Hi gang,
Okay, this is where I'll show some of my ignorance and rely on you to learn something new...
My 1990 Specialized Hardrock (see link in my signature) is currently set up as a singlespeed. The conversion was done years ago by a mechanic friend of mine, so I was not closely invested in the choice of cranks and the chainring.
One thing that has always bothered me, however -- and that I'd really like to rectify -- is that the cranks that my friend happened to have lying around were short (and he admitted as much)...170mm. I've always ridden 175 mm, and I do notice the difference. For years, as much as I love the bike, the short cranks have been a bit uncomfortable.
So, I want to change my crank arms to 175mm, but this leads to a whole host of questions...
The current setup has Sugino five-arm cranks on a 44 tooth, 94 BCD chainring.
1) Assuming I were to keep the current chainring, it seems hard to find a 5-arm crankset for 94 BCD...is that the case? Or am I simply looking in the wrong places?
2) Should I in fact keep the current 44-tooth chainring? Or do you have a different recommendation? I don't typically use my Hardrock offroad...it's my urban bike, for toodling around town.
3) If I were to ditch the current crankarms and the current chainring, what alternatives might you recommend? And where could I find them?
When my friend originally chose this crankset, I think another limiting factor was the BB shell on my Specialized Hardrock...does that sound right, or not? Do I need to think about cups & cones vs. a cartridge BB, or will both work?
Thanks for helping...I'm looking forward to the education.
Okay, this is where I'll show some of my ignorance and rely on you to learn something new...
My 1990 Specialized Hardrock (see link in my signature) is currently set up as a singlespeed. The conversion was done years ago by a mechanic friend of mine, so I was not closely invested in the choice of cranks and the chainring.
One thing that has always bothered me, however -- and that I'd really like to rectify -- is that the cranks that my friend happened to have lying around were short (and he admitted as much)...170mm. I've always ridden 175 mm, and I do notice the difference. For years, as much as I love the bike, the short cranks have been a bit uncomfortable.
So, I want to change my crank arms to 175mm, but this leads to a whole host of questions...
The current setup has Sugino five-arm cranks on a 44 tooth, 94 BCD chainring.
1) Assuming I were to keep the current chainring, it seems hard to find a 5-arm crankset for 94 BCD...is that the case? Or am I simply looking in the wrong places?
2) Should I in fact keep the current 44-tooth chainring? Or do you have a different recommendation? I don't typically use my Hardrock offroad...it's my urban bike, for toodling around town.
3) If I were to ditch the current crankarms and the current chainring, what alternatives might you recommend? And where could I find them?
When my friend originally chose this crankset, I think another limiting factor was the BB shell on my Specialized Hardrock...does that sound right, or not? Do I need to think about cups & cones vs. a cartridge BB, or will both work?
Thanks for helping...I'm looking forward to the education.
