I recommend understanding the concept of a chainline first since nearly all the design choices and options you mention about cranks involve a builder maintaining a target chainline. Here's a good write up: https://bike.bikegremlin.com/1755/bicycle-chainline/
For "speed" (7/8/9/10, etc.), that is driven by the dimensions of the rear cassette, i.e., the rear cog width/spacing + teeth height/width/spacing. The dimensions in the chain and the front chainrings/crank come from those dimensions. Sometimes there's enough "slop" or margin in the system that combos for which the manufacturer will not guarantee compatibility (e.g., 9 speed cassette and 11 (road) speed chainring) can be made to work. --Ed C. Redondo Beach, CA On Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 4:37:24 PM UTC-7 Jay wrote: > Is there a site or youtube channel that explains crankset specs and > compatibility (like all about them and how they work with a drivetrain, and > frame). It's one part of the bike I really don't understand. > > Reason I'm asking is that at some point, I would like to switch my black > GRX 2x crankset on my Roadini to something silver in colour. But I want > to understand this from a 'system' perspective vs. individual parts. Also, > I really just want to understand how they match up to bottom brackets, BCD, > spacing for the frame, how they interact with the different speeds (e.g., > can a 10 or 12 speed crankset work with an 11sp drivetrain?), crank arms > vs. chain rings and compatibility, etc., etc. I want to learn up front > now, so I can think of this longer term and when I come across a part that > meets my future build ideas, on sale, I can confidently pull the trigger. > > Feel free to share your wisdom here too, but I was asking for reference > sites/channels so I learn on my own, over time. > > Thanks! > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/d8472371-0a04-43e7-aa55-2181d807805cn%40googlegroups.com.
