

LOL... Other people don't exist solely to service my needs immediately?!? Reality sucks... :D

Lol right on!

Crazy huh?! :cry: