compact cranks

chrisondale said:

I have found a great deal on bike but it has standard cranks . If i buy it does anyone know where i can get ultegra sl 50/34 crankset , and does the never used but 2nd hand standard cranset have much value ? i am not a strong rider and this will be my ist road bike after my giant innova hybrid with lots of low gears

You can buy an "Ultegra" 50/34 crank almost anywhere ... price varies ...

The value of the crank you remove from your potential "new" bike varies based on the brand & model.

I don't want to dissuade you from buying a new bike ... a road bike ... but, you're probably better off putting some 700x28 tires & tubes on your Hybrid, first ... some people find that they don't like the riding position on road bikes and/or the additional road "feedback" from the smaller tires.

BTW. Depending on the terrain you ride on, now, you may not need a "compact" crankset because the ROAD tires will be lighter than your Hybrid tires & the smaller size should make pedaling easier.

Are you always using the GRANNY gear on your Hybrid? IF you are, then the compact crank won't provide low enough geearing.

If you are rarely-or-never use the GRANNY gear, then you may be correct that a "compact" crank is the right choice ... or, not.

When the chain was on the middle chainring, what was the largest cog that you generally used ... which cog was the one you seemed to use the most frequently?

[quote="alfeng"]You can buy an "Ultegra" 50/34 crank almost anywhere ... price varies ...

The value of the crank you remove from your potential "new" bike varies based on the brand & model.

I don't want to dissuade you from buying a new bike ... a road bike ... but, you're probably better off putting some 700x28 tires & tubes on your Hybrid, first ... some people find that they don't like the riding position on road bikes and/or the additional road "feedback" from the smaller tires.

BTW. Depending on the terrain you ride on, now, you may not need a "compact" crankset because the ROAD tires will be lighter than your Hybrid tires & the smaller size should make pedaling easier.

Are you always using the GRANNY gear on your Hybrid? IF you are, then the compact crank won't provide low enough geearing.

If you are rarely-or-never use the GRANNY gear, then you may be correct that a "compact" crank is the right choice ... or, not.

When the chain was on the middle chainring, what was the largest cog that you generally used ... which cog was the one you seemed to use the most frequently?[/

crankset on the bike is ultegra sl 53/39 and lbs wont change as its a special deal
I have some hilly areas where i ride and do use the grannies at times so ill change the cassette some time to 12/27 if necessary as im past pedalling hard down hills. I realise ive bought the wrong bike in a hybrid now that ive joined a club and caught the bug. Ive put aerobars on it as I dont like riding in an upright position and the bike is a bit too heavy with suspension front forks which are usually locked out anyway . My problem is the bike shop said ultegra compacts will cost $600 or so Ive seen them on an o seas site wiggle or bikebuys.com $ 300 but dont know if they are dodgy or not. Anyone know of agood on line bike parts shop?

chrisondale said:

crankset on the bike is ultegra sl 53/39 and lbs wont change as its a special deal
I have some hilly areas where i ride and do use the grannies at times so ill change the cassette some time to 12/27 if necessary as im past pedalling hard down hills. I realise ive bought the wrong bike in a hybrid now that ive joined a club and caught the bug. Ive put aerobars on it as I dont like riding in an upright position and the bike is a bit too heavy with suspension front forks which are usually locked out anyway . My problem is the bike shop said ultegra compacts will cost $600 or so Ive seen them on an o seas site wiggle or bikebuys.com $ 300 but dont know if they are dodgy or not. Anyone know of agood on line bike parts shop?

Well, new tires/tubes, drop bars + stem + shifters-of-your-choice + a reasonably nice carbon fiber ROAD fork will cost much less than the cost THOSE cranks which you are looking at which cost $600!

Personally, I 'love' Hybrid bikes because you can morph the frame to do almost anything you want ... a Hybrid frame just lacks-the-look when you are all sitting/standing around before-or-after a ride & comparing bikes-and-components ...

Several years ago, I even laced up a pair of tubular wheels for the 135mm rear dropout spacing & used sew-up tires on a Hybrid bike (solid fork) for a few rides.

Regardless, you should be able to get a NEW compact-or-triple crank from off of eBay from between $60 to $200+ which will be compatible with the Hollowtech II Bottom Bracket that is on the bike you are keen on getting.

You can get an FSA crank for the less than a Shimano crank will cost ...

I've read some people diss FSA cranks because of the chainrings, but chainrings are DISPOSABLES which will wear out regardless of which ones you use (even steel chainrings can wear out) ... FSA chainrings aren't as good as Dura Ace or Ultegra chainrings, but none others are. FSA rings are as good as 105 rings, maybe better.

If you do buy an FSA crank OR any other non-Shimano crank, then when the chainrings wear out, you can buy some Shimano Ultegra chainrings.

BTW. Shimano has a LESS expensive compact crank which can be used with the Hollowtech II bottom bracket, but it has subjectively "inferior" chainrings -- I'm pretty sure there is a compact '105' crank and one that is classified as a compact 'Tiagra' ("solid" crankarms). Remember, the chainrings will probably be no better (and, could be worse) than the chainrings on an FSA crankset.

The Ultegra SL crank will probably sell on eBay for between $85-to-$135 (maybe more, maybe less) ... the new 2010 cranks are going to be available in about a month, so the demand for the "old" style cranks could be very low ...

