# What crankset for touring?



## trailbuck

What crankset for touring?

I’d like some advice on cranksets for a touring bike. I want to start purchasing the components for a build, but I’ve never had an actual touring bike before.

I’ve pulled a fully loaded B.O.B. trailer (approximately 100lbs. loaded including trailer) up large hills on long, hilly, rides with no trouble. However, I’d like to work less on the hills. I was riding a highbred running 52/42/30 chainrings and a 12-25 nine-speed cog when pulling the loaded B.O.B. 

I was thinking about going with 48/36/26 chainrings and an 11-34 nine-speed cog. I think 44/32/22 chainrings may be too low when riding on flat roads. I was wondering what thoughts there are on this.

I’ve also noticed that cranksets with 48/36/26 chainrings aren’t an easy thing to find. One crankset I’m interested in is the Shimano XT FC-M771-K. This is on Shimano’s website, but when I try to find one online, I can only find it available overseas. I am located in the USA. 
I also can’t find any reviews on the FC-M771-K crankset. Does anybody know anything about this crankset and/or where a person could get one? Is there any advice on what crankset to get for touring?

Thanks for any help.


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## wim

One of the best values out there—Sugino XD 600. All three rings alloy, sensible chainring sizes, widely available square taper bottom bracket and the classic touring 110 BCD—"compact" long before they were called that. I've put many miles on one of those and am very satisfied. Out of stock at Ben's, but they're around.

http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=695

_Edit:_ aebike has the XD 600 with a 46T big ring. $20 or so will get you the 48T standard ring, also from aebike.

http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=CR1030

/


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## rcnute

Second the Suginos.


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## JP

Third. Nothing but good things to say.


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## Thommy

Sugino triples over at www.universalcycles.com. Square taper, great customer service.


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## Reynolds531

Thommy said:


> Sugino triples over at www.universalcycles.com. Square taper, great customer service.


There is an Sugino XD PRO that has a much nicer finish if that is important. I've used 2, one on my main bike, one on my wife's. They are very nice. available at yellow jersey. for 99.95. I think it's well worth the extra $20- $30 compared to the XD 600. http://www.yellowjersey.org/cranx2.html

I'll confess that I have used the 26 tooth granny with a 34 tooth cog in back whiel only carrying about 5 lbs on the bike. No matter how tired or bonked I am and no matter how steep the road ahead, I can do it in that gear. That's a really good thing for a touring bike.

Mountain bike cranksets are also a good option. If you go to Saint Sheldon's gear calculator you'll be surprised how fast you can go with a 44X12--29.5 mph at 100 rpm, 35.3 mph at 120 rpm. I really can't think of anytime I would have needed a higher gear.


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## trailbuck

Thanks to all who responded. I am going to use the advice to further research which crankset I will purchase. I will use Sheldon’s gear calculator to help this process. 

I don’t know much about Sugino cranks and I am looking into them. Everything said about them sounds good. 

I’m curious as to why nothing was said about the Shimano XT cranks. Is it because of their higher cost? That’s important to me. However, it’s not the most important thing to me. How well they work, and compatibility with other components, is the most important thing to me. It sounds like the Sugino XD 600 is very good in that aspect, but how does it compare to the Shimano XT crankset, or vise versa? I really know very little about either one.

Thanks.


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## undies

A few months ago I got Shimano LX cranks in 48-38-26 from Nashbar for just $45, but they are OOS on those now. Nashbar also has a house-brand ISIS crankset with that gearing for ~$50-75. Through 2k miles I had no complaints about it. I expect my son to get a lot more service out of it.


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## wim

trailbuck said:


> I’m curious as to why nothing was said about the Shimano XT cranks.


Well, the main reason is probably the fact that this is roadbikereview.com and XT is mountain bike stuff.  

It's certainly possible to run the FC-M771-K/XT crank on a tourer if you don't mind the outrageous expense, and the chainline being off by a few mm. But to me, the simplest and most economical road component that does the job and looks good doing so is the way of the touring bike, hence my Sugino XD-600 recommendation.


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## trailbuck

That all makes sense to me.

What type of components do you run with the Sugino XD 600? Chain, front derailleur, rear derailleur, cogset?

I’d like to use “euro” style trekking bars with mountain bike shifters. Do you foresee any component issues? I am also going to talk to my LBS about what component mixtures will work.

Thanks.


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## wim

trailbuck said:


> . What type of components do you run with the Sugino XD 600? Chain, front derailleur, rear derailleur, cogset?


