Following on in the spirit of cheapo part alternatives I pose the following question.
Could Shimano octalink road cranks be used for single speed and maintain a decent chainline (42-43mm, while retaining the chainring on the outside)?
The reason I ask. Track specific cranks cost too much for me and I have a chance to get some dura ace octalink cranks for a reasonable amount. I was thinking if i get a 109mm bottom bracket (the shortest size available, and the same size used for the dura ace track specific model) would this work? From googling it seems that the 109mm bottom bracket is used for some road applications. This suggests that the outter chain ring wouldn’t give a good chainline for single speed use.
I still thought it might be worth asking as a few people seem to have used octalink cranks (although not necessarily road double cranks for single speed use).