The ring didnt fail. The crank did, which killed the ring.

How did I not notice that the end of one of the spider-arms had sheared off?

Yikes.

The 2005 Pistas with RDs came with the ring mounted on the inside. Considering it's a road double, I'm pretty sure there's no reason you can't mount it on the inside.

I see...i stand corrected.
If i may change my position...RD cranks either suck or that guy has gorilla legs.

Who makes those fmf cranks? I am assuming they are rebranded for some reason.

considering two arms snapped as well as at least one part of the chainring, I'm going to assume something pretty hardcore happened, and it wasn't a "just pedaling along" break

I ride Suginos on my multi-gear bike and I weigh 260. Basically its the same crank. There is nothing wrong with them they are forged and the same aluminum as higher priced cranks. I viewed a site recently showing Campagnolo cranks with busted crank arms mostly from hitting the pavement on corners but who said aluminum cranks were good anyway? Find some old school steel track cranks, they are so slender looking you'd think they would break or that they would be ultra heavy but they are not. Too bad someone isn't making slim and groovy stainless steel cranks.

That would be cool. I think what I may do while I wait for the perfect thing to come along is just put a zen chainring on these bulletproofs. Just not sure about BCD compatibility.

bulletproofs are 110 bcd, but the sugino messenger rings are only available in 130 bcd.

for the record, the ZEN rings are sugino's 144 bcd rings.

edit: rocket rings are pretty damn strong, too

Just looked up Rocket rings, those things look pretty tough and they are definitely cheap enough to pass till I get a better crankset.

definitely. to sort of moderate what i was saying before, if you're happy with the setup you have now (don't notice a lot of flex, don't mind the way it looks, whatever) there's nothing wrong with riding bulletproofs for... well, hell, forever.

my point was that if you would like to upgrade, it's my opinion that it's worth it to upgrade to something nice like a miche or sugino 75, rather than get a mid-range like a sugino rd. i had sugino rd's and i never cared for them. it felt lighter than bulletproofs, and i would assume it was stiffer, though i could never tell a difference for certain, but they always felt weaker. i bent the spider a little and snapped the chainring in a crash that wouldn't have affected other cranks in any significant way. i got a rocket ring and continued to ride the cranks even though the spider was slightly bent, and they were just fine.

when i upgraded to sugino 75's, though, there was an immediate and noticable difference in the way the bike felt. are they "worth" the sticker price? that's up to you. to me, i get enough enjoyment out of them to say yes. i can't say if they're worth it to you. my point, again, is just it's my opinion that it's always the best policy to buy right, buy once, so to speak.

W3rd

That picture just gave me a sick feeling in my stomach...

I busted up some Bullet proof cranks and went looking some steel but couldn't find anything that didn't require me to change up the BB to some BMX style stuff, which of course required an adapter to fit my bikes BB. Me=240-250lbs...

dude I am 220# and have ripped several cheap bottom brackets cranks and wheels to shreds I would say just pick up a quality crankset like sg75s or paul or if you gotta have bmx go witht he profile racing and the euro bb

The bulletproof cranks are heavier, but i really doubt that you'll notice a difference in stiffness between them and fancier cranks.

The rocket rings seem burly, but they're made out of a really, really soft aluminum, and wear incredibly fast. Sugino and spot both make unramped chainrings to fit a 110 bcd. They last 3-4X longer than the rocket rings, and only cost around $25-30.

I would just throw a new chainring on the bulletproofs and ride the bike.

I wouldnt consider RDs a goog enough upgrade over bulletproof to warrant spending the money. Just ride those and save up for track cranks if thats what you want. I dont know if your including BB in your price but benscycle has sugino 75 with 48t ring and bb for 251.99 https://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...oducts_id=1245
thats a worth while upgrade over bulletproof.

used sugino or suntour cranks off ebay would also be a lead worth pursueing

Sorry for digging up an old thread but I need some fixed/ss crankset advice. My left crank keeps falling off the spindle so I've decided to get a new set. This bike is my commuter so I guess the question is which crank would you recommend for commuting purposes? thanks

I'm running a Pake crankset now. 165x46 1/8". Only had the opportunity to ride it a couple times so far, but so far so good. It's only about $70, although often sold out or backordered.

I think the IRO crankset is a great deal. Pair it with a Shimano BB and you're set for quite a lot of riding. Anything more expensive and you're buying bling.....