What would you prefer? Crank talk

[MattiThundrrr]

Let us see some Matti cranks now ?

Mostly mundane junk. Fanciest one is the stocker on my Diamondback BMX. Also weird, 3 piece crank with loose balls in cages. Next time I'm out in Garage Mahal I'll grab a few snaps of my stuff

 

[JRobert]

I'm not opposed to either. There's radness to be found in both camps.View attachment 123076View attachment 123075
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The PERFECT response to this question. So many different styles that are cool for their own reasons. All comes down to matching with the bike.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Ugh to cottered cranks. Unless they are ornate I don't want anything to do with them either.

 

[Grant]

Cottered cranks should also be put in this discussion.

 

[Verrt]

Today at 8:42 AM

Ugh to cottered cranks. Unless they are ornate I don't want anything to do with them either.

8 minutes ago

Cottered cranks should also be put in this discussion.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

As promised, here's pictures.
Chinese junk

Schwinn junk

Mid ninties Shimano junk

Semi decent DiamondBack mentioned above. Loose ball 3 pc

 

[Verrt]

Crank time!

Cheap 3 piece

Real nice 3 piece

Vintage Japanese 3 piece

Cool 1 piece

French cottered nightmare

Another French cottered nightmare, but they do look nice.

 

[Wildcat]

I like the 3 piece because of the lack of flex. On a heavy old cruiser, that's the way to go for me. I use the cheap unsealed bearings conversion but I don't go offroad to any degree. I've had many of the cottered that are as rigid as the newer 3 piece but dealing with the cotters is the downside to them.
Hercules:

Wald:

Hawthorne:

Sugino with cheap conversion:

 

[Grant]

Crank time!

Cheap 3 piece
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Real nice 3 piece
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Vintage Japanese 3 piece
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Cool 1 piece
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French cottered nightmare
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Another French cottered nightmare, but they do look nice.
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I have had the most problems with cheap Taiwanese cottered cranks. When putting them into a vise, the pins deform. I try to go with French pins on Taiwanese or French cranks.

 

[Grant]

Cheap cottered.

Nice cottered.

 

[Verrt]

I have had the most problems with cheap Taiwanese cottered cranks. When putting them into a vise, the pins deform. I try to go with French pins on Taiwanese or French cranks.

There's three Frenchies in the stable, two of them have cottered cranks, they both spin nicely and have no issues, so I don't need to mess with then, but they're heavy and may go in for a cotterectomy at some point.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

@Verrt is that "real nice 3 piece" on a Bianchi? Looks gorgeous!

 

[Grant]

There's three Frenchies in the stable, two of them have cottered cranks, they both spin nicely and have no issues, so I don't need to mess with then, but they're heavy and may go in for a cotterectomy at some point.

Most Cottered cranks on low-mid range bikes are 3 arm spiders.

 

[Verrt]

@Verrt is that "real nice 3 piece" on a Bianchi? Looks gorgeous!

Velo Orange on a Peugeot 1980 Mixte

Built by @SlyRed
The nicest in my wife's mixte collection.

 

[Verrt]

Most Cottered cranks on low-mid range bikes are 3 arm spiders.

What's a nice high end have?

 

[Grant]

What's a nice high end have?

A lot of them are aluminum and cottered.

The steel ones have aluminum chainrings.

If it is an OLD bike with all steel cranks, they will be decorative and made out of minimal materials for weight reduction.

 

[Grant]

Cheap cottered cranks from Taiwan are only on the bike because they are an older technology, and therefor cheaper to make. These always have the largest chainring as the spider, which means you can't do a 1x conversion on it unless you want to have a 52 tooth ring.


Then there are these monstrosities. Covers for your cheap cottered cranks. Who remembers these on The Beast.