# Upgrade Crank, FSA Gossamer BB30 --> ????



## LOUISSSSS

The bike i'm getting will come stock with FSA BB30 Bottom Bracket and FSA Gossamer Cranks. Whats a good upgrade for this in the $200-250 price range? Needs to be BB30 compatible. 

I'm currently looking at: SRAM Force $250
I like: FSA SL-K Lite, whats a good price for these?


----------



## fatbastcaad3

I'm in the same boat, i think with the same bike caad9-5. having ridden the gossamer for a few days, I've decided to wait to see when shimano comes around and offers 105/r600/r700 in bb30. just make sure the clamp bolts on the left side stay tight. you hear some horror stories about fsa crankarms coming loose in thr reviews.


----------



## LOUISSSSS

fatbastcaad3 said:


> I'm in the same boat, i think with the same bike caad9-5. having ridden the gossamer for a few days, I've decided to wait to see when shimano comes around and offers 105/r600/r700 in bb30. just make sure the clamp bolts on the left side stay tight. you hear some horror stories about fsa crankarms coming loose in thr reviews.


so what you're doing is riding on your gossamer cranks until theres something from shimano?

I'm on the SRAM side (Synapse carbon 4) and looking at the FORCE cranks for $250. What do you guys think of this deal?


----------



## Peanya

Get a new 6700 at ribblecycles, it's the best price, and the crankset is light and stiff.


----------



## danl1

What are your criteria for determining 'good,' and the relative weight between them?

Price, and is lower or higher better? (Seems silly, but around here you'd be surprised.)
Weight?
Stiffness?
Materials bias?
Graphics?
Color?
Mating with rest of group?
Functional qualities? (I'd think this one first, but it seldom seems to be.)

Point is, you can google the prices, which is all the help any of us can really be. Anything being sold will be the best available option for someone.


----------



## aengbretson

What's wrong with the gossamer crank? True it's not the lightest or stiffest, but Cancellara used to use it in his CSC days... FWIW I ran one all last summer and it was more than adequate for hard training and racing. Plus you get the security and durability of an Al crank (and don't start with fatigue life and whatnot, I'm a materials engineer). Aside from bling factor and weight there is no advantage to upgrading. If you *need* to have a 15lb bike then upgrade. Otherwise I'd say you're spending $$$ for nearly no gain. That is, unless you want to change from compact to standard or vice-versa, and then it is actually worth getting the crank you "want".


----------



## fatbastcaad3

no shimano cranks in BB30, Peanya.

Yes, thats the plan for now. I don't really have any complaints about them so far. then again, not enough miles to know better, yet.

force cranks for 250 bucks is a good deal. I think competitive cyclist lists them for 389!


----------



## Peanya

fatbastcaad3 said:


> no shimano cranks in BB30, Peanya.
> 
> Yes, thats the plan for now. I don't really have any complaints about them so far. then again, not enough miles to know better, yet.
> 
> force cranks for 250 bucks is a good deal. I think competitive cyclist lists them for 389!


Thought I saw some for Shimano... let me look, I might be wrong here.


----------



## Peanya

Ahh I was partly wrong.
Look here: http://wheelsmfg.com/content/view/785/54/


----------



## m_s

The gossamer are fine. I replaced them on my cross bike with a raceface cadence so I could use the gossamers on a singlespeed. The Cadence is a little lighter, probably stiffer, and shifts a little bit better. What exactly are you looking for? If you're so massively powerful that you're worried about bending the FSA rings, get these:

http://www.outsideoutfitters.com/p-2737-race-face-cadence-chainring-set.aspx

Otherwise don't worry about it.


----------



## LOUISSSSS

m_s said:


> The gossamer are fine. I replaced them on my cross bike with a raceface cadence so I could use the gossamers on a singlespeed. The Cadence is a little lighter, probably stiffer, and shifts a little bit better. What exactly are you looking for? If you're so massively powerful that you're worried about bending the FSA rings, get these:
> 
> http://www.outsideoutfitters.com/p-2737-race-face-cadence-chainring-set.aspx
> 
> Otherwise don't worry about it.


i'm looking for:
-lightweight, anyone know how much the stock gossamers weigh? (Crank only) and how about the Force crank (crank only) i guess i'll keep the stock FSA BB30 BB.
-some bling for my carbon synapse 4
-functionality, does the Force cranks work better than the gossamer?


----------



## topflightpro

Go on eBay and buy a used Cannondale Hollogram SI crankset. I'm pretty sure you can find them in your price range and they will be lighter and stiffer than anything mentioned so far.


----------



## LOUISSSSS

topflightpro said:


> Go on eBay and buy a used Cannondale Hollogram SI crankset. I'm pretty sure you can find them in your price range and they will be lighter and stiffer than anything mentioned so far.


just checked, they all look to be in the $500 range... at least the ones listed now. i'm more interested in new anyway. thanks for the help though.


