Dura Ace 9-speed Octalink cranks - question

[dd74]

I have a set of 170mm Dura Ace 9-speed Octalink cranks. I do not have the Octalink bottom bracket. But assuming I do get that, can this crankset work with my other components, which is mostly 10-speed Dura Ace, with an Ultegra 10-speed front derailleur and SRAM 11-26?

Or would a 10-speed crank work better?

Thanks. :cool:

[fiamme red]

It will be fine. There's no substantial difference between 9-speed and 10-speed cranks (i.e., chainring thickness, distance between chainrings should be the same). But there is a big difference in appearance. The Octalink cranks look much nicer to me than the new 10-speed.

[Marcusaurelius]

I think the octolink bottom bracket was a flawed idea and I would switch to the newer 10 speed crank.

The 10 speed chainrings are slightly narrower than the 9 speed chainrings and the gap between the chainrings is slightly less but I've been using 10 speed crankset with 9 speed components for more than a year without any problems.

A 9 speed crank had only slightly smoother shifting than the 10 speed, definitely not enough to make me want to go back to an octolink bottom bracket.

[Louis]

I think the octolink bottom bracket was a flawed idea and I would switch to the newer 10 speed crank.

MA, I don't know about your experience, but I have thousands of miles an Ultegra octalink BB and have no complaints whatsoever. The bearings have been fine (under all sorts of conditions) and the crank-BB interface has also worked perfectly. Just my experience. n = 1

[xjoex]

Octalink is fine in my opinion. And the dura ace octalink bb is nice because it is rebuildable.

I have a dura ace bb with Ritchey WCS cranks on my cross and road bikes.

-Joe

[Pete Serotta]

I have had no problems with the Shimano BB. I know many folks that are using the 9 speed stuff and have no intention of switching at this time.

It is strong and dependable.

[39cross]

You can buy a new 105 level Octalink bb without much problem (Licktons among other stocks them). If your crank is a double you need a 109.5mm width bb, the triples are 118mm.

[dd74]

Will the 105 Octalink BB work with the Dura Ace Octalink crank?

[dd74]

Will the 105 Octalink BB work with the Dura Ace Octalink crank?
Duh! I should have read the part's description on the Licktons website. :rolleyes:

[39cross]

Duh! I should have read the part's description on the Licktons website. :rolleyes:Sometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of you :)

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . with my FSA carbon crank for several years now with no problems. I had changed from the original 9 speed DA BB over to the Ultegra after only a year on my new Legend back in 2002. The DA BB with loose bearings was almost impossible to adjust and keep adjusted. The cartridge bearing Ultegra weighed a few grams more, but worked great. When they discontinued he Ultegra I had to change to the 105, but no problems there.

BBD

[Louis]

When they discontinued he Ultegra I had to change to the 105, but no problems there.

A while back Rivendell had some Ultegra's for sale. I got two (or was it three?).

[Ti Designs]

I think the octolink bottom bracket was a flawed idea and I would switch to the newer 10 speed crank.

The new BB with external bearings and larger spindle is stronger - this much is true. The older design is far stronger than I'll ever need, hard to see the flaw in that thinking.

[11.4]

Before knocking Octalink, it's worth noting that Shimano considered an outboard-bearing track crankset and made several prototypes for world cup teams to use. They all preferred the existing Octalink version for several reasons including smoothness, power transfer, and lack of excess play.

Octalink crankarms have to be aligned carefully with the splines on the bottom bracket axle, or when you tighten down the bolt you merely push the crankarm onto the ends of the splines. They won't scrape away the female splines on the crankarms, but the splines won't be engaged and when you put pressure on the pedals, the crankarms will rotate and the axle will grind off the ends of the crankarm splines. This is how street fixie riders screw them up and blame Octalink. If you get them aligned properly and then tighten them down, you have a crank design that most of the world-cup track sprinters with 2500 watts to spare aren't able to damage.

As for bottom brackets, the Dura Ace was a beautifully engineered Octalink bottom bracket but needed fairly incessant care for outdoor use (made for a great track bottom bracket, though). The Ultegra is superb with some of the finest bearings ever put in a bottom bracket, but as pointed out above, it's now been discontinued. I bought a couple extras for $70 each and will sell them if someone wants one. Having cut apart a couple old bottom bracket cartridges on a bandsaw, I can tell you that the 105 Octalink bottom bracket is a pale shadow of the Ultegra -- one fewer bearing set and much simpler bearings that do remain. It's relatively reliable but not a great bottom bracket. Note that you can get the 7710 Dura Ace track Octalink bottom bracket and get precisely the same innards as in the Ultegra. You simply have to get a steel adjustable cup instead of an alloy one and pay extra for the NJS stamp. So if you are really hard-pressed, just get the track one.