Sugino RD vs. 75 for street riding
 

Hypothetically, if I ever make it to the track, it'll be for fun and not competition / racing. So I'd be riding strictly streets for commuting and fun. With that said, people seem to be all over the board as far as cranksets, with some saying there's a very noticable difference in stiffness and performance between getting something higher priced like a 75 over an RD, and others saying you'd never notice a difference blind tested. So I'm confused as hell about this matter. This is going to be going a Bridgestone NJS track frame by the way (non-dented one), so a stiff frame. I'd be paying 200 for BB+75 for 100 for BB+RD...... So whats your opinion on this?

I dont know about the rd's but I love my 75s.

i have 75's on both my track bikes... definately worth it.

Ive been pondering the exact same thing. Am thinking ill go with the RD unless something here makes me think otherwise.

anyone else?

I'm from the school of though that says "A crank is a crank is a crank." I have ridden very flimsy cranks and not felt any flex. But then I weigh 137 and don't race. Nor do you, so if you're not heavy you could spend that $100 on better wheels or something.

dude get fmf bmx cranks they are 18 bucks and then just get the right bb for good chainline and be happy spend the extra mony on a nintendo wii or a xbox

Anecdotal *****ing: I had a pair of the FMF ISIS cranks on my MTB, and they died after 3 months. I was not happy. I think the bulletproof or dotek ones with the square taper work better. I've had them on my fix for 6 months now, still strong.

yup, never felt a crank flex in my life. maybe i'm just a wuss though.

rd's are fine, 75's are real nice (and may just shave a tenth of a second off your lap time, but i doubt it). i have no complaints whatsoever about my 20 dollar bulletproofs.

edit: no real track experience for me though, for what it's worth. presumably at some point it becomes an issue, or i guess people wouldn't pay for stiff cranks.

I agree with don't worry about it camp, only get them if the good lookiness of the 75's is important.

That's it, I'm investing in full Campy everything!

But yeah, jokes aside, I like the minimist look of the RD. The 75 looks nice too, as does Miche and Stronglight cranks, but I'm trying to keep Japanese cranks for the Japanese bike, and Dura Ace is obviously out of the question. Ehh. I'll ride my friends RD's when I see him again and try to decide...

nice, i'm a fan of the minimalist look myself. acetone will take those logos right off :)

I have both. The beater has RDs and the nice one has the 75s. I weigh 230 and the RDs have a little flex to them, and the 75s look a BILLION times better than the RDs.

Just get the 75's ... the 100 dollars you save in the end is just going to be spent upgrading...

You know this is true. Nice bikes deserve nice parts.

I'd go for the best you can afford.

I put 7504mi on Sugino RD cranks and while they may not be as good as 75's, they never held me back.

Al

after riding DA 7710s for 2 years I'm on a set of RDs for the winter beater.
They definetly are flexier.
Does it really matter for my commute? no, not really.
Would i race track on them? No.

Consider if you want a 1/8" or 3/32" drivetrain. Now, personally I don't care, but if you're leaning towards 1/8" then you basically have to get the 75's. 1/8" chainrings in 130BCD are scarce.

There may be fewer choice but they aren't really anymore scarce. 99% of bike shops aren't going to have either on hand and given the ease of ordering either one it's pretty much a wash so really the only place it might come up is in used stuff. Unless you are racing and planning to borrow/buy an assortment of 1/8" rings I don't think it really matters.

I agree and you will have them forever.
and the more you look at other njs bike the more you will want the 75's
hell I took campy cranks off my Bridgestone for 75's.
but if you can't afford them now and you want to just ride I might go for a cheap as hell set up untill you can afford the 75's because as sure as crack heads want crack you will want those 75's.
and are you sure there is no BB in the frame? mine came with the sugino 75 bb in it.

NJS or not, Sugino 75 cranks are a good long term investment.
If you're serious about biking, why not get yourself something
that will last you for the foreseeable future like the 75s will?
Keep your eye on eBay and you can get a second hand set for
$100-$125.

75. there is no question at all about it

I don't think it's really valid to compare two different cranks on two different frames, especially because "winter beater" sounds like a lot floppier of a frame than whatever you'd put DA 7710's on.

Unless there is some way to tell what's just crank flex, but I'd be hard pressed to believe it's not mental.

stiffness aside, the 75's are going to be milled more precisely than the RD's. There's generally going to be less variation in chain tension on a set of 75's with a 75 ring and the rd's with their stock ring, through each complete turn of the crank. It makes for a quieter drivetrain, and more even wear on your drivetrain components.

Yeah, Stratton said no BB on the frame which is fine because I don't know for sure even if there was a BB on it that it'd be the right size for a Sugino, if it was a different brand. If I go the 75 route I'm not going to get a 75 BB but a SuginoUN53 because it's still sealed and 20 bucks compared to 80 for the 75.

But yeah, I can certainly afford the 75 crank after my next paycheck, it puts a slight hamper on getting a new wheelset but I don't need a wheelset right now anyway. I'm gonna fund some Nitto 123's with tips money (don't you love free money?), and eventually the Nitto Pro stem...

**** it, I think I'll go the 75 route because good cranks last forever!

then you keep your chain too tight... Any decent crankset will be even enough to set a reasonable tension for the whole revolution of the crankset.

So do moderately priced ones.