Originally Posted by Briareos
You're going to buy a $500+ Bareknuckle frame but want to get thrifty on the crankset? I'd get a solid crankset, hate to see you snap an arm and plow your beautiful 'knuckle frame into the asphalt.
But, out of the choices, I'd go Sugino RD. I have one and it works pretty well, just replace the chainring as soon as you can. It felt pretty weak when I took it off to put it behind the spider.
There is a thread about "catastrophic failures" with a picture of an RD chainring absolutely destroyed. Cranks still looked strong though!
What are you talking about??? Cheap cranks may not be light, and some of them not necessarily round, but they are not prone to snapping! There are plenty of decent cranks under a hundred bucks. I'm particularly fond of good used or NOS Shimano 600 road cranks which were very well made, very light, and can be had for WELL under $100