Cranks are best chosen by thinking about the geography the bicycle will be used in, and your personal preferences. Want to keep it simple and you don’t generally carry heavy loads? A single-ring setup might be for you. Do you ride over varied terrain sometimes fully-loaded, or want the widest range of gears possible? A wide-range double or even a triple will have your knees thanking you.

The bicycle’s crank area is the one that sees the most amount of torque when you’re pedalling. A higher-quality crank will be made with better materials (lighter yet stiffer alloys, for instance) using more precise manufacturing processes which will in turn make it last much longer, give you more bang for you watts and most likely look much better too!