Originally posted by postie
As a beginner, I know very little about gearing on bikes.
I read the post about crank sets lasting 1500 miles and was surprise as my set has missing tooth tips on the middle gear after 500 k. I am riding a diamondback sorrento with 24t, 34t,41t. The 41t I'm not quite sure of it could be42t. My question is can I get gears that retaian a 24t but raise the other two so that my speed would be higher than about 28 k on flat roads?
Charlie
Cranks and chainwheels should last much longer than 1500miles.
You probably have low-mid range Shimano chainrings which are made of soft metal and prone to chipped teeth. Better quality rings dont suffer very much from chipping.
The gearing you want is a sensible touring range, ideal for trails and road. You may be able to fit bigger chainrings to your current crank, but ideally you need a crank with a Bolt Circle Diameter (BCD) of 110/74mm to fit chainrings of about 24/36/48.
You can still find these but they are not a current standard.
If you do get a new set of crank, look for a forged Al one, that is compatable with your bottom bracket, and of the correct length for your legs. The best model of this type is the Specialities-TA Zephyr, but it is very expensive. I believe Richley make a nice model as well.