Opinions on cranksets for fixed gear

So looking into upgrading the crankset that I have on my daily commuter 2009 Felt TK3.  Right now it has the stock 48t 3/32" 170mm crank for a square tapered bb. Just seeing what experiences/reviews some of you have had.  Some of the ones that I have looked into are the sugino rd2 messenger, SRAM Omnium, SRAM S300.  Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on July 27, 2013 at 12:21pm
What's the rationale for the upgrade? Is there a problem with the existing crank?
Permalink Reply by Josh.E on July 27, 2013 at 4:57pm

one chipped tooth and left arm has some play in it.  

Permalink Reply by mark stetson on July 27, 2013 at 5:25pm

I wouldn't upgrade unless there is an issue with the current crank, which it seems there may be.

This might work, although it may not be an upgrade:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FSA-TEMPO-Square-Taper-Crankset-175mm-50t-9...

It's 175mm, and has a steel ring.  The upside is it's cheap.

Permalink Reply by Vitaliy on July 27, 2013 at 5:56pm

I own a Sram Omnium. I have owned it for a few months less than a year now. It is durable and the arms are stiff; I am not saying that because other owners do, but the pedaling and pushing of the arms is actually solid. I love the sleek look of the Omniums. I have the silver, but I think the black looks really badass. I got mine at a good deal. The ratio is a bit hard to succumb, but I see that you already ride at a 48. You will have to switch to an external BB but they should be part of the full set if bought new. For a price tag of 200-230$ new it is a serious crank to consider, but I think it is worth it. Luckily I bought it in my early days of riding thus I only know what a HQ crank feels like so I cannot really compare it to anything recent.

Edit: consider the arm lengths. 165mm, 170mm (nice medium between how much spin you get), and 175mm

Permalink Reply by Michael A on July 27, 2013 at 6:12pm

The omnium is a solid choice, before I dropped $200+ I would have a mechanic look at why your crank is loose. If it is not damaged it may just need to be lubed and torqued to spec.  A new chainring can be had for $30 or so. Getting your bike running well for $50 is a lot better then $230 plus installation.  I have a newer Langster and looked at swapping mine out and just settled for a new chainring (much more round that what was stock)

http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath...

Check what size you need (bcd) 

Lastly if you do swap yours out for the omnium and run it fixed I would swap out the cog and chain to make everything 1/8" to truly get the most out of em.

Permalink Reply by Vitaliy on July 27, 2013 at 6:18pm
Permalink Reply by Michael A on July 27, 2013 at 6:25pm

Exactly my point, so if he replaces the cranks with the omnium he will have replace his chain and rear cog/freewheel to 1/8". the cost of that would have to be a consideration

Permalink Reply by Josh.E on July 27, 2013 at 9:24pm

As much as i like what people say about omnium changing to 1/8 would be a hassle.  Left arm square is a bit rounded off hence the play that it has.  thanks for all the help and tips 

Permalink Reply by John C. Wilson on July 28, 2013 at 2:45am

Left arm has play. So replace the left arm. Not a hard thing to find. If you can tolerate a mismatched left arm many crank arms would fit a nice traditional square taper BB. In almost all cases the play is there because the crank bolt was not retightened as it should be. Any aluminum arm on a steel spindle is going to loosen when new and will need to be checked periodically through it's whole life.

Standard of the world Campagnolo Record Pista cranks w/ ring go for 300 retail. Work on it and it could be less. If you're paying anywhere near that you should get a great crank. Sugino RD series cranks are good but basic and not an upgrade.

Permalink Reply by Thedutchtouch on July 28, 2013 at 6:26am
I went with the rd on my bike because I couldn't justify the extra expense of s-75s or omniums. They have been fine so far, 500 ish miles in
Permalink Reply by John C. Wilson on July 28, 2013 at 9:11am

RD2 cranks are fine. For all normal purposes they are more than enough. I have a set on my fixed and they've been there since 2004 w/o any problems except the first ring did enough miles I wore it out. Is that a problem? For a ring that ran in salt slush and met neglected dry chain too often I think it did pretty good.  Just saying they aren't fancy or special or an upgrade.

Thedutchtouch said:

I went with the rd on my bike because I couldn't justify the extra expense of s-75s or omniums. They have been fine so far, 500 ish miles in

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