Slight play in crank - replace, grease, shim etc?
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 8
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Slight play in crank - replace, grease, shim etc?
Hi
Very quick q - basically, question of degree rather than anything else.
I hit the l/h crank on my fixie on the kerb trying to avoid a taxi, and since then have had a tiny bit of vertical play in the crank - about 3mm or so. It feels like the play you'd get from a properly tensioned chain, but it's just on the crank - if I hold the r/h crank still and rotate the l/h crank, it moves the 3mm or so up/down.
I figured at first I'd just loosened it, so removed the crank, greased the bolt and the spindle, torqued up the crank bolt and the movement went.
It's now come back - within about 20 miles of riding - so I figure I might have slightly rounded either the BB taper or the crank socket.
So - any suggestions on what the best course of action would be? I'd prefer not to replace the cranks or the BB as they're only about a year old, but if it's an accident waiting to happen I will.
Cheers!
edit - Sugino RD square spindle cranks, matching BB.
Very quick q - basically, question of degree rather than anything else.
I hit the l/h crank on my fixie on the kerb trying to avoid a taxi, and since then have had a tiny bit of vertical play in the crank - about 3mm or so. It feels like the play you'd get from a properly tensioned chain, but it's just on the crank - if I hold the r/h crank still and rotate the l/h crank, it moves the 3mm or so up/down.
I figured at first I'd just loosened it, so removed the crank, greased the bolt and the spindle, torqued up the crank bolt and the movement went.
It's now come back - within about 20 miles of riding - so I figure I might have slightly rounded either the BB taper or the crank socket.
So - any suggestions on what the best course of action would be? I'd prefer not to replace the cranks or the BB as they're only about a year old, but if it's an accident waiting to happen I will.
Cheers!
edit - Sugino RD square spindle cranks, matching BB.
#2
Displaced Southerner
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Webster, NY
Posts: 254
Bikes: 1967 Peugeot UO-8, 1984 Torpado Beta, 1985 Trek 300, 1989 Dave Moulton Fuso FRX, '90s Hardrock x2, '90s Norco Pinnacle, Focus MB-350 IRO SSFGGB
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
It sounds like you damaged the the crank taper. Time for a new crank arm.
#4
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 8
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
thanks for the responses.
re replacement - that's what I feared...
in the very short term, would a beer can shim keep it from worsening? just until the new cranks arrive in the mail.
re replacement - that's what I feared...
in the very short term, would a beer can shim keep it from worsening? just until the new cranks arrive in the mail.
#5
Call me The Breeze
Non drive side crank arms are cheap! I bet your LBS has one laying around you could use.
#6
Elitist Troglodyte
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Dallas
Posts: 6,925
Bikes: 03 Raleigh Professional (steel)
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Originally Posted by h2o
in the very short term, would a beer can shim keep it from worsening? just until the new cranks arrive in the mail.
__________________
Stupidity got us into this mess - why can't it get us out?
- Will Rogers
Stupidity got us into this mess - why can't it get us out?
- Will Rogers
#7
cab horn
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Toronto
Posts: 28,353
Bikes: 1987 Bianchi Campione
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 42 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 25 Times
in
18 Posts
Originally Posted by h2o
thanks for the responses.
re replacement - that's what I feared...
in the very short term, would a beer can shim keep it from worsening? just until the new cranks arrive in the mail.
re replacement - that's what I feared...
in the very short term, would a beer can shim keep it from worsening? just until the new cranks arrive in the mail.
#9
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 8
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
> Don't bother with a shim. Just get it replaced.
I meant while I was trying to find a replacement.
> Non drive side crank arms are cheap! I bet your LBS has one laying around you could use.
Actually, no - I went to most of the shops in London and nobody had a matching crank that would fit my bottom bracket. I was trying to find a match to avoid having to shell out £100 for a new crankset. Hence the need for the shim in the meantime.
Just in case any of you are curious - beer can shim worked a treat for my 10 mile commute for the three or four days until I caved and shelled out the £100. On the plus side, the new cranks are much better.
I meant while I was trying to find a replacement.
> Non drive side crank arms are cheap! I bet your LBS has one laying around you could use.
Actually, no - I went to most of the shops in London and nobody had a matching crank that would fit my bottom bracket. I was trying to find a match to avoid having to shell out £100 for a new crankset. Hence the need for the shim in the meantime.
Just in case any of you are curious - beer can shim worked a treat for my 10 mile commute for the three or four days until I caved and shelled out the £100. On the plus side, the new cranks are much better.
#10
Elitist Troglodyte
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Dallas
Posts: 6,925
Bikes: 03 Raleigh Professional (steel)
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
£100 ($135)?
What kind of crank do you have on that commuter?
What kind of crank do you have on that commuter?
__________________
Stupidity got us into this mess - why can't it get us out?
