back to the drawing board...the pain of shimano

Evening all,

After some stop-start plans to turn my old 1995 Marin Bear Valley into a SS, I've decided that it needs sorting as I move into London and will be commuting on it within then next month or so.

Essentially the drivetrain was FUBAR, so I thought SS was the way forward...after some investigation the cranks mount the outer ring to the middle ring, which mounts to the granny ring...and as far as I understand it, that makes them useless for SS conversion (help?!).

So...after some advice really...what's the best way forward please?

Budget of about £150 to get it all back up and running...help me please, I'm useless.

Having calmed down and done some googling of my own, the shimano Zee crankset's look to be pretty good value for money.

Any thoughts? Anyone using them?

ZEE range is excellent, (I've got Zee brakes) but they're quite solidly built (4pot brakes ffs) and are probably a bit too hefty for a nippy singlespeed.

What about this from On One?

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CSOOSS/on-one-single-speed-speed-chainset

Or this which is a cheap and looks crappy but is SRAM branded so may well be better than it looks.

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CSSRS6001/sram-s600-10g-chainset

Note they use different bbs so you'll need to change something accordingly/

Do you have a screw on freewheel or a cassette and freehub?

Get any cheap Hollowtech 2 MTB crankset on eBay. New cranksets come with BBs so sometimes you'll get unused BB going for £10-15.

Do you have a screw on freewheel or a cassette and freehub?

Cassette and freehub...from what I understand I can use a surly cog that I've been given, and a spacer kit/lockring?

Cheers for the advice!

I've had these: http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/driveline-track-cranks--free-bb-264-p.asp recommended to me by a couple of friends, any thoughts?

Those cranks look fine, inc a free bb too so that's nice.I'm using a spacer kit and lockring combo on my mtb, it's reliable and allows you to tweak the chainline with no problems

Given it's a MTB frame, I'd be concerned about whether generic fixie cranks would clear the chainstays.

If you choose MTB cranks, you should get a chainline that allows you to use a proper 135mm singlespeed hub in the future.

Given it's a MTB frame, I'd be concerned about whether generic fixie cranks would clear the chainstays.

If you choose MTB cranks, you should get a chainline that allows you to use a proper 135mm singlespeed hub in the future.

Hmm...the friends using them, have them on old MTB frames.

You think MTB cranks are a much better option? They seem to be pretty expensive...although I am sorely tempted by those Zee ones...

Hmm...the friends using them, have them on old MTB frames.

You think MTB cranks are a much better option? They seem to be pretty expensive...although I am sorely tempted by those Zee ones...

Deore M532 with BB, 3 days left, currently £1 plus £5 p&p
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Deore-M532-Mountain-Bike-Crank-Arms-175mm-SM-BB70-Bracket-/181344951215?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item2a39005baf

You could probably get XT M770 cranks for £50 - £80 depending on condition and whether chainrings are included.

Goldtec do 4-arm SS rings for under £20.

Deore M532 with BB, 3 days left, currently £1 plus £5 p&p
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Deore-M532-Mountain-Bike-Crank-Arms-175mm-SM-BB70-Bracket-/181344951215?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item2a39005baf

Cheers fella! It helps when you have someone telling you what you should be looking at! :D

Search for Shimano on eBay, narrow it down to the sport>cycling>parts>cranks category, auctions only, sort by "ending soonest", then scroll through the next few day's worth.

Never bid before the last minute.