Originally Posted by
cestlaguerre
i'm looking to upgrade a crankset (chainring has a lot of high/low spots) and overall it's a stock lower quality set. everyone is in love with omniums but i don't think i have the legs or budget to warrant spending that kind of money on the stiffest track crank i can find. or maybe it's not about ability, and the stiffness is worth it in the long run for quality…. any thoughts or recommendations?
also i'm getting a lot of noise off the chain. part of the issue was the chainring. i swapped it out for a sugino ring i had on an older bike which quieted the crank up. the generic cog in the back is still pretty noisy. i double checked the alignment of the crank/cog so the chain is straight and greased it, and the tension is even but it still sounds like i've got a baseball card in the spokes. any cogs you've used that seem quieter than the rest?
I honestly can't diagnose why your drivetrain is loud over the internet. Some cogs are loud. Some are quiet. In my experience, EAI cogs are silent when you're using a good chain like an Izumi Super Toughness but there are far too many variables. I've had the exact same chainring/chain/cog setup on two different bikes simultaneously and one was much louder than the other. No idea why.
Also, your chain could just be too tight.
Regarding the crankset, if you don't want to spring for Omniums or think they're unnecessary and still want something good having 144bcd, pick up a set of Andels or the IRD Defiant (depending on which aesthetic you're going for).