- Will Rogers
Stupidity got us into this mess - why can't it get us out?
- Will Rogers
#11
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 8
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
It's not a commuter, I just happen to also use it to commute. What's the point of getting on the underground if I have a perfectly serviceable bike? And what's the point of spending even more time in the gym when I can do some of my cardio work out on the road?
And £100 was for cranks, chainring and BB - the previous setup was a cheap Sugino crankset that, irritatingly, was only compatible with itself. Plus everything's expensive here compared with the States - the same set-up would cost you $100.
And £100 was for cranks, chainring and BB - the previous setup was a cheap Sugino crankset that, irritatingly, was only compatible with itself. Plus everything's expensive here compared with the States - the same set-up would cost you $100.
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Fresno, CA
Posts: 4,454
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 128 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 12 Times
in
10 Posts
I'd be surprised if a "cheap sugino crankset" was only compatible with itself. I think the Sugino 75 (nice higher-end crank designed for single-chainring) has ISO tapers (Campy-style) but I think all other Sugino cranks use the standard JIS (shimano-and-others-style) taper and should have tons of compatibility options.
edit: The Sugino RD crank has a standard JIS taper and you should be able to use pretty much any square-taper left crankarm with it. You'll want one that was designed for a similar bottom bracket spindle width (so the left pedal ain't lots further away from the frame than the right) but this shouldn't be hard to find.
edit: The Sugino RD crank has a standard JIS taper and you should be able to use pretty much any square-taper left crankarm with it. You'll want one that was designed for a similar bottom bracket spindle width (so the left pedal ain't lots further away from the frame than the right) but this shouldn't be hard to find.
__________________
"c" is not a unit that measures tire width
"c" is not a unit that measures tire width
#13
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 8
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Sugino 75s are lovely, but they're approaching £200 once you add a new chainring and BB. BCD is 144 on the 75s and 130 on the RDs.
Anyway, the main problem was that the Sugino RDs come with a 103 bb. Almost all pista cranks I could find in London took a 107 or larger bb. The only pista cranks I've ever come across that take the 103 are the Sugino RDs (the 75s take a 109, FYI), and I think that's mainly because they're a repurposed road crankset that Sugino decided to rebadge as a cheap pista crankset - it comes with a 3/32 chainring, which is a bit of a giveaway.
Anyhoo, pretty much every shop I tried in London had sold out of the Messenger RD (which appears to be the only variant of the RD crankset you can get in the UK) so it was either order a matching set online with a 2-3 week wait and pray that the beercan shim doesn't fail (not cycling is not an option), or stump up for a whole new crankset. Oh, wait, that's not entirely true - there's a shop at the other side of the country that still has Sugino RDs in stock (rebranded as On-One), but they're 170mm, not 165mm, and I couldn't really justify buying the same ****ty crankset all over again if I couldn't use the current ones as spares. Plus I prefer 165mm for fixed - pedal strike is a *****. Ironically.
Given that the Sugino BB had been pissing me off for a while before I discovered the size problem, it wasn't so painful a decision.
And no, nobody was willing to sell me a single left arm that would fit. I did ask.
Anyway, the main problem was that the Sugino RDs come with a 103 bb. Almost all pista cranks I could find in London took a 107 or larger bb. The only pista cranks I've ever come across that take the 103 are the Sugino RDs (the 75s take a 109, FYI), and I think that's mainly because they're a repurposed road crankset that Sugino decided to rebadge as a cheap pista crankset - it comes with a 3/32 chainring, which is a bit of a giveaway.
Anyhoo, pretty much every shop I tried in London had sold out of the Messenger RD (which appears to be the only variant of the RD crankset you can get in the UK) so it was either order a matching set online with a 2-3 week wait and pray that the beercan shim doesn't fail (not cycling is not an option), or stump up for a whole new crankset. Oh, wait, that's not entirely true - there's a shop at the other side of the country that still has Sugino RDs in stock (rebranded as On-One), but they're 170mm, not 165mm, and I couldn't really justify buying the same ****ty crankset all over again if I couldn't use the current ones as spares. Plus I prefer 165mm for fixed - pedal strike is a *****. Ironically.
Given that the Sugino BB had been pissing me off for a while before I discovered the size problem, it wasn't so painful a decision.
And no, nobody was willing to sell me a single left arm that would fit. I did ask.
Last edited by h2o; 06-24-07 at 07:22 AM.
#15
Displaced Southerner
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Webster, NY
Posts: 254
Bikes: 1967 Peugeot UO-8, 1984 Torpado Beta, 1985 Trek 300, 1989 Dave Moulton Fuso FRX, '90s Hardrock x2, '90s Norco Pinnacle, Focus MB-350 IRO SSFGGB
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
If you don't mind me asking, which cranks did you end up getting?