Originally Posted by trashalicious
n00b question, but how do i tell if my cranks are 3 piece or integrated?
If you have 3 piece cranks, then the bottom bracket spindle, drive side crank arm(with the spider to attach to a chainring) and non-drive side crank arm will be separate pieces you have to attach to one another. If you have a one piece crankset, then the drive side and non-drive side cranks, and BB spindle will be the same piece of metal. If you have a crankset with an integrated chainring then it can be either of the two designs (I think there are one piece cranks with integrated chainrings, anyway), only a chainring will be permanently attached to the drive side crank arm.