Bicycle spider: arachnophobia
Well, we cannot quite make the featured image of the bog post one of an actual scary spider because that might eliminate half of the audience and prevent you from clicking to open the article. But let me entertain you with what happened today. I grabbed a coffee with BRAM from high-end-carbon-road-bicycle-rentals at the local TREK dealer, HELLSEND in Stellenbosch. I handed in my MTB for a hub service and while we were there grabbed a whole load of empty TREK bikeboxes from the new stock they received…
Now these boxes were standing outside under the bike A-frame and might have been there overnight as I noticed some leaves etc inside. When unloading them at home I spotted a movement in the one corner. And then noticed the biggest spider I have seen on local shores. It must have come with it’s own ID book and passport. And made a sound when those 8 legs started moving. Oh my. What a sight. FFS! The rest remains unwritten.
And now onto spiders with fewer legs:
What is a bicycle spider?
TLDR: A spider is part of the crankset and it connects the chainrings to the cranks. In more detail below. A “bicycle spider” is a component of a bicycle’s drivetrain that connects the crank arms to the chainrings. It has multiple “arms” extending from a central point, which is why it’s named after a spider. The chainrings bolt onto these arms.
- Named after its shape because it looks like a spider (albeit a much less scary one than what we had on the TREK boxes above). The name comes from its spider-like appearance, with several arms radiating outwards.
- There are a variety of designs. Bicycle Spiders can be designed to accommodate different types of drivetrains, including 1x (single chainring) and 2x (two chainrings) configurations. Even 3x by, but we don’t often see that on new bicycles anymore.
- Can cater for power meters. Some modern spiders are designed as high-tech power meters, allowing riders to measure their pedaling power for training and analysis.
- Removable or not. Some cranksets feature removable spiders, which are attached with screws or a lockring and can be swapped out. Others have integrated designs where the spider is part of a single, non-removable piece with the crank arm.
What is a BCD in cycling?
In cycling, BCD stands for Bolt Circle Diameter and is the diameter of the imaginary circle that passes through the center of the chainring’s mounting bolts. It is a crucial measurement used to ensure a replacement chainring is compatible with a bicycle’s crankset. The new chainring must have the same BCD and bolt pattern to fit correctly. For chainrings with an even number of bolts (like four), you measure the distance between opposite bolts; for an odd number (like five), you measure between adjacent bolts and use a formula to calculate the BCD. More on crodercycling.com/blog/posts/chainring-guide
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Whatever the size of your bike’s BCD, or the number of legs on its spider, we’ll transport it from point (A) to (B) anywhere in SA and beyond. Now where can we send your bicycle today?
