Goose Creek Employee Will Gibson got himself featured on the Crankin Wax site, which was cool. Pic Below.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Will Gibson featured on Crankin site
Goose Creek Employee Will Gibson got himself featured on the Crankin Wax site, which was cool. Pic Below.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Left side drive cranks
And for the next installment of random tech questions that we get here. Periodically we come across an interesting question or get the same question enough that it warants being added to our tech qustion section of the blog. This week the question "why cant I just swap my left and right cranks to make a left hand drive system"
Ok, backing up a bit. First what is a left side drive and why would you use it? The idea is basically that by moving your chainring, cog and chain to the left side of the bike instead of the right, you can get them out of the way if you want to grind on the right. Other than that the bike works the same way. Basically you only see this on BMX bikes.
There are two problems with going to a left side setup. THe first is that you need a special hub because if you just flip a normal one around then your cogs work backwards. The question of the cranks is a little more interesting, and the first though that people have is "can't I just switch the cranks and run them backwards". The simple answer is, "yes you can, but..." There are two problems with running your cranks backwards. Both problems arise from the fact that your pedals are now backwards. The fact that the platform is now backwards is only a problem if you are using clipless pedals. In order to make your clipless pedals work, you will need to disassemble them and switch the axles so that you have the left axle in the right pedal and vice versa. So this problem is solved but it brings us to problem 2.
The threads on the pedals axles are designed that when you pedal normally (forward) the pedal action actually helps to tighten the pedal onto the crank. Now that your cranks are backwards, your pedal motion tends to unscrew the pedals from the cranks. To combat this you will need to overtighten the pedals and posibly apply some threadlock or locktight to keep the pedals from falling out.
All this is a long way of saying, "yes you can just switch the cranks, but there are some special considerations to take into account" We recomend that instead you take one of the three following options.
1. Leave your drive on the right where it is supposed to be.
2. Use a Spline drive cog on the left (attaches to your BB spline rather than the crank.
3. Spring for some Left Side Drive cranks.
Ok, backing up a bit. First what is a left side drive and why would you use it? The idea is basically that by moving your chainring, cog and chain to the left side of the bike instead of the right, you can get them out of the way if you want to grind on the right. Other than that the bike works the same way. Basically you only see this on BMX bikes.
There are two problems with going to a left side setup. THe first is that you need a special hub because if you just flip a normal one around then your cogs work backwards. The question of the cranks is a little more interesting, and the first though that people have is "can't I just switch the cranks and run them backwards". The simple answer is, "yes you can, but..." There are two problems with running your cranks backwards. Both problems arise from the fact that your pedals are now backwards. The fact that the platform is now backwards is only a problem if you are using clipless pedals. In order to make your clipless pedals work, you will need to disassemble them and switch the axles so that you have the left axle in the right pedal and vice versa. So this problem is solved but it brings us to problem 2.
The threads on the pedals axles are designed that when you pedal normally (forward) the pedal action actually helps to tighten the pedal onto the crank. Now that your cranks are backwards, your pedal motion tends to unscrew the pedals from the cranks. To combat this you will need to overtighten the pedals and posibly apply some threadlock or locktight to keep the pedals from falling out.
All this is a long way of saying, "yes you can just switch the cranks, but there are some special considerations to take into account" We recomend that instead you take one of the three following options.
1. Leave your drive on the right where it is supposed to be.
2. Use a Spline drive cog on the left (attaches to your BB spline rather than the crank.
3. Spring for some Left Side Drive cranks.
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