Thanks for your advice, everyone. I've just placed an order for Shimano LX
M571 splined crankset and a 121mm LX ES51 splined BB. Goody!

Jack.




"Mark Hickey" wrote in message
...
"Daniel Kelly \(AKA Jack\)" wrote:

I need to buy a new crankset. It looks like there's far more choice in
9sp-compatible cranksets than 8sp cranksets. But all the componentry on
my
bike is currently 8sp. So - will a 9sp crankset work on my 8sp
derailleurs,
chain and cassette?

I've done some research on the web and I'm now a little confused. Some
people say a 9sp crankset will work just fine. Others say the 9sp
crankset
have reprofiled pick-up teeth that won't work with an 8sp chain so you
have
to change the chain to a 9sp chain. The 9sp chain will work fine with
the
8sp cassette and derailleurs. But I'm not keen on the idea of a 9sp
chain
because I've read that 9sp components wear down up to twice as fast as
8sp
components.

A 9 speed crank will work fine with an otherwise 8 speed drivetrain.
The only real difference is going to be a slightly smaller space
between the two chainrings - hardly enough to get excited about.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame