seaden

OKay so I got that Somec Track Frame...now someone just told me that if I put road cranks the bb shell will bust? Everyone who has a track bike...please give me the 411 on anything I need to know different in putting this girl together...I've put together a fixie already...what are the differences I should take note of.

spud

are you kidding? jump the shark already with some downhill Blackspire cranks and apehanger bars.

seaden

Huh?? Hello? Track newbie here...in newbie talk please

spud

ok, get some Sugino (RD,XT,75) track cranks, whatever you can afford, or some used track cranks.

onetwentyeight 

i dont know what this bb thing is about, but that thing deserves some nice parts. why do you want to use road cranks?

seaden

about how much do those run?

seaden

I'm not gonna go really spendy on it...I just want to get it build and rideable without going bankrupt....I'll upgrade later.

spud

RD below 100, 75s above, XT somewhere between?

onetwentyeight 

sugino 75's run 175. they go down from there.

seaden

what is the difference between a track crank and normal road cranks

spud

BCD, chainline spacing, durability, style, cost, certification.

evanyc

get the Sugino RDs... do it!

lumenredundas

dude in the long run you will spend more money getting ****ty parts and having to replace them. go all out , but be mndful and in the end the slightly higher better performer will last longer and be better for you. and some minor debt liek that isnt bad. its better to be in debt worry free about your whip rather than close to debt and have something break on you and being way in debt.

XVX

wangster

I agree with lumen, you should just take your time and build with quality parts. Now that doesn't mean bling highend parts like phils or DA. You still have the conversion right? if that's still riding fine, then you should take your time and build it up right because the second you put cheap parts on it you'll be thinking of up grading and whatever the cheap parts cost will just be added expense ontop of the quality parts costs. A frame like that deserves decent parts and if you put sugino RDs on it, you might as well have gotten a NYCB frame.

I know it's hard to wait and you want to put it together rightaway but trust me, it's worth the wait so your first ride on the bike will be perfect.

Just the way I feel about these thing...

vomitron

Also, BB shells on italian track frames are not designed to take the load that road frames are.

Think of it like this: On a road bike, the forces are being absorbed by the extra chainrings and stuff. On a track crank, there is extra material to absorb the extra load (which is why they have a bigger bolt pattern. Bigger pattern = more metal). This is why you need track cranks on a track frame.

Also, you should really take it to the track sometimes so the metal will get a chance to stretch. High speeds allows the metal and the joints to stretch.

If it's too much of a financial burden, you might just want to sell the frame. What size is it?

seaden

well I'll just get track cranks then and then just get velocity/formula hubs and dura ace track cog and lockring and it should be fine right?! No matter what I'm not going to build this bike up super costly...

r-dub

the scientist in me cringes at this statement...I'm not sure what you're trying to say, exactly...but remember newton's laws. "extra material to absorb the extra load" wtf??? "high speeds allows the metal and the joints to stretch"" (double)wtf???

A stiffer crank (such as a track one) is going to transmit more force than a less stiff one (such as a non-DA road) to the bottom bracket. The more metal in the crank, the less it's going to flex and the more it's going to transmit force somewhere else (this is what we want, we want that force transmitted to the rear wheel through the chain.)

seaden

man you guys are like totally beating me into this "spend a ton on this bike..it deserves it"...wtf...it's a frame...it's a bike...it's a track bike...who cares if I don't buy all campy or italian stuff. I'm not going to buy super expensive stuff okay. I just need to know what will make this bike go without messing it up...that's all. A simple "no you can't use road cranks on a track bike because...etc..etc..etc" would have been fine. Jesus!

francypants

get some sugino 75s. i just got my set in the mail, complete with a 49t sugino chainring for $175. really good deal since the chainrings alone are around $45 and the cranks w/o ring sell for $175 through lots of retailers. they're not the cheapest cranks, but not the most expensive either. but they'll last you from frame to frame. put an 18t cog on the back and you'll have a nice gear ratio for flat and hilly terrain as well as 18 skid spots.

onetwentyeight 

seaden - we're a bunch of bike nerds, what did you expect?

I say spend money on it cuz you've got a bike already from what i gather, and its fun to make something really nice. I took 4 months to collect and assemble my current bike, and i'm glad i did. also, nice parts resell well when you wanna swap them, and bad ones, well... dont. your bottom bracket will not explode to the best of my knowledge. i mean, its an axel, some cups, and some ball bearings... if you wanna build it up cheap take it to a bike co-op or used parts place and just build it up with whatever. Could probably get the whole thing running for 2-300 bucks. It won't be nice, but it'll roll.

vomitron

I don't exactly remember this newton guy you're talking about. What does he have to do with bikes?

Listen man, I'm a physicist, and I'll tell you, they put that extra material there to absorb the stresses of a fixed gear. A track BB shell is not designed to take those loads, and thus you HAVE TO USE TRACK CRANKS ON A TRACK FRAME.

Now, as for the wheelset, you can get away with formula hubs, but really, track bikes are designed to use tubular tires. See, tubular tires have lower rolling resistance, and track bikes are designed to use them, so the added forces of a tire with a very HIGH rolling resistance (remember, resistance = load = forces), such as a clincher tire designed for the road, will put undue stresses on your fork and rear stays.

Listen man, you can build it however you want, but if you don't want to face plant in the middle of the street because YOU put components the bike was NOT DESIGNED TO USE, that's your decision.

vomitron

Added benefit of tubulars: Tubular rims can be had for cheap at most bike shops or on ebay.

See, building a track bike doesn't have to be ALL expensive! Imagine if you had to buy a d-ace 9spd group!

trespasser

never heard such a complete bull*****.

to OP, get sugino RD, or maybe stronglight track cranks. they are cheaper and they'll serve you just fine. And stick to some cheap shimano cartridge BB, and you will be fine. don't forget it's Italian threaded. Oh, and have a mechanic install them properly if possible.

rlgosa

rd crankset is not as stiff (obv) as 75 but also half the price. It will hold up to most of our non gigantic keirin racer legs just fine.

+1 for Stronglight (www.businesscycles.com)

just have fun with the build and don't stress.

rlgosa

BTW. from my experience, lbs will charge you about the same to install you BB as it costs to by the tool and DIY. Just get the tool and learn.