Trickle down crank upgrades.
 

Pardon the basic questions.
Bike #1 Bianchi Infinito 105 with FSA Gossamer compact crank
Bike #2 (old bike, now rain bike) Late 90's Cannondale R500 with full Shimano 600 (standard crank) - 8 speed

I'd like to upgrade the stock FSA crank that came on the Bianchi with a new Shimano Ultegra FC-6750, then if possible put the FSA crank on the Cannondale (because it's newer but mostly because I want a compact crank on the Cannondale for better hill climbing).

Question 1: Getting a BB for the new Ultegra crank - I see that there are Tigra, Ultegra and Dura Ace level BB and at least on Ebay prices and weight are similar. Is there any reason not to go DA since it's pretty cheap or are they all basically similar? Would this work? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-Dura...item56473a41a8

Question 2: What if anything would make it possible to use the FSA Gossamer crank on the Cannondale? A link to a product on ebay or online store would be exceptionally helpful. In other words the FSA BB on the Bianchi looks to thread on, but I assume the cannondale would need some sort of a press fit adapter to make it work.

Question 3: If I want to go 10 speed on the Cannondale, I ditch the Shimano 600 RD, get a 10 speed RD (already have a cassette) and will need at least a Tiagra level 10 speed brifter right? (ie, my shimano 600 brifter won't work with the 10 speed RD right?)

Thank you very much for any input.http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=227860http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=227859
http://www.bikeforums.net/images/misc/pencil.png

1. I've always assumed that the bearings in the higher quality Shimano BBs are better, but functionally they all seem to work the same and are compatible.

2. The bottom bracket type on both frames looks to be the same, so using the FSA on the Cannondale should be no problem, you just need the tools to remove and re-install everything.

3. To go 10 speed, you are correct that you would need to change the cassette, chain, and right-hand shifter. The crankset might still work with the 8-speed stuff, although the chain will probably rub on the outer ring more than it currently does when in the small-small combinations.

Thanks for the reply. I'm sorry that the pics are poor quality but I think the BB are different. Gossamer is an external bearing and the Cannondale doesn't appear to be. I assume some sort of adapter is necessary. Any ideas?

Is that a 42T little ring on the Cannondale? If so another option is to sell the FSA and get a 39T chainring for the Shimano 600 crank. Seems like it would be easier and maybe get you a low enough gear.

The BB for the Gossamer might thread into the Cannondale frame, lemme do some research, though.

Well, I think you've got a BB30 bottom bracket there, so no dice on transfering that to the Cannondale, AFAICT.

Hmm, maybe not. This stuff's all too newfangled for me. I'm gonna bail on this thread. I'd still just sell off your FSA stuff and get a 39T chainring if you've currently got a 42T on the Cannondale, though. Silver cranks will look better with a blue frame than black cranks, IMO.

What do the markings on the Bianchi's BB say?

Oh, what year is your Infinito?

Just one data point for what it's worth:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--...0/PC100020.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-T...0/PC100018.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-t...0/PC100024.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6...0/PC100023.JPG

Thanks for the replies. It's a 2012 Infintio. Regarding the Cannondale, it's got 53/42 chainrings. Would getting a smaller ring leave me with a noticable gap in my gearing?

The FSA BB says "MegaExo" and something like BC1 37x241

I'm going to dig up my better camera to see if I can get a better pic of the Cannondale BB to see if that will help.

Wow. That's pretty impressive carnage. I'd like to think that I should be concerned about breaking parts, but sadly I'm far from it I suspect. Are you in the East Bay? I'm in Pleasanton.

That Cannondale uses a standard English threaded BB. BB30 didn't exist in the late 90's. The MegaExo will swap just fine, but that is not the first snapped Gossamer crank I have ever heard about, so YMMV.

I'm on the hard side of the Mountain!

That crank just plain old fatigued - can't credit my explosive power but maybe I gouged it somehow to get things started. It seems like the cross sectional shape of the thing just isn't very smart though. Anyway, do a good inspection on yours before you decide to swap it to a different bike.

Edit - there's been a recall on some Gossamer cranks too, maybe you can get a free replacement:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11045.html

The BBs are different but the frames are the same. The BB30 is a different frame design, but you don't have one of those so no worries. The FSA crankset and BB should swap onto the older frame. If you run into bearing adjustement issues you might need to have the old frame's BB shell faced (cleaned up) as I've heard the new external BBs can be quite finicky.

Thanks for the input. It looks like the BB in the Cannondale is held in with a metal ring with splines on it. That suggests to me that a tool with splines will be needed to unscrew the ring and then another tool will be needed to install the new BB.

I'm guessing this to removed old from Cannondale:
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...8_10000_202576

This to install new Shimano and MegaExo
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...2_10000_202576

Chris_W also mentioned something that my LBS guy thought might be a problem. Until I go 10 speed, I might get some chain run in certain gear combinations. Does that seem likely? LBS guy thought I might need to get new chainrings if I do the crank but stay with the 8 speed rear.

Thanks again for the benefit of your knowledge.

Oh, one more question: I think the Bianchi uses english threaded BB correct?

Yes, current Bianchis are all English threaded which is specified as 1.37x24T. The 1.37 is the thread diameter in inches and the "T" stands for "threads per inch"

Thanks a million guys!

looks like a couple nicks in the edge got the stress riser started.

lhorn, The 8S integrated shifter won't work with the 10S. I run Shimano 600 on my roadie and recently swapped in a NOS 53-39 crankset to replace the 53-42 (easier than swapping chainrings) and the difference is noticeable with my 13-23 cassette, but not by a wide margin.

When I rebuilt a roadie to deal with an injured knee I used a 52-42-30 105 triple. This allowed me to keep a close ratio 8S cassette and chainrings and have a bail out gear. This route will require a crankset, BB, long cage RD and shifters. Quite possibly the same parts plus a chain if using a compact and a semi-wide ratio 10S cassette. What is the 10S cassette's gearing?

Brad

There's no way I'd swap out a good ol' 600 (square taper) crank for a Gossamer. There's lots of chainrings out there to change the gearing. Chainrings are available in 38, 39, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 x 130BCD. Just makes more sense to me. There ain't a thing wrong with the old-tech bottom brackets.

I agree. THe quality of the shimano cranks and chainrings is very much above that of the FSA crap... errrr... crank, so swapping might give you lower gears but also might result in poor shifting, faster component wear, and snaped arm and/or legs. You can get a 39 or 38 tooth small chainring for the shimano crank. 53-39 is a very common combination on double cranks and there is generally no problem with shifting.

It certainly had quite a few little dings... this was on my foul-weather bike so it got beat up more than my best bike. BUT...

Looking at the pattern of discoloration on the cross-section view, it appears the initial crack leading to failure was on the front surface of the crank - the part that curves outboard - between the branding marks; it started in the middle and spread outward toward the edges. This agrees with the fact that there are two parallel cracks to the failure also seen from the front view that don't go all the way to the edge. Couple that with the fact that the force that causes that kind of stress is when you're standing on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke, and it seems the nicks had minimal participation in the break.

Had I been better at inspections, I likely would have noticed the three parallel cracks before it broke and changed it out earlier. Luckily it didn't snap when I was out of the saddle sprinting... it just kind of felt like my cleat was coming loose and then it let go - with the pedal and half the crank still attached to my shoe.