Dear Scrodzilla,
I am new to this forum and this is my first post.
I am looking to buy my first serious bike and torn between All City Big Block and Thunderdome. I want to use it for 4 mile commuting and occasional long ride on my day off. It seems that Big Block might be a better choice for a newbie. But I live in Tokyo, Japan and Thunderdome is off the catalog next year and if I don`t get Thunderdome now it might be really difficult to get it in the future.
Can you recommend Thunderdome for my situation?? or should I get the Big Block?? Thanks.

Au contraire mon ami, the Andel Standard looks a lot nicer than the RSC1. But, if you must the RSC1 in white >>> CRANKSET - ANDEL RSC1

Nope.

No, but I've seen a few people use a bar end plug to fill the hole on the NDS side.

I have no answer for this, as both frames may have the same geo and are great frames but are also very different. I can't tell you what you are looking for.

I thought there is a captured bolt on the nds that essentially plugs the hole.

Thanks. I guess I will go with my gut feeling.

Coffee apparently hadn't kicked in yet. I meant the drive side.

Thanks TT, I've seen those as well, but from what I can tell those are 130 BCD so thats a pass. I guess the to the standards I shall go! =)

I think that's a typo. I've got the RSC1 and they are 144mm BCD, although the required BB is 103mm JIS, whereas it's 110mm for the Standard model. Still, I think the finish is nicer on the Standard, which is also available in white and the chainrings are really round.

The picture on the black ring shows that it is 130 BCD. If I recall correctly, back when IRO had these rebranded they came in 130BCD as well. I'm just gonna take a guess that RSC1 refers specifically to the shape of the crank arm and then people can get it ordered however; single, double, 130bcd, 144bcd, etc.

Hey Scrod, which cranksets are better for somewhat bumpy roads? Omniums of DD75? Plus how does crankset length work? Is it suppose to be chosen based on your height? If so I'm about 6'1". Thanks in advanced! Hope your having an awesome day!

I'm a little confused as to why a road being bumpy would be any sort of deciding factor when choosing a crankset.

Crank arm length isn't just based on height. Because pedal strike while cornering is an issue on track bikes because the pedals are always rotating when the bike is moving, it's common practice to use shorter cranks than you would on a road bike. Without knowing any other details about how long your legs are, I would probably recommend 170mm for someone being 6'1".

Hi scrod I have sram omnium crankset. I would like to buy a new chainring 46t. I looked at retro but not sure which chainrings are compatible with sram omnium crankset. Please help. Thank you

Any 144bcd chainring will work on Omniums.

thank you

2 question re: the Miche track cog/carrier

Have you heard any complaints about this system?

To change the cog, you just take the lockring off, pull the cog off the carrier, and then replace?

Angie has been using it for a couple of years now and I've never heard her complain...

It's that easy!

Sweet. Thanks!

I hope Scrod won't mind if I chime in here, but I've also been using the Miche carrier system w/o any problems. I just have one caveat, and that it is very important to get the carrier tight enough that it cannot unscrew under any circumstances and becomes a permanent part of the hub. The sole purpose of the lockring should be to keep the cog from slipping off the carrier and nothing more. To this end I've used red loctite on the carrier and tightened it on the bike by standing on the forward pedal with the front wheel pressed against a wall. So, you shouldn't use this system if you plan in the future to use your hub with a conventional threaded cog.

Hey Scrod,

What is Super Zen ?

The Super Zen has what Sugino calls an S3 Cubic Super Smooth Surface and is bead blasted & electrochemical dipped (making them cost about 3 times more than a Zen). They're not easily available in the US.

From Sugino's site:

The S3 chainring is rigid and has less friction compared with the anodized chainring. The S3 chainring can minimize the chain driving resistance and achieve more effective power transmission.The S3 chainring will offer amazing performances at track races wherein the winner is often decided by hundredths of a second. As the abrasion speed is about a tenth of the anodized one, smooth wheeling can be maintained for a longer period of time.

Well, IDK about that Super Zen, but I can tell you that the regular Zen on the 75 DD crankset you sold me has got to be the smoothest and roundest chainring I've ever owned. Even though the gearing was the same, my Pista Concept felt like it was self-propelled with that thing.

Right? Every Sugino 75 or Zen chainring I've ever used or seen has been extremely precise and smooth.

I've got a bunch of regular 75 chainrings, which are very round and smooth, but the Zen seems to be even better.