# Crankset for heavy guys, yes I did a search...



## TheFist (May 4, 2010)

I just got into mountain biking a few weeks ago. Bought a Focus Black Forest 2.0 with the Rockshox Silver something forks, kinda beefy and Shimano Deore cranks.

Anyways I finally started getting off the city bike trails and into the dirt. First time I had to hammer down I felt some serious flex and heard a nasty metallic pop come from the cassette or maybe chain ring. I've got a bad ratchey (is that a word) noise coming off the bottom of the bike in the gears somewhere now.

I have not yet looked into the problem going to do that today after work.

Anyways, to the point. I'm between 5-11 and 6' and weigh 260. Im in the catagory of not all fat but not all muscle. I know from experience that even with a ghandi prison diet and strenuous exercise getting below 230 probably wont happen.

What crank-set, can I get that will handle the torque? While I'm at it I want to convert to a 1x setup. I will learn how to do all my own work on the bike and I want it as simple as possible.

I did a search on this and didn't get any solid leads. I see guys calling themselves heavy at 210 lbs, I'll still be 20lbs over that when its all said and done and I'm back in shape.

Will a Shimano slx, Sram x9 or something similar be able to do it?

I don't really care about weight. I want it tough and high quality enough to transfer to another bike if I ever manage to bust up the one I'm on.

Thank you, I know its a long post.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

I'm riding a TruVativ AKA (SRAM) crank and it is pretty awesome. I've been riding it since 320 pounds, now down to 265. It's a single speed setup so it sees lots of torque and doesn't miss a beat. It looks pretty darn good as well.

It's also nice cause you can run it with three rings, two rings, one ring, or spiderless. So it's very versatile. I also have a SRAM X.9 crank that is pretty much identical. If anything, _maybe_ slightly lighter but I've never weighed them to see. It's going on another bike. I haven't ridden it yet to tell if it's as good as the AKA or not but I'd suspect it is.


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## Joules (Oct 12, 2005)

The Deore crank you have is more than up to the task, and would be still if you weighed 100# more (you aren't that heavy). I'd be shocked if that was what broke/malfunctioned/whatever. 

If you want to spend money, Shimano Saint is the strongest crank money can buy. Hone or SLX are nice as well, lighter and weaker than saint. Shimano is many years beyond every other crank maker.


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## tysonnemb (Jan 23, 2010)

Avoid FSA, which I believe stands for "Full Speed Apart". I've had mine snap halfway down the crank arm, and the other one was severely twisted. Also saw tons of others with issues.


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## TheFist (May 4, 2010)

Nice. Thank you! This is the type of info I'm looking for.


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## 4nbstd (Apr 12, 2012)

I got Shimano Saint crank. A lot beefier than typical XC/Trail cranks. It's just about as tough as a crankset can get.





I'm 220 naked, on rigid.

Chain Reaction's been selling them for pretty cheap (compared to MSRP $400 something).

Shimano Saint M820 Crankset | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com

They don't come with chain ring, so you would have to buy a separate chain ring.


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## TooTallUK (Jul 5, 2005)

Nothing wrong with your weight or the kit you are riding on. It didn't flex. A rock might have hit the bike and caused the noise you heard. Get a mechanic to look at it rather thn just spending money on something that won't fix problem that isn't there.


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## TheFist (May 4, 2010)

TooTallUK said:


> Nothing wrong with your weight or the kit you are riding on. It didn't flex. A rock might have hit the bike and caused the noise you heard. Get a mechanic to look at it rather thn just spending money on something that won't fix problem that isn't there.[/QUO
> 
> You're the second guy to tell me the cranks are fine which is good news for me. I don't want to throw money if I don't need too.
> 
> ...


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## TooTallUK (Jul 5, 2005)

Chains bounce around all over the place when you are off road, so expect it to hit the front mech, the frame etc.
As for 'a wobble in the chainring' - get that looked at. If you have bent the chainring that needs sorting - but that has nothing to do with weight.


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## TheFist (May 4, 2010)

Thank you.


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## Orthoguy (Dec 4, 2011)

I would have to agree with the folks telling you to keep your SLX's. They are very strong and your problem is likely elsewhere. A shop mechanic would be able to tell you quickly what the issue is. Good luck and have fun riding this summer!


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## digitalayon (Jul 31, 2007)

TheFist said:


> I just got into mountain biking a few weeks ago. Bought a Focus Black Forest 2.0 with the Rockshox Silver something forks, kinda beefy and Shimano Deore cranks.
> 
> Anyways I finally started getting off the city bike trails and into the dirt. First time I had to hammer down I felt some serious flex and heard a nasty metallic pop come from the cassette or maybe chain ring. I've got a bad ratchey (is that a word) noise coming off the bottom of the bike in the gears somewhere now.
> 
> ...


