Chain Rings

The crankset, or chainset, is the component of a bicycle drivetrain that converts the reciprocating motion of the rider's legs into rotational motion used to drive the chain, which in turn drives the rear wheel. more...

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It consists of one or more chainrings or chainwheels attached to the cranks or arms to which the pedals attach. It is connected to the rider by the pedals, to the bicycle frame by the bottom bracket, and to the rear sprocket, cassette or freewheel via the chain.

Parts

Cranks

The two cranks, one on each side and usually mounted 180° out of phase, connect the bottom bracket axle to the pedals.

Sizes

Cranks can vary in length from 150 mm to 185 mm to accommodate different sized riders,lengths for adult riders range from 165 mm to 177.5 mm. People with a shorter inseam (inside leg measurement) usually use shorter cranks, while those with longer inseams use longer cranks. Various formulae exist to calculate appropriate crank length for various riders, however, the length an individual cyclist feels most comfortable with may vary from this. Generally the same rider will prefer shorter cranks for fast cadence activities such as time trialling and track racing, while longer cranks are preferred for lower cadence use such as mountain biking.

Most major manufacturers offer crank lengths from 165mm to 180mm in 2.5 mm increments.

Materials

Cranks are constructed of either an aluminum alloy, titanium, carbon fiber, chromoly steel, or some less expensive steel. Tubular steel cranks (such as Tioga's Revolver) can be light and very strong, are usually found on bmx bikes, and are slowly finding their way to mountain bikes (Dirt jumping and Urban assault) . Aluminum cranks may be cast, hot forged or cold forged (\"cold\" in this context means the billet from which the crank is to be made is heated to a specified temperature well below the melting point, not room temperature). Cold forging gives the metal additional strength, and the cranks can therefore be made lighter without increasing the risk of breakage. Shimano \"Hollowtech\" aluminum cranks are made by forging the main arms around a hard steel insert which is then withdrawn, leaving an internal void to save weight. They are then welded up before final machining.

Attachments

Read more at Wikipedia.org