Cyclocross 1 x 10 Crank Advice

[dai1983]

I'm planning the build of a 1 x 10 cyclocross bike to use as a commuter/fun/race bike. I want to use Absolute Black chain rings but am unsure about what crank to buy. The 105, cx50 and rival cranks are roughly the same price once I've included the purchase of a BB. Does anyone have any experience with these crank sets?

Durability is the main concern and light weight would be a bonus. Is there also any other crank arm only options I should consider to fit the rings to? At the moment I'm set on a 42t front ring unless I should reconsider?

Thanks in advance

[Disco You]

What's wrong with 2x10?

[matt-ITR]

Shimano 105 is probably the pick of the 3, but not much between them.
FSA Gossamer is another option.

Absolute black chainring is nice. Just remember to increase the mech tension to keep the chain on.
42t is pretty big for some CX races. 38 or 40t would be better for pure racing, but 42t might be better if you use it more for commuting.

[dai1983]

Yeah it's more of a commuter and an intro into racing if I'm honest hence the 42. Looking online I thought the FSA cranks were not so great?

Thinking 1 x 10 as where I live is pretty flat and I rarely use the smaller rings. There's less to maintain too and a poos worth of weight difference!

[matt-ITR]

If you get a 42t with a 11-32t cassette, that could work well.
FSA cranks are fine. Basic, much like 105 to be honest. You can sometimes get really good deals on them.

[Fluffsri]

For me it would have to be a middleburn uno set up.

[dai1983]

Fluffsri said:

For me it would have to be a middleburn uno set up.

Yeah they do some nice stuff but the price is higher than I'd like. To be honest I prefer the looks of the FSA Gimondi and Sugino RD cranks but unsure how they would compare to the more modern cranks. They also use a JIS BB and I'm confused about how the chainline would end up.

At the moment i guess the Apex is favorite as it's a decent price inc BB, looks better than 105 and I have a £220 voucher to spend at Evans on parts for the build. It comes in 110 or 130 bcd as do others which I'm also confused about.

[matt-ITR]

You will need 110 BCD to run a smaller chainring, such as a 38t. Better for a 42t as well as there will be more choice.

[neenaw]

I'm running 1x10 on my CX bike using an FSA Gossamer CX chainset with the rings removed and an Absolute Black 42t single ring.
I had to mount the single ring on the outside of the mounting lugs as otherwise it gives you a bad chain line.
I'm also running it with Sram Rival shifters and an MTB X0 Tyoe 2 rear mech with the clutch. So far I've had no issues with the chain dropping.

[dai1983]

Cheers. Think I'm pretty much settled on the rival as it comes with a bb and is available as a 110 bcd from evans. Interestingly their site has a Ultegra 6700 crank at a similar price but I'm unsure if that comes with a bb.

The rear mech is gonna be shimano though to match the shifters.

[matt-ITR]

neenaw said:

I'm running 1x10 on my CX bike using an FSA Gossamer CX chainset with the rings removed and an Absolute Black 42t single ring.
I had to mount the single ring on the outside of the mounting lugs as otherwise it gives you a bad chain line.
I'm also running it with Sram Rival shifters and an MTB X0 Tyoe 2 rear mech with the clutch. So far I've had no issues with the chain dropping.

Thats odd. I have the same chainset & chainring, but run it on the inside and the chainline is fine?
Using a Ultegra, non-clutch mech and no drop either.