Heart of the bike

I found a crankset for my bicycle build project. It's a Campagnolo Chorus 10 speed crank, and it's a metal one. And it was a closeout at $89. That's a pretty good deal considering that the new carbon Chorus crank is $349. (that includes the bearings and I will have to buy those seperate for another $70 or so. I've always lusted after these Chorus and Record metal cranks. This is the time to get one if I'm going to.

They've changed the technology on cranks lately and most of the new cranks are carbon fiber, or carbon fiber wrapped around a metal framework. Shimano was the last holdout and just this year brought out cranks in the Tour de France that have carbon spiders and crank arms. They maintained that they could build a lighter and stiffer crank out of metal. But now they are doing it out of carbon and those cranks will be on the market soon. So that's one thing. The other thing is that the latest cranks have "outboard" bearings. The bearings and races are outside of the bottom bracket instead of on the inside of it. And the spindle of the crank is built into the crank. This is supposed to make the crank stiffer and transmit power to the road better. I haven't ridden one yet. The other thing about these systems is that they are easier to build up.

So I thought and thought about this. Most of the new carbon cranks and even the metal Shimano ones are over $300! I could have gotten a compact Campagnolo carbon crank that doesn't have the outboard bearings and would go on my bike but they are over $300. I measured my bottom bracket and it would most likely have to be re-faced for a Campy crank with the outboard bearings. I think that might goof up the integrity of the frame as it is a fully carbon fiber frame.

The other issue I've seen now with the carbon cranks is that they get all scratched up easy by your shoes and cleats. I've seen this on really new carbon cranks that don't have much wear. I realize that racers get new bikes all the time, but I want my bike to look and work like new for many years. The Campagnolo Record and Chorus parts are just beautiful, and not only that, they are very very smooth. I've read about other systems that are rough in feel and they can't get the bearings adjusted right to make them smooth and all of that. I want smooth.

The crank is the heart of the bike. The three most important things on a bike to make it smooth and ride nice are the wheels and bearings, the crank and bottom bracket. (bearings) Those two things are really important of you want a bike that rides nice, and you need really nice tires also. You don't want to compromise in those areas. I'd compromise on the bike frame before I'd compromise on wheels tires and crank.

Tires are the easiest upgrade, and perhaps the most important. I'll talk about tires at some point.