Stellar stuff—a mixture of old parts found in a cardboard box in my garage and extremely cheap Bike Nashbar close-outs: SRAM PC-48 8 speed chain, Shimano RSX triple front derailleur, Shimano Alivio rear derailleur, SRAM or Shimano tight 8-speed or wider-range 9-speed cassette depending on where I'm going. Downtube shifters make this diversity possible. Zero issues, with chain and cassette replaced when needed. Don't get me wrong—up-to-date and more expensive stuff would work as well or better and save weight. But touring to me is about self-sufficiency, coupled with a perverse desire to do more with less.  

I see them a lot in Europe, but have never tried Euro trekking bars. Keep handlebar shapes and handlebar tubing diameters in mind—certain shifters and brakes will only work with and clamp to certain type bars. Your LBS will know.


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## trailbuck

Thanks for the information.

I’ve never tried Euro trekking bars myself. I have a rather messed up neck. I’m hoping the Euro style bars will give me many hand positions, while keeping me more upright for my neck. Drop bars tend to cause neck pain for me. 

I hope I’m correct in that assumption!


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## Squidward

Apparently, Shimano has repositioned their Deore LX components to be used for touring bikes for 2009. I don't have any more details than that.

There are plenty of options available when it comes to touring bike cranks. Road bike triples are usually 52/42/30. Classic mountain bike cranks (48/38/28 or 46/36/26) or the newest (44/32/22 or 46/34/24).

Deore XT cranks are nice. They're built to take a licking and they keep on ticking (to paraphrase an old watch commercial). They're probably overkill for loaded touring, though. Not to mention the gearing choices are lower than you may want or they may not be low enough depending on how and where you ride as well as how much you are carrying.

If you are specing a traditional loaded touring rig then I would suggest going with Deore LX or Deore components as these are designed for some abuse on the trails and they aren't terribly expensive. If budget is not an issue then XT works, too, but, again, I think it's overkill for this purpose.

How do you plan on shifting this bike? Flat bars and RapidFire shifters? Drop bars and bar-end shifters? Brifters? Shimano road brifters and bar-end shifters do not shift mountain bike front derailleurs correctly as they changed the pulley ratio on these some time ago. A popular option is to use Campagnolo ErgoPower shifters as some people prefer not to have the derailleur cables sticking out the sides of the brake levers so that they can mount a handlebar bag. You cannot simply mount Campy ErgoPower shifters on to an otherwise Shimano bike and expect it to work as the amount of cable pulled per shift is different between Shimano and Campy. There are ways to do this, though.


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## undies

Squidward said:


> Shimano road brifters and bar-end shifters do not shift mountain bike front derailleurs correctly as they changed the pulley ratio on these some time ago.


Not correct. You are right about brifters, but I'm currently using a Deore LX front der. with a Dura-Ace bar-end shifter and it works perfectly. The left Dura-ace bar-end only offers friction shifting for the front der. so it will probably work with almost anything. 

FWIW, the right Dura-Ace bar-end also indexes correctly with a Deore rear der., but you probably already knew that.


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## meat tooth paste

trailbuck said:


> I was thinking about going with 48/36/26 chainrings and an 11-34 nine-speed cog. I think 44/32/22 chainrings may be too low when riding on flat roads.


That is my exact setup. "Trekking" chainrings in the front and a mtn cassette in the rear. 

I took an spare set of mtn cranks I had laying around and ordered some Shimano chainrings. They make trekking chainrings and also sell LX and XT cranksets in 48-36-36t config. Universal Cycles sells the chainrings online. That being said, the chainrings were about the same price as a set of new Nashbar Trekking cranks with those chainrings already on. I just wanted to recycle and use something I already had.

A mtn 44-32-22t setup is too low for flat commuting. You'll find yourself outspinning yourself on the 44/11t combo on a street that has even a slight decline angle.

I find the 48t large ring ideal for touring and commuting.


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## Reynolds531

meat tooth paste said:


> That is my exact setup. "Trekking" chainrings in the front and a mtn cassette in the rear.
> 
> I took an spare set of mtn cranks I had laying around and ordered some Shimano chainrings. They make trekking chainrings and also sell LX and XT cranksets in 48-36-36t config. Universal Cycles sells the chainrings online. That being said, the chainrings were about the same price as a set of new Nashbar Trekking cranks with those chainrings already on. I just wanted to recycle and use something I already had.
> 
> A mtn 44-32-22t setup is too low for flat commuting. You'll find yourself outspinning yourself on the 44/11t combo on a street that has even a slight decline angle.
> 
> I find the 48t large ring ideal for touring and commuting.


Man, you must be fast. 44X11 at 100rpm is 32 mph. 120 rpm is 38.5 mph. I can't recall many occasions where I had to sustain 32 mph by pedaling.


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## Squidward

undies said:


> Not correct. You are right about brifters, but I'm currently using a Deore LX front der. with a Dura-Ace bar-end shifter and it works perfectly. The left Dura-ace bar-end only offers friction shifting for the front der. so it will probably work with almost anything.
> 
> FWIW, the right Dura-Ace bar-end also indexes correctly with a Deore rear der., but you probably already knew that.


