Mountain Bike Crankset Explained

This is the most common type of crankset found on freestyle bmx bikes and features two separate crank arms which attach to a splined axle.

Mountain bike crankset explained. Cranksets with two chainrings overtook the triple as the most popular mountain bike crankset when sram and shimano introduced 10 speed drivetrains. Bmx cranks fall under four main camps. In most cases three and two piece cranksets are compatible with the same bottom brackets so long as the axle is the same diameter. Wolftooth s powertrac elliptical pte chainrings are slightly less ovalized 10 with less aggressive timing 112 than their competitors.

The crankset is what the bicycle pedals attach to and are what your legs spin in circles as you pedal. Actually the whole assembly with the crank arms and the front gears together is properly known as the crankset or sometimes chainset. Single or 1x chainrings are gaining popularity particularly among mountain bikers and cyclocross riders but are still a fairly niche application. When the chainset travels in a clockwise direction this provides the power to move the bike forwards.

The chain rings and the crank arms. They may be made from different components but you can expect carbon aluminium titanium or various types of steel. It wasn t long ago that the only major bottom bracket decisions you had to make were shell width spindle length and in rare cases english bsa or italian threading. The chainset rotates using the bottom bracket as a support and housing.

The most prominent chainrings with an oval design are produced by wolf tooth components and absoluteblack with sram quickly coming up. The crankset in the us or chainset in the uk is the component of a bicycle drivetrain that converts the reciprocating motion of the rider s legs into rotational motion used to drive the chain or belt which in turn drives the rear wheel it consists of one or more sprockets also called chainrings or chainwheels attached to the cranks arms or crankarms to which the pedals attach. Double cranksets offer a narrower gear range with. Three piece two piece one piece and race cranks.

When you are upgrading your crankset the materials are worth considering. Each part may be made from a different material. Although the designs are very different they both serve their purpose. Two piece cranks feature the axle integrated into one of the crank arms.

Mountain bike cranksets are made from two components the chainring and crank arms. Cranksets consist of two parts connected together. When considering materials look at what your other components are. The crankset and its number of chainrings dictate how many front gears a bike has.

The cranks are the equivalent to an accelerator pedal in a car or throttle on a boat. Most cranksets have either two called a double or 2x or three called a triple or 3x chainrings. Materials used include aluminum alloy titanium carbon fiber chromoly steel or some other type of steel.