Originally Posted by
Voodoo76
Thanks for the feedback carleton, had not considered SRAM. How did they compare for stiffness?
1) Only the strongest of trackies can feel any difference in stiffness between Sugino, Dura Ace, SRAM, SRM, or Campy cranks. That being said...
2) SRAM are probably the stiffest of them all being that they have:
- external BB
- super thick arms
- super thick crank spider
But, they do have downsides:
1) They come equipped with aluminum double chainring bolts to accommodate the thick chainring spider (and thick stock 48t chainring). This is a pain in the ass because you'll need 2 tools to remove each bolt (as you would a road chainring). Imagine doing that several times on a workout/race day. What's worse is that you can't use normal track chainrings (FSA, Dura Ace, Campy, Sugino, etc...). Bad design.
I suggest that you replace them with the female part of steel SINGLE chainring nuts and glue them into your crank spider. Then use steel DOUBLE male chainring bolts. You can get steel double chainring bolts from a well equipped MTB shop or online. That's what I did.
On a related note: Dura Ace, Campy, and Sugino track cranks come equipped with knurled chainring nuts that seat themselves into the cranks spider so you don't need two tools to remove them for gear changes. Sugino actually sells theirs:
https://www.benscycle.com/p-530-sugi...s-knurled.aspx
2) As Brian mentions, a small number of frames have a tight clearance between the chainstay and the crank arm and SRAM Omnium cranks don't clear the chainstay. Just google your frame name and SRAM Omnium and see if anything pops up. If you don't hear anyone complaining, you are probably OK.
3) SRAM Omniums are MUCH less expensive than Sugino, Campy, and Dura Ace track cranks. Why? Because they use a $30 bottom bracket (same for Rival cranks). It's good enough to get you going. But, after a season or two, you'll want to put on a nicer one (around $100). I've seen many people use Phil Wood.
A few US National team riders (Jimmy Watkins, Jennie Reed) rode Sram Omniums at one time. Not sure if it were part of a sponsorship thing or not. But, they are very good cranks if you deal with the relatively minor downsides listed above.