I bent my crankset.. what should i upgrade to?

Question

just got a GT avalanche 3.0 not to long ago and couldnt seem to get the gears tuned so it wouldnt rub the chain on the front deraillieur. Long story short my front crank is bent to h**l.

the stock crank is a suntour XCT.

Im a big person at about 275.. what would a typical upgrade be for a person my size? cash is an issue..

also is the altus dereaillieur really just plain ol junky? i noticed some dissapointing chain slop and not enough tension with the rear deraillieur.

Thanks

Answer 1

You probably aren't going to like this answer.

The Avalanche 3.0 is equipped to provide good value for occasional riding. Sounds like you are expecting a bit too much from the bike- kind of like taking a Ford Focus to go four wheeling... it'll go for awhile but in the end it will be trashed.

The crank and the derailleurs are about as expected for a bike like this, and yes, it sounds like they are probably working as intended. Were it me trying to upgrade the bike I'd likely go with Shimano Deore crank and drivetrain which will end up costing you almost as much as the bike did. You can get some pretty good online deals for new parts if you look around. http://pricepoint.com is a place to start.

FYI, the front fork on that bike is set up from the factory for people 140 to 170 pounds... this is pretty typical whether you buy a $300 bike or a $2000 one. The difference is that the better forks can be resprung to make them better for you.

Cash is an issue for just about everyone... thats why we shop for value and not price.

Answer 2

i actually owned that bike about this time last season. I weigh around 170 and when i owned mine, i beat the h**l out of it. The crank/shifter combo stopped working for me about a month after i bought it (that was before i started jumping on it) The cranks ended up breaking right off. the front and rear derailleurs aren't good and you should unfortunately expect to lose the fork soon.

I now ride a TruVativ hussefelt crankset on my new bike and its basically bombproof. i would recommend checking them out, and your local bike shop for good alternative to what you have now.