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Inexpensive cranket upgrade options for Cannondale Bad Boy 9

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Exerfuel

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hey Guys!

I'm a new member, so please bear with me as I learn the rules :D

I bought a Cannondale Bad Boy 9 this year to mix into my regular training. I came back to cycling (road and some mountain) after a long absence from sport, so I'm trying to catch up on some of the new terminology, compatibility, etc.

The Bad Boy 9 has an 3 x 8 gearing setup, and I believe the crankset is a Shimano M171 and the front deraileur is a Shimano Altus.

Anyway, the crankset is very basic and it looks like the chainrings are riveted on.

What I'd like to do is upgrade to a better crankset that will give me some future flexibility with the chainrings. I'm thinking about moving to a 2 ring setup instead of the the current 3, with 50/34 gearing. the bottom bracket is a Tange cartridge (not sure what the specs are on this).

What are some inexpensive options? Do I also need to change the shifters and/or front deraileur?

Thanks for any feedback! Sorry for the newbish questions
 
#2 ·
What do you have in mind in regards to "future flexibility with the chainrings"?

34/50 is a standard road compact double. Cranksets with these rings will generally have a 5 bolt 110mm bolt circle diameter (BCD) and this will limit your chainring choices to some degree.

It should be noted that you will almost always have to replace the bottom bracket with a crankset, aside from newer designs, so budget for that.

To run a road compact crankset you will need to replace your front derailer, and possibly your chain, and the front shifting adjustment can less then ideal.

If you would like to make this change I would suggest Shimano Claris parts (fc-2450 and fd-2400), just be sure to buy the correct bottom bracket and derailer clamp size.

I should mention that I wouldn't think of this as an upgrade, as you will actually be reducing your gear range and the parts will only be of slightly better quality, plus the mismatch of road and mtb parts.

It may be better for you to decide what you want the final form of this bike to be so we can help you take it in that direction with as little investment and work as possible.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Thanks so much for the feedback! I'm using the Bad Boy mainly as an alternative to my road bike where the roads are more bumpy and also for some light commuting. It is not replacing my mountain bike, and I don't need the full gear range of the current 8x3 setup. I'm not using the small chainring at all...

The reason why I was interested in the 50/34 setup is because this bike is supplementing my road training. The current front gearing is 48/38/28. The chainrings are riveted so I can't change those without replacing the crankset.

So that's the direction I want to take the bike. I'm ok with keeping the 3rd chainring; my interest is mainly in being able to change the first two chainrings so I'm closer to 50/34. A little bit of weight savings would be nice but is not a requirement.

Thanks for any feedback!
 
#4 ·
Sounds like a road compact will be a good option. Now you have to decide how far you wanna go with the upgrades. Like I mentioned the Claris stuff would be the best budget option but if you plan to go 9 or 10 speed later you should take the opportunity to upgrade the cranks now. Just make sure you match the chain to the cranks/front derailer.
 
#5 ·
Careful here. This can be somewhat of a bottomless pit of parts changes.

What are the shifters you have now? The reason I ask is that if you need to change the front derailleur to one that can handle a jump from a 34 to a 50, you will need to make sure that either it will work with the shifters you have now, or you will also have to buy new shifters. This matters from a cable pull standpoint. Not all shifters or derailleurs have the same cable pull. SOME generations of parts did (like Shimano 9spd road and mtn, and SRAM 10spd road and mtn). The front derailleur is a little different. There are some newer high cable tension/high leverage front derailleurs out there that make things a little wonky.

Just do your due diligence and look at EVERY part even remotely connected to this system to make sure things will be compatible. It can be super frustrating if you introduce a part with an incompatibility and things don't work quite right.
 
#7 ·
Hi, new here, first post. Have a cannondale badboy 4 and I'm looking at changing it to 1 x 11 drivetrain. Does anybody know if the current hub can accommodate a shimano 11 speed cassette? Been searching everywhere for answer, bit desperate. Thanks in advance.
 
#8 ·
badongescubil said:
Hi, new here, first post. Have a cannondale badboy 4 and I'm looking at changing it to 1 x 11 drivetrain. Does anybody know if the current hub can accommodate a shimano 11 speed cassette? Been searching everywhere for answer, bit desperate. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
11 Speed Shimano mtb cassettes will fit on a standard 8/9/10 speed freehub body, very likely what you have.
 
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