----------



## AvantDale

Lol...show me a Hollowgram crank for 200-250 on Ebay and I'll buy it right now...and I don't even have a BB30.


----------



## LOUISSSSS

so... question from the OP: how does the SRAM Force Cranks function better than the FSA Gossamer crank. other then being lighter.


----------



## Peanya

LOUISSSSS said:


> so... question from the OP: how does the SRAM Force Cranks function better than the FSA Gossamer crank. other then being lighter.


I'm guessing here, but I'm thinking the Force would have pins or more pinsto make upshifting smoother and faster. Unless you're putting out a lot of watts, I doubt you'd feel the difference in stiffness.


----------



## prspect06

I have a fsa gossamer bb30 compact crank that came with my caad10. 

I'm planning on trying a sram force bb30 standard crank. Can I use the bearings that already came with my crank or will I have to replace them with new bearings?


----------



## PoorCyclist

prspect06 said:


> I have a fsa gossamer bb30 compact crank that came with my caad10.
> 
> I'm planning on trying a sram force bb30 standard crank. Can I use the bearings that already came with my crank or will I have to replace them with new bearings?


You can just use the same bearings... I have both though and the gossamer is not as bad as you may think, it's probably even a little stiffer than SRAM's carbon arms. Even the chainrings on the gossamer is more beefy than SRAM.


----------



## Digger51

PoorCyclist said:


> You can just use the same bearings... I have both though and the gossamer is not as bad as you may think, it's probably even a little stiffer than SRAM's carbon arms. Even the chainrings on the gossamer is more beefy than SRAM.


So, gossamer is adequite for us weekend warriors that ride 100 miles a week max and avg about 15 to 20 mph?


----------



## PoorCyclist

Digger51 said:


> So, gossamer is adequite for us weekend warriors that ride 100 miles a week max and avg about 15 to 20 mph?


I think it is just fine. I have ridden over 3500 miles and over 200k elevation last year.

I don't know what it's made of but the chain rings don't seem to wear much at all 

Anyway, one dark evening hit a loose rock with the front tire, it shot it towards the back and hit the very tip of the crank arm, (I thought I might have cracked my frame, turns out it shot at the crank arm) it just had a scrape with paint missing so I knew that's where it landed.. Had it been SRAM's carbon arm, it might have taken further damage from such an incident.


----------



## prspect06

PoorCyclist said:


> You can just use the same bearings... I have both though and the gossamer is not as bad as you may think, it's probably even a little stiffer than SRAM's carbon arms. Even the chainrings on the gossamer is more beefy than SRAM.


Honestly, i'm switching for aesthetics and weight loss. 

Do you have any idea of the weight difference? CC lists the bb30 gossamer at 808 grams and the bb30 force crank is listed at 645 grams on totalcycling.com. Does this sound about accurate?


----------



## PoorCyclist

prspect06 said:


> Honestly, i'm switching for aesthetics and weight loss.
> 
> Do you have any idea of the weight difference? CC lists the bb30 gossamer at 808 grams and the bb30 force crank is listed at 645 grams on totalcycling.com. Does this sound about accurate?


The weight of the force crank is about that but I have not weighted the gossamer... report back if you end up swapping it out.


----------



## prspect06

PoorCyclist said:


> The weight of the force crank is about that but I have not weighted the gossamer... report back if you end up swapping it out.


I purchased a Force BB30 crank (172.5 compact) and am waiting for it to arrive.

What tools will I need to swap the crank myself? Any good videos or tutorials that you guys know of?

I plan on keeping the bearings that came with my CAAD 10 since they are fairly new. Is this ok?


----------



## PoorCyclist

prspect06 said:


> I purchased a Force BB30 crank (172.5 compact) and am waiting for it to arrive.
> 
> What tools will I need to swap the crank myself? Any good videos or tutorials that you guys know of?
> 
> I plan on keeping the bearings that came with my CAAD 10 since they are fairly new. Is this ok?


You use a hex socket like a 8 or 10mm and remove the non drive side crankarm.
Then get a rubber mallet to tap it out from that side.

Optional: if you get a can of compressed air sprayed upside down or freeze spray to chill the crank spindle will make the spindle come out easier.

Here is full instructions, but you only need to put the things back how it came out, which should be the wave washer, and 2 dust shields on each side. 

http://www.fullspeedahead.com/stora...139fdcde13fe_ZSP002-BB30_Road_Crankset_v0.pdf


----------



## prspect06

PoorCyclist said:


> The weight of the force crank is about that but I have not weighted the gossamer... report back if you end up swapping it out.


I received and installed the force crank yesterday.

Force bb30 compact 172.5mm: 613 grams
Gossamer bb30 compact 172.5mm: 789 grams

Thanks PoorCyclist for the installation help. Everything went smoothly.


----------

