Does the Crank tooth count matter?
 

hi im pretty new to fixed gears and just bought an 08 khs flite 100 from a friend of mine. its been a little beat up so i decided to change a few parts of it... including the crankset. right now its got the stock fsa vero track crankset, 165mm with a 48 tooth count (1/8) . im looking at getting a pake track crankset b/c it fits my budget. it also comes in a size 165 mm length and 1/8, but the tooth count on it is 46 rather than 48. will this make any difference? should i still go for it? lemme know thanks!

use this gear calculator www.sheldonbrown.com/gears to tell you that it won't make much difference at all.

example: 700c x 25 wheels, 165mm cranks, 48-16 gearing gives you 79.1 gear inches. 46-16 will give you 75.8 gear inches.

If you want to go faster after getting the Pake crankset, get a 15T cog. That would give you a 46-15 with 80.9 gear inches.

Mind the BB interface: is your FSA Vero Power Spline'd or square tapere'd? Only if it's ST will you be able to install the Pake, without also replacing the BB.

is it even worth the time and money?

pake are probably the same level as the fsa cranks.

spend the money where it counts. saddle, bars and pedals

While that's great advice, he did say the bike was "beat up" - maybe one of the things beat up was the crankset?

Sometimes we could assume the OP does know what the heck he's doing. How about that?

Nah! It takes a lot to ruin a set of cranks!

If they are all scratched up, just polish them!

Yeah, maybe his chainring needs replacing... I don't know too many people who go through cranksets. I know the arms can bend sometimes, but that seems pretty rare.

Also, if he's trying to upgrade, aren't FSA Veros and Pake crank pretty much similar quality cheapie cranks?

They are. Actually, Pake might slightly be better.

even if it has a square taper bb it's probably the wrong size. Get the matching bb and you'll be good to go.

i hope the OP at first understands that a smaller chainring means an easier gearing... i know when I was first starting out, I didn't quite understand the concept of gear inches, but I did understand "easier."

Seeing as how the OP doesn't know whether or not a different size chainring will affect his gearing, I think it's safe to assume that he/she does not know what the heck they're doing.

For my wife, that's called "faster". I was puzzled when she stated that my "brown bike" (Redline Monocog 29er transformed in commuter by way of skinnier tires) was "faster" than her own singlespeed city bike, although it has a lower gearing. Turns out, easier pedaling uphill for her means "faster". She's the wife, I'm not going to argue.

Well, let's wait and see. Maybe you're right, after all. But I like to take people on their stated aim, and not speculate on what would they actually want/need. If someone tells me "this is my problem, how do I solve that?", I try to give a competent answer, or just say "I don't know.". But oftentimes on the interwebs, people like to completely change the argument. Because I don't like those types, I always try to stick with the issue at hand.

Yeah, but often people don't know what the **** they are talking about.

They don't know what they want. they don't know where they should spend their money. If the OP was actually an experienced rider, they wouldn't be upgrading to Pakes! That money would be best spent elsewhere, and the OP will love the bike more if they are really comfy on the bike, and not have the same crappy "but shiny" crank,

Hey, I already told you I agree with the priority upgrades you listed. But then let me repeat myself: all this is fine and dandy as long as the crankset isn't actually borked in some way.

the crank is literally broken. its bent up in some odd why that only my friend can explain how it happened. im not "upgrading" , i just need a decent crankset to get me going. im aware that the pake cranks are real tacky looking, but hey, its all the money i got right now. now please i just need some help with my question, not whether or not pake sucks or is good.

Seems like the_don and PistaRider311 have some humble pie to eat.

Guys, you are arguing about how to help the guy...and probably confusing him in the process.

Maybe make it simple for him. He may not be aware of what "gear inches" are and what it means for him.

Im aware that the pake cranks are real tacky looking, but hey, its all the money i got right now

Actually I think Pake Cranks are pretty simple and straight forward looking. They aren't fancy (unless you get the hot pink or orange) but it seems like a good, honest crank. If you get it in black or silver it won't be tacky at all. I haven't tried it but it was on my short list of cheaper cranks when I was building up my bike.

To the OP: the tooth difference from 48 to 46 does not matter. You won't notice a thing. If anything, it will be infinitesimally easier to pedal uphill.

In conclusion, I wouldn't worry.

Ahem...

http://i.imgur.com/guU7F.jpg

I'm sorry that you feel so censored Carlton!

http://www.guzer.com/pictures/wacky_cat.jpg

Either way, if you are used to riding a single speed bike, then you are used to riding in a gain ratio that may not suit your road conditions all the time anyway. Your riding will adjust to such a small jump in no time.