Doh! I forgot that the left shifter is strictly friction. Thanks for the correction.


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## jeffgc

*Compatable Bottom Brackets*

I'm working on a similar project. I have a Trek 520 with a 105 crankset which I'd like to replace with a Sugino XD-600. Is the bottom bracket compatible? If not, what do I need?


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## H.Bicycletus

finding a 172.5 triple crank in 110/74 BCD that will take a 24 or 26-tooth inner ring is a challenge. None of the mountain cranks nor the Sugino 'touring' triple come in 172.5
There are only two that I know of- - -Velo Orange sells a Sugin*a* triple with 24-36-48 which is a nice touring setup. The crank isn't well finished and looks like it was made on someone's shop grinder in their garage, but I think it might work. Alternatively, Stronglight makes one but I've never seen it so have no opinion. 

Standard road triples won't take an inner ring that small. 
If you ride several bikes, you may want to have the same crank length on all of them- - - or not. I'm fussy about 172.5 I suppose and really dislike shorter or longer cranks- - -and yes, I can feel the difference.


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## croscoe

^^^
http://www.velo-orange.com/suoldloxdtrc.html

I'm thinking about getting a set for myself. They may not look the best, but you can always go at them with a little Mother's aluminum polish.


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## wim

jeffgc said:


> I'm working on a similar project. I have a Trek 520 with a 105 crankset which I'd like to replace with a Sugino XD-600. Is the bottom bracket compatible? If not, what do I need?


Unless you have a very old 105 crankset, probably not. The Sugino XD-600 takes a square taper bottom bracket. The "Sugina" in the Velo Orange ad is a misspelling, no such thing as a Sugina.
http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=list&Category=181&brand=397&modelid=1099&type=T


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## gutfiddle

another happy Sugino XD600 user here chiming in!

w/ the Deore 11-34 cassette i feel i can tackle any grade


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## DaveW88

Reynolds531 said:


> Man, you must be fast. 44X11 at 100rpm is 32 mph. 120 rpm is 38.5 mph. I can't recall many occasions where I had to sustain 32 mph by pedaling.


I would think most true touring riders do not sustain 100rpm. More likely 75-85


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## H.Bicycletus

wim said:


> Unless you have a very old 105 crankset, probably not. The Sugino XD-600 takes a square taper bottom bracket. The "Sugina" in the Velo Orange ad is a misspelling, no such thing as a Sugina.
> http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=list&Category=181&brand=397&modelid=1099&type=T



Then I see it's a common typo- - --try googling sugina crankset. . . .

I thought perhaps it was NOS stuff. . .

Hopefully it will hold up well. I just don't understand why the 100/74 triples are so scarce in 172.5 . . .certainly I'm not the only one who rides several bikes with 172.5s and prefers a consistent crank length. . .


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## Abacus

Hi first post, from a newbie. If this question seems ridiculously easy and basic please don't flame me, I'm still learning. A lot.

I'm just tacking onto this thread because it deals exactly with what I'm doing, which is replacing a 30/42/52 105 Hollowtech crankset on a 2003 Trek 502 with a 26/36/48 Sugino XD-600 crankset.

The chainline on the exisiting 105 crankset is 45mm. I'm trying to work out what square taper BB I need to get the same chainline with the XD-600.

Sugino recommend a 113mm spindle, but I have not been able to find out what chainline that will produce.

Any information would be really appeciated.


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## Abacus

OK, I think I might have got to the bottom of it.

Another user on another forum had a similar problem. Sugino wrote back and advised:



> I went through the same thing, and wrote Sugino. To their credit, they wrote back pretty quickly, and in english to boot.
> 
> The XD300 and 600 are designed for either a 113 or a 118 bb.
> 
> A 113mm bb will get you a chainline of 47.5
> 
> A 118mm bb will get you a chainline of 50


So logic tells me that if I want a 45mm-ish chainline I should use a 110 spindle. Yes? No?

If I use a smaller spindle than Sugino suggest will that cause a problem with clearance betwwen the inner ring and the BB?

Thanks


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## qwertzy

I think the problem you may run into using a smaller length spindle would be clearance between the inner chain ring and the chain stay.


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## wim

qwertzy said:


> I think the problem you may run into using a smaller length spindle would be clearance between the inner chain ring and the chain stay.


Correct. With some frames, the 110 mm axle gives you just enough clearance. With others, it doesn't.


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## Abacus

Darn. [Abacus walks over to the bike, has a look, comes back to the computer].

I see what you mean.

It looks like it will be a job for the LBS then. I'll ask them to try different widths until they find the narrowest one that will work.


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