Part of the reason I'm asking is that for my current project I'm building a cruiser/off-road bike mix. Wow! That's a lot of great info to digest, thank you folks! Why i think cruisers usually have 1-pcs is stress on cruisers isnt usually an issue because you are sitting, also 1-pc cranks flow nicely and dont draw attention to the gear part of the bike. If your kid wants to seriously get more into bmx the first upgrade they will want to make if they dont already have it are 3-pc cranks. haro and mongoose got bmx started but quality wasnt a priority for them)ģ-Pcs got popular for strength, 1-pcs bend and break and are sometimes a pain to tighten.Īlso something thats cool about 3-pcs is you dont have to thread the whole crank body through the bottom like you do with 1-pc therefore the bottom bracket size can get smaller so bmx bikes are more efficient and get lighter while maintaining (and in many cases gaining) strength. good grief that's the same price as a pair of Brooks Grips!īmx bikes used 1-pc cranks auntill around the late 80's, thats what i consider to still be in the "pioneer" stage of the sport, the sport was still new enough to were companies were still experimenting with parts (companies that did amazing things for bmx were Hoffman bikes and FBM. No moaning about the cost please, the truly utilitarian shimano BB (UN52 or whatever code they have changed it too) should cost no more than £20 and Sturmy Archer now make a cool old skool track C/Set for £30. Do you really believe manufactures such as Monark, Higgins and Shelby etc. why use a flexy piece of heavy steel rod on your rod (sic). what with the industry standard shell widths of 68-mm, 73-mm and now 80-mm and axle lengths starting from 108-mm and ending up with the specialist 140-mm what won't they fit? With the advent of external bearing cups you now have 1/4" bearings back in them giving a good life span with ceramic options available. 'European Bottom Bracket' all the way for me. The real BMX world is going over to the 'mid bottom bracket'. I have finally given up with the 'American Bottom Bracket' for my custom builds as it now seems only Profile make decent cranks for them, and that weight and cost is just not really on any more. In the factories of Taiwan they will be getting those things at about 50p each! (The skull skates bike has been specced by a skate board company. What i don't get is what BMX era you live in? Check any BMX mag and i can guarantee you will not find a single 1-piece crank in there! The only bikes with 1-piece cranks are VERY cheap kid's bikes, VERY, VERY cheap adults bikes and anything belonging to some kind of bicycle collector. Allowing them to loosen can quickly wear the surfaces where they mate to the spindle, allowing them to wobble and "click". Three piece cranks are very strong AS LONG AS YOU KEEP THE ARMS TIGHT. Shims and varied crank spindle widths are available if you need to adapt a wide, multi-speed crankset to a narrower, single-speed frame. They don't look nearly as old-school as a one-piece crank, unless you're using inferior cotter key cranks like on old Raleighs, which usually get loose and bend/damage more easily. In the case you DO damage a crank arm, replacements are often available without purchasing a whole new crankset. Three-piece cranks are generally lighter, stronger, and have the widest assortment of pedal types (9/16") and bottom bracket applications available to them. If you're building a bike with a small, threaded bottom bracket, you'll be hard-pressed to find a one-piece crank that will pass through the shell, or a bottom bracket to mount it in there. Your pedal selection is definitely more limited on one-piece cranks (1/2" pedal) unless you want to use old-school cruiser-style pedals. One-piece cranks are generally heavier, easier to bend (there are some Cr-Mo and TUBULAR BMX versions that are pretty darned tough, though) but cheaper, require less maintenance, and definitely have more of an old-school vibe.
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