The "messenger" crank with a normal ring is a decent value, if you can live with the chainline. I hate the messenger chain ring, so I just bought the same crank with a traditional looking 48. It was nowhere near the cost of the Omnium (maybe half the price, delivered).
Originally Posted by
sharpsandflatts
i wouldn't get the messenger crankset. when you factor in the cost of the BB you're getting close to the cost of sram omniums ($175 from bikeisland w/ external BB). if not the SRAM s300 are the next step down from omniums (130 bcd instead of 144, chainring on the inside of the spider) but still a much better crankset for the money (~$100 w/BB) than the messengers. also sugino messengers scream tarck.