Yeah I know what you did.....You ****ed up your bottom bracket!!! If it is the Deore crank....great crank by the way.....Even mid level bikes that cost over 500 bucks will have the cheap POS 4 dollar shimano cartridge. You need a higher end unit. These manufacturers love to hide this to save a whopping 15 bucks!!! I hate it when they do this!!! When I bought a bike 5 years ago, I asked specifically what bottom bracket it had and I said I will not buy it unless that was changed out. I also had them upgrade the chain as well. I was not going to pay more but to compensate, I had the XT shifters downgraded to Deore and the rear derailleur from XTR downgraded to XT. They love to go cheap on that as well. Some things for clydes simply cannot be compromised with. In fact...for a clyde, I found I am better off downgrading shifters and derailleurs for stronger stuff in other places. I have also learned that more expensive is not better. Often times the parts are so light, anything strong was thrown out of the window. SLX, Doere, Saint(if you can find it) are all good. Also the LX touring stuff is still really good.


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## TheFist (May 4, 2010)

Thanks, definately don't want to buy something else if I don't have to.

My cranks are the Deore not the SLX, there's a big difference between the two...right?


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## TheFist (May 4, 2010)

digitalayon said:


> Yeah I know what you did.....You ****ed up your bottom bracket!!! If it is the Deore crank....great crank by the way.....Even mid level bikes that cost over 500 bucks will have the cheap POS 4 dollar shimano cartridge. You need a higher end unit. These manufacturers love to hide this to save a whopping 15 bucks!!! I hate it when they do this!!! When I bought a bike 5 years ago, I asked specifically what bottom bracket it had and I said I will not buy it unless that was changed out. I also had them upgrade the chain as well. I was not going to pay more but to compensate, I had the XT shifters downgraded to Deore and the rear derailleur from XTR downgraded to XT. They love to go cheap on that as well. Some things for clydes simply cannot be compromised with. In fact...for a clyde, I found I am better off downgrading shifters and derailleurs for stronger stuff in other places. I have also learned that more expensive is not better. Often times the parts are so light, anything strong was thrown out of the window. SLX, Doere, Saint(if you can find it) are all good. Also the LX touring stuff is still really good.


I didn't see this post. I'll have em look at that and ask them about it.


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## Orthoguy (Dec 4, 2011)

TheFist said:


> Thanks, definately don't want to buy something else if I don't have to.
> 
> My cranks are the Deore not the SLX, there's a big difference between the two...right?


I would say there is likely more difference in weight than in strength.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## TooTallUK (Jul 5, 2005)

digitalayon said:


> Yeah I know what you did.....You ****ed up your bottom bracket!!!


He can't make that call from what you described, so there is probably nothing wrong with your bottom bracket. Get your bike shop to give it the once over, then ride it again and keep riding it until something does break! Then you can think about upgrading a component, but not until you've worn it out / broken it!


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## donalson (Apr 13, 2004)

the pop is commonly from shifting under power... that will kill a chain so be careful.

as for your crank... deore is just fine, the best riders prob wouldn't notice any difference outside of weight... heck I can run some "weak" old sugino with square taper without issue... 

I would take the bike into the shop and let them look it over... there is a chance something is slightly mis adjusted


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## TheFist (May 4, 2010)

One of the cogs was trying to lift the chain off of the cog the chain was riding on. This was somewhere near the middle of the cassette. I adjusted the deraillure and got that fixed. There is still some funky shifting going on when the chain moves to the largest cog.

Some noise out of the cassette when pedaling hard in the smaller cogs. For the first time ever messing with something like this I was glad to get it dialed in enough to ride and shift through all the gears. It shifts real smooth on the smaller cogs but a little rougher on the last 2 larger cogs.

Will take it in this weekend, show the guys at the shop what's up and tell them what I did and get it tuned and try again next time.


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## crossracer (Jun 27, 2004)

One of the things I have seen over the years is that the arms don't get tightened by the bike builders . Especially important if it is a square taper crank which is still produced for deore. 
Get an Allen key into those bolts and tighten them down. Once a crank gets deformed it's new crank time 

Bill


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## digitalayon (Jul 31, 2007)

He should check pedals too. I just replaced some making bottom bracket sound so I thought.


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## sir_crackien (Feb 3, 2008)

What the others have said, the Deore crank is a fine crank. I actually bought them for my commuter bike when I built it because of their value. They are a bit heavy but they preform top notch. I am also running the stock bottom bracket on them as well. Most likely you should have someone look at the bike to make sure that it is 100%. Also like the others have said being a bigger guy you really need to let off the pedal power when you are shifting just like in a manual car.


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## TheFist (May 4, 2010)

crossracer said:


> One of the things I have seen over the years is that the arms don't get tightened by the bike builders . Especially important if it is a square taper crank which is still produced for deore.
> Get an Allen key into those bolts and tighten them down. Once a crank gets deformed it's new crank time
> 
> Bill


THats a good point. After a few days of riding when I first got the back I found my front tire loose in the forks. Tightened up the front and rear right then. When I got home went through everything to make sure it was good and tight.


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## binrat (May 25, 2005)

donalson said:


> the pop is commonly from shifting under power... that will kill a chain so be careful.
> 
> as for your crank... deore is just fine, the best riders prob wouldn't notice any difference outside of weight... heck I can run some "weak" old sugino with square taper without issue...
> 
> I would take the bike into the shop and let them look it over... there is a chance something is slightly mis adjusted


Or possibly loosened up after the first few rides. Have you mechanic check it out and check to make sure everything is tight as well.


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