165 175...which ones?

Quasi · 11-02-2003, 04:51 PM

Aside from the clearance benefits, Can you really tell the difference between a165mm and 175mm as far as accelerating goes? I'm debating if I should go shorter or not.

Raacerx · 11-02-2003, 04:54 PM

i can tell a difference on a hardtail. 165 seems to accelerate out of corners much better but 175 seems to be better for longer power pushes. Id get 165 since you seem to be into DJ and your mainly pedaling very fast for short periods of time.

Quasi · 11-02-2003, 04:59 PM

That's what I was thinkin too, I was looking for quicker acceleration. Thanks for the info...as always!

BTW, any benefits to 4 bolt as opposed to 5 bolt patterns? Strength doesn't seem to be a big deal as all the truvative's seem to be holding up fine?

wddung · 11-02-2003, 10:48 PM

Quote:

any benefits to 4 bolt as opposed to 5 bolt patterns?

I've only ridden two crankarms: Race Face Next LP 5x110 175 square taper and TruVativ V-drive 4x104 175 ISIS. In all honesty I cannot determine if one is stronger than the other by the number of arms.

But consider this: within the boundaries of the sport of cycling, manufacturers have been less than resolute on setting unified industry standard specifications (cranks, bottom bracket, fork steerer diameter, to name a few.)

Race Face makes 5-arm cranks in "compact" 94outer/58inner and "standard" 110outer/74inner.
TruVativ and FSA make 4-arm 104/64.
Shimano spiders use 112/68 4-arm and 110/74 5-arm.

Race Face, TruVativ, FSA, and Shimano make XC and DH rings for their cranks. No problem right? But what if you want a Salsa, Jericho, AC, Vuelta, MRP or Spot chainring?

Short story. I get my TruVativ V-drive arms by mail and figure I could just pick up a 4x104 chainring at any LBS. I was wrong. I searched high and low. What I discovered was that 5-arm chainrings and shimano 4 or 5 arm rings are readily available at Mike's Bikes, Palo Alto Bicycles, WSBS, Performance Bike (RC), Calabasas, Garner's Pro Bikes... and finally found a Salsa 4x104 36T at The Off Ramp (Mtn View).

My suggestion? Pick a chainring and bash combo FIRST. How many teeth do you need? What ring makers have that number of teeth? What bash makers cover that ring? Select a crankarm SECOND. If I knew getting a hold of 5-arm rings was easier, I would have purchased a 5-arm crank instead of the 4-arm TruVativ I got for $20.

Only perceived benefit of 5-arm is chainring availability at your LBS (of course, this is not a guaranteed scenario. just my suggestion based on an experience locating a ring.)

-Dung