[KRob]

So right after receiving a new shimano middle ring for my M752 XT crank, I see this ad from jenson in the "hot deals" section on the home page. I had decided not to replace all three rings cause the big and granny were still working pretty well (although they're starting to look worn) and because that was going to run around $100 buck.

At $89 for the whole crank.... maybe I should reconsider. Is there something else I should consider. The BB is 3.5 years old but is just as smooth and quiet as new... The new out board bearing XT crank with integrated BB would run $275. Is there really any advantage to these?.... especially at that price difference?

Or should I just put this new middle ring on and go ride? OTOH,I suspect I'll be needing to replace the other two chainrings at some point in the not-too-distant future anyway.

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

I hate that. Especially when you don't actually need the crank. Nice to have spare rings, tho...

 

[GearHead]

They XT 752 is a good crank. I personally like the shifting of Shimano cranks better than most others, the octalink BB's last quite long (never had to replace one yet), the chainline is 47.5 mm instead of the new 49-50 mm of the external BB cranks, it is still way stiffer than some external BB cranks such as the RF Deus, it has maintained a lower Q-factor (so have some external BB cranks but not all), and it is only marginally heavier than the nex external BB cranks.

Plusses to a new crank are a externall BB XT is quite a bit stiffer than a octalink BB XT, a very marginal weight savings, and BLING.

 

[Mr.P]

I'm in a similar boat (flakey middle ring) but I have an ISIS crank. My BB has lasted a year now but with ISIS ya just don't know, could go now, or in another year.

Combined cost of rings (do small at same time) and BB = ~$100.

So for me the answer seems pretty clear to move to another crankset. I am looking at the RF Evolve X-type.

Mr. P

 

[wg]

Had that same situation about 6 month ago when Superblow was selling that crankset for about $79 or so. I jumped on that price and bought 2 for spares and knowing I'd need new rings in short order. So, when it was time to replace rings, I replaced the whole shebang and I have another set on the shelf when these go bad. Didn't feel like "upgrading" (call it what you will) to the new bottom bracket setup. Mine was also in good shape. I run things until they die usually. The 752's been quite good so no need to replace with a new model in my situation.
Very weird when the whole of something is about the same price as just a few parts.

 

[KRob]

I jumped on that price and bought 2 for spares and knowing I'd need new rings in short order. .

That's an idea. I went ahead and put the new middle ring on this morning 'cause I didn't want to ship it back and I was tired of running only granny and big chainring on my rides (the middle was missing a couple of teeth and would slip/skip with a little pressure).

I may just go ahead and buy the crank for when my other two rings go out and I'll still have another spare middle. OTOH, I'm trying not to nickel and dime myself do death on new parts because I'm saving for a new frame (6.6). Hmmm.

 

[schwing_ding]

Do it, but...

I had a similar issue. I purchased a middle ring for an octalink XT setup, then within a month had to replace the octalink BB. Went to the store to pick up a BB, and ran into the new LX w/ external for $109. BTW, I have never went through a BB until the octalink. THis one had less than 18 months on it in mostly drier weather. I rode 4 years in the PNW (Seattle area) with the old square taper without issue. My next door neighbor has just replaced his second splined Truvativ with an ISIS Raceface with the hopes it will hold up longer than 6 months. Go integrated BB if you don't have a finicky front shifter. The chainline on the new systems can be a bit compromosed when compared to the octalink. If you can get by with a slight difference in chainline, go with the integrated system. It is stiffer, and more importantly has much larger bearings to share the load over the long haul. Bling...well that is personal taste. The q factor at the bb is wider, but at the pedal it is not noticably wider. I tend to drag my heals a bit on any crank, now it just shows up faster. First ride looked like 10 rides on the older style due to increased rubbing. If you are less of a duck foot, you may not even notice.

 

[mattsavage]

I'm in a similar boat (flakey middle ring) but I have an ISIS crank. My BB has lasted a year now but with ISIS ya just don't know, could go now, or in another year.

Combined cost of rings (do small at same time) and BB = ~$100.

So for me the answer seems pretty clear to move to another crankset. I am looking at the RF Evolve X-type.

Mr. P

I bought the Race Face Evolve X-type and I couldn't be more stoked. I can't remember which online retailer I got it from, I think Beyond Bikes, for about 110 bucks last summer! Way cheap! My only beef is the self extracting crank bolt cap things. They really don't like to stay on and nobody stocks replacements because the whole x-type thing is so new to the market. I've gone through several. Maybe it's time for loc-tite.

Set up is kind of a pain too. Lot's of little spacers to get chainline just right, but you have to pull off the entire crank to do so.

But the cranks are way rad. I bought the DH version for my trailbike, just cause they were so inexpensive.

 

[KRob]

Well the small ring started acting up this week too and the big ring is working fine but looks pretty rough, so I caved and bought the M752 XT crank from Jenson.... then I bought a chain and a SRAM 970 cassette as well.

Let the nickel and diming commence.

KRob------------------>$153 further from his new 6.6 .

 

[Fisty]

Im hearin bad noise bout shimano's chainrings as of late. Peeps sayin the are soft!

 

[Jayem]

Im hearin bad noise bout shimano's chainrings as of late. Peeps sayin the are soft!

Peeps also have a tendancy to just run their chains untill they wreck and damage other parts of the drivetrain. Most peeps don't check their chainlength untill something goes wrong. I've been using said rings for years with no problems. If I occasionally wear one out, it's after a lot of use. Chainsuck was just starting to show up on my rings a few weeks back, but this is after about 1.5 years of use, and around 4 chains during that period. Some peeps also use certain gear combos that cause them to wear out very fast, if you're in the granny gear all the time, it's going to wear faster. No matter what kind of aluminum it is, if it's aluminum it will wear faster than a steel one, and you'll obviously wear it out. There's nothing wrong with the rings, it's just that for your riding style you always need a steel granny.