New Crankset Help
 

My old crank set has a loose left side crank arm. It is an FSA mega expo which is known for this. I would like to replace this with a new crankset that hopefully will be bullet proof. I would like to keep cost so what down as this is not a new bike. I built it in 2006 with Campy Chorus. My only requirement is I would like the crank to be black.

I have been looking at the following

Campy Centaur in alloy and carbon
SRAM Force

What do you guys think? Do you have other suggestions?

I have not been riding much the last 2 years, but am motivated again. I have been riding regularly indoors and getting back into to shape for the upcoming season. I have not kept up with the current state and reputation of components so I really could use help.

$128 shipped including BB
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SRAM-Rival-O...item589c9503b2

SRAM Rival GXP....all-black, light, reliable and cheap.

Stick with Campagnolo. Nothing looks worse than a bunch of mismatched components.

If "mismatched" cranks bother you that's a sign that you are looking at your bike more than you are riding it.

I had some MegaExo cranks. I got some more use out of them after the left arm started coming lose by using a Loctite formula that's made for filling gaps between parts. 600-something is the number. The regular thread lockers don't work for this purpose. It worked but was a hassle.

I put some Rival GXP cranks on that bike. The GXP cranks are easy to install and unlike the FSA cranks there is no way for the bearing preload to be wrong. I have GXP cranks on all three bikes and they all spin very smoothly. I have not yet had to replace a BB bearing, unlike the FSA cranks whose bearings did not last long.

What is the make and model of bike frame and what kind of BB is it?..threaded?...BB30 or PF30?

Making a statement like that is a sign that you don't know WTF you are talking about. JMO

I don't know a lot about posing, that is true. I ride my bikes, I don't hang around with them.

No one has ever mentioned the "mismatched" cranks that are on all of my bikes.

Thanks for all of the replies. I we I decided to go with last years SRAM Force with a GXP BB. The crank with bottom bracket was $15 dollars more than the Rival. I liked the looks of it more than the rival or campy cranks.

I almost went with campy due to the mismatch issue. I already has FSA for the crank, so in the end I did not let that sway me.

The SRAM force was $120 less than the carbon campy. Also the installation just seemed much easier.

My bike is a Pedal Force QS2. It is pretty much all black with a grey head badge and grey accent on the down tube. I look forward to warm weather to get back out there.

Thanks again

Good for you. I would put SRAM on any of my bikes unless I'm being paid to use it.

My Campagnolo bikes are full Campagnolo, and my Shimano bike is all Shimano. That's just how I roll.

Yes I was heavily leaning to campy even before posting to be matched. In the end the SRAM seemed to be much better value. The final straw against campy came to the installation. Even more important was the de-installation. If I messed anything I would have to buy tools to uninstall. It was just a little too much for me to think about. If my bike was newer or I was doing a new build I would probably be all campy. I might consider SRAM. Shimano just seems boring to me.

There is only one Campy crankset worth considering...Ultra Torque. No fancy tools required. About as simple and as good a crank available. My favorite...especially with threaded BB. Even Campy has dogs...known as the Power Torque. A bit shocking but true from such a pedigreed company.
Sram is a good value OP like you say....they make a good crank. But if running Campy, I would run an Ultra Torque crank...Chorus or Record.

Me thinks BSY needs to go for a ride and loose some of that anger....

Personally if you have a choice I'd sticky with Campy since it'll match up better, but sometimes you can't...For example, I use Shimano Ultegra on both my bikes, but am about to swap out the cranks to SRAM. Reason, I want crank based power and Quarq don't do Shimano...

Once again the comment 'tool and not jewel' will hold true :)

thanks for your opinion on the matter, but there's no anger here.

I believe that you should use one manufacturers components for a bike build, that's all. It's okay I'd you don't agree with me, I can't force you to be right.

Well guys I received the new crank and installed on the bike. It is shifting great. Even better they sent me the 2013 version. It looks fantastic. I am definitely very happy. I used Merlin Cycles from the UK. I ordered on a Sunday and received everything 8 days latter on a Monday. Prices were the best. Service was great. I highly recommend you check them out.