I’m building up this space horse which came with a hollowtech bottom bracket already, so I found this 105 “silver” edition crank thinking it would be similar to this other crank arm in my hand. But it’s super grey, so I’m thinking of just putting in a square taper instead.
My question is, are the differences between these two bottom brackets that noticeable? To the point where I would be a fool to swap in a square taper? I’m a fool for shiny stuff so…
by FluffyEar1332
11 Comments
I vote for square taper. Not foolish. Beautiful.
On that bike? I’d do the VO with an Omni bottom bracket.
https://preview.redd.it/62nsttqtdmpf1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d5b23e066d12b66e0d66ec917b18f662a9ec63df
Go for the VO cranks and we can be bike twins
I have 19 bikes. Ten are square taper. I have never had a square taper bb wear out. I have had an arm become a sloppy fit from wear. It was off a used bike. No telling what the previous owner did to it. I have killed a hollow bottom bracket. I still think the square taper has less resistance in the bearings. For what it is worth, Chris King representatives at a bike show don’t agree. I’d go with the arms you think look best on your bike if you’re not going racing.
At 240lbs, I feel a significant difference between the two. With that said, I use both on different bikes because it doesn’t really matter.
What does the rest of the drivetrain look like? I like square taper for singlespeed or 1x setups because it’s easy to change the chainline. I like outboard bb cranksets for 2x setups because the stiffness may help prevent chain rub when I’m crossing the chain more than I should.
The main difference is overall weight. I doubt anyone can feel any other differences in stiffness
No clue, honestly. My personal experience: my single speed commuter with a Shimano square taper has probably 15-20k miles on it and has no issues. My gravel bike has a hollowtech and it needs a new BB after about 4-5k miles.
Def the VO cranks
Its hip to be a square
Could do the other way and find nicer cranks. Check out the Dixna La ones from Japan.
You should do square taper because it’s esthetically the better choice. Modern parts on vintage style frames almost always turn out poorly in the looks department. Modern stuff rides nice, but the Italians perfected how bikes should look 50 years ago.