front chain wheel questions

big Pete said:

Hi all,

How do you check if your front chain wheel is warped?

Take off the chain and spin the cranks. Any wobble large enough to be
an issue will also be large enough to be visible. Check for a
possible loose crank before you buy anything, though; if the crank's
taper is wallowed, it's not the chainring that is the problem.

Quoted message said:

I think my may be
.. but it could be my eyes playing tricks on me. Also if I have to
upgrade/replace how do I find out how much travel (range) my front
derailleur has?

If you have a triple now, it has adequate range for whatever you're
likely to install, as long as you either don't replace the cranks or
you obtain a replacement crank and BB that provides the same offset
from the seat tube as your current setup. If you have a double, it's
probably only going to have enough range for that.

Quoted message said:

I have an 87 Bianchi Strada lx with a suntour friction
group. My ideal upgrade would be a Shimano 105 ... does this sound
crazy?

105 is a good group. Nothing crazy about that. IIRC, the Strada
would have been a 12-speed, so if you want to step up to the 7, 8 or
9-speed 105 rear, you'll probably have dropout width issues to address
as well.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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big Pete said:

Hi all,

How do you check if your front chain wheel is warped?

Addendum to my earlier post: If, when you spin the cranks, the wobble
is in *both* chainrings equally, then the problem is in the *crank*.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.