In that vein, a new/(2010) Ultegra compact crank should be available in about a month, and hopefully THAT is what your LBS would be getting for you if you were to pony up $600 for them! Heck, for $600, you'd better be getting a nice dinner for two + limo service & a room, too.

thanks for the info Ill be watching the bay. I want to keep the hybrid for training and the odd trail ride and camping hols. I agree, $600 they must be dreamin-- I ll also try to find a reliable online bike shop-- anyone bought anything on line without hassles??

chrisondale said:

I have found a great deal on bike but it has standard cranks . If i buy it does anyone know where i can get ultegra sl 50/34 crankset , and does the never used but 2nd hand standard cranset have much value ? i am not a strong rider and this will be my ist road bike after my giant innova hybrid with lots of low gears

Buy the bike and give it a ride or two... See if you really need to buy the compact cranks.

chrisondale said:

I have found a great deal on bike but it has standard cranks . If i buy it does anyone know where i can get ultegra sl 50/34 crankset , and does the never used but 2nd hand standard cranset have much value ? i am not a strong rider and this will be my ist road bike after my giant innova hybrid with lots of low gears

A went from Hybrid to triple to compact. Have not looked back. A 50/34 with a 11/28 cassette gave me the same gears as my triple with a 12/25 cassette (factory set-up). This is my every day bike. (if you want more gears you can also set it up with a 11/30 cassette)

I only ride my triple when I go on rides that are VERY hilly (north Ga mountains) or when I don't know what kind of terrain i will run into. Now I have it set-up with a 12/30 cassette.
You can buy a new Shimano Ultegra compact (No BB) for $100-$150 (check ebay); used standard cranks go for $50-$150 (EBay) depending on make, type and whether BB is included.
Check to see what kind of BB the bike has and also see if it has a long cage or short cage RD. The long cage will probably allow you to use up to 32 tooth rear cog... maybe even a 34. A short cage will only get you up to a 30 tooth cog.
See also: Triple Chainrings with Short Rear Derailleurs

thanks so much 4 advice I went to your links copied them and now have to read and learn didnt realise how technical bike gears are.- advice on chain length set up and short /long derailieurs for different cassettes very helpful

chrisondale said:

crankset on the bike is ultegra sl 53/39 and lbs wont change as its a special deal
I have some hilly areas where i ride and do use the grannies at times so ill change the cassette some time to 12/27 if necessary as im past pedalling hard down hills. I realise ive bought the wrong bike in a hybrid now that ive joined a club and caught the bug. Ive put aerobars on it as I dont like riding in an upright position and the bike is a bit too heavy with suspension front forks which are usually locked out anyway . My problem is the bike shop said ultegra compacts will cost $600 or so Ive seen them on an o seas site wiggle or bikebuys.com $ 300 but dont know if they are dodgy or not. Anyone know of agood on line bike parts shop?

check:
Shimano America FC-R700 Hollowtech II Compact Crankset - Free Shipping! from Backcountryoutlet.com

chrisondale said:

If i buy it does anyone know where i can get ultegra sl 50/34 crankset ,

Shimano 105 Chainset Compact Double 5650 | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com

$184.00

Don't buy a new bike and then upgrade the components. In this case buying a bike is like buying a car. If you buy parts and build a car you spend 4 to 5 times more than you would buying a complete car to begin with. The same is true for a bicycle. A new Ultegra 6700 grupo can cost $1,500. You can get a built out bike for the same amount of money - you get a frame, seat post, saddle, stem, handle bars, for nothing.😄

chrisondale said:

crankset on the bike is ultegra sl 53/39 and lbs wont change as its a special deal
I have some hilly areas where i ride and do use the grannies at times so ill change the cassette some time to 12/27 if necessary as im past pedalling hard down hills. I realise ive bought the wrong bike in a hybrid now that ive joined a club and caught the bug. Ive put aerobars on it as I dont like riding in an upright position and the bike is a bit too heavy with suspension front forks which are usually locked out anyway . My problem is the bike shop said ultegra compacts will cost $600 or so Ive seen them on an o seas site wiggle or bikebuys.com $ 300 but dont know if they are dodgy or not. Anyone know of agood on line bike parts shop?

Don't worry, Wiggle.co.uk aren't dodgy. We ship to over 70 countries world wide every day. We're the UK's number 1 (officially) online bike store and one of the largest in the world.

Visit us at www.wiggle.co.uk for a really great service. The public have spoken in various bike forums.

I don't think the point of a compact is compact vs. regular but compact vs. triple and that point has been hammered to death on this forum. the compact is for riders that may be climbing challanged ,to have a system that has much fewer redundant gear ratios. If your young and fit why go for a compact the standard 53/39 is just fine. If your older, less fit or just like to spin higher cadence the compact is fine. the cost of each is the about the same. I don't think component companies are trying to convert riders that have standard cranks into compacts. they are selling compacts as a simpler system relative to a triple cranks. I came from mountain biking and the compact I got on my new cannondale suites me fine since I used to spinning higher cadences. after all its all about watts.you can acheive the same speed with a higher cadence
in a lower gear and use virtually the same energy as crunching big gears at a lower cadence. spinning a high cadence doesn't wear you out any quicker.