Which BB & Crank Combo the best?

I need to swap out & so have the opportunity to "upgrade" one of my bikes. I
currently have FSA octalink Team Issue Cranks & bb that are going to be
removed to going on my other bike. Id already replaced the rest of the
drivetrain with Shimano 10 so I now can take advantage of the newer outboard
bearing bb etc. I am not interested in ISIS.

I'm looking at shimano cranks with its bb, FSA with it Mego exo & the new
SRAM with the GPX bb. Personally I'd prefer the black color & though to
others its not important I always do look at weight & like it to be the
lighter if functionality & safety are maintained.

As I understand it each with each of these one must use only its BB. Are
there any that are interchangeable?

I've also heard the FSA has some washer that fits inside when putting the
cranks on that cam get messed up where the shimano just as basically a allen
set bolt on the cranks to tighten it down which seems kinda nice. I don't
know what the SRAM uses.

Anyone have thoughts on which one they've like or hated or would get if they
were looking.

Thanks,

Barbara

Barbara L wrote:
I need to swap out & so have the opportunity to "upgrade" one of my bikes. I
currently have FSA octalink Team Issue Cranks & bb that are going to be
removed to going on my other bike. Id already replaced the rest of the
drivetrain with Shimano 10 so I now can take advantage of the newer outboard
bearing bb etc. I am not interested in ISIS.

I'm looking at shimano cranks with its bb, FSA with it Mego exo & the new
SRAM with the GPX bb. Personally I'd prefer the black color & though to
others its not important I always do look at weight & like it to be the
lighter if functionality & safety are maintained.

As I understand it each with each of these one must use only its BB. Are
there any that are interchangeable?

I've also heard the FSA has some washer that fits inside when putting the
cranks on that cam get messed up where the shimano just as basically a allen
set bolt on the cranks to tighten it down which seems kinda nice. I don't
know what the SRAM uses.

Anyone have thoughts on which one they've like or hated or would get if they
were looking.

Thanks,

Barbara

Personally I'm not concerned with weight (within reason) or color.
I've been extremely pleased with my Shimano cranks, as have everyone
else I know who has them. For me this is mostly due to the extreme
ease of installation and removal.

I've also heard of people having problems with the FSAs. Don't know
about the SRAM. Personally I've never been a fan of "aftermarket"
cranksets since Shimano and Campy group cranksets are generally
reliable to the point of being boring.

Barbara L wrote:
---snip---
the new
SRAM with the GPX bb.
---snip snip---
I don't
know what the SRAM uses.

Anyone have thoughts on which one they've like or hated or would get if they
were looking.

Thanks,

Barbara

Barbara,
I've got a set of Truvativ cranks with the GXP bb (Truvativ is
SRAM's 'aftermarket' crank company, much like avid is the 'aftermarket'
brake company), with about 2500 miles on them. I've been mostly happy
with them - installation is waaaay easy. Put the BB cups in. Slide
the drive side crank/spindle through. Use an 8mm allen to tighten the
NDS crank onto the spindle. Continue to tighten - 42nm, if I recall
correctly. Ride.

After about 1k miles, I started getting some groaning during my left
leg's downstroke. A quick disassembly, lube, and reassembly fixed the
problem - it has yet to recur. All in all, I'm quite pleased with the
setup (provided the creak doesn't return).

as always, YMMV.
SYJ

Barbara L wrote:
I need to swap out & so have the opportunity to "upgrade" one of my bikes. I
currently have FSA octalink Team Issue Cranks & bb that are going to be
removed to going on my other bike. Id already replaced the rest of the
drivetrain with Shimano 10 so I now can take advantage of the newer outboard
bearing bb etc. I am not interested in ISIS.

I'm looking at shimano cranks with its bb, FSA with it Mego exo & the new
SRAM with the GPX bb. Personally I'd prefer the black color & though to
others its not important I always do look at weight & like it to be the
lighter if functionality & safety are maintained.

Try the new Campagnolo Chorus Carbon crank/BB...black, compatible with
your drivetrain and the same $ as the shimano crank and BB(in
aluminum)....stay away from Truvativ(Sram) and FSA bearings are not the
best.

As I understand it each with each of these one must use only its BB. Are
there any that are interchangeable?

No-

I've also heard the FSA has some washer that fits inside when putting the
cranks on that cam get messed up where the shimano just as basically a allen
set bolt on the cranks to tighten it down which seems kinda nice. I don't
know what the SRAM uses.

Anyone have thoughts on which one they've like or hated or would get if they
were looking.

Thanks,

Barbara