Is anyone still using a crank with a 110-74 bolt circle

[Fenlason]

Is anyone else still using older style cranksets with a 110 -74 bolt circle? I am fixing up my older road tandem... and can't seem to find any chainrings to fit, other than the new compact stuff?

Am I going to have to replace the cranks?

thank you
glenn

[TandemGeek]

Is anyone else still using older style cranksets with a 110 -74 bolt circle?

Yes, we have daVinci 110/74 cranks on both of our road tandems with 54/44/32 Specialites TA chainrings. Not the cheapest in the world, but very durable and nicely finished.

However, I've found that I had to use spacers to get the chainring gap between the middle and small rings spot on whereas the OEM chainrings (made by White Industries for daVinci) did not. There was an even bigger disconnect when running the OEM big ring with Specialites TA middle and granny rings. This may be unique to the daVinci / Specialites TA ring combination but, the point in bringing it up is, you may have to do some shimming if your original rings (or the replacements) have a different type of chamfer at the bolt hole interface with your crank arm's spider as was the case with my two different brands of chainrings. Thankfully, a wide assortment of spacers can fix just about anything.

[Tandems]

I am using 74/110 on our personal tandem.

We have chainrings in stock and your LBS should also have them or be able to get them.

[Fenlason]

Actually I am a mech. at our LBS. I did not think it would be a problem. Last year these chainrings were readily available. Now in the new cat. from our suppliers, I am not finding anything currently available. We mostly use QBP.. Downeast.. BTI. The only thing I am finding in the 110 is the new compact sizes.

glenn

[SDS]

Peter White Cycles is a good source for the T.A. 110/74mm chainrings, though you might not like the prices. I like the T.A. stuff for all the different crankarm lengths, and I like 110/74 because I can switch out the regular road triple rings that I use on my single, 53/39/28, for something more altitude/hill specific, like 50 or 48/36/24, without changing cranks. I imagine that the newer stuff with the interchangeable spiders is very nice, but all of mine is the older Zephyr or (maybe) Alize. Mel Pinto Imports might also be a possibility.

[JanMM]

Loose Screws shows a good selection of Sugino 110 and 74 rings (non-R&P). I have an older LX crank (110/74 )on a Cannondale hybrid singlespeed.

[gregm]

Yeah, I use that size. Look through the QBP catalog at, say, http://aebike.com -- should find tons of them.

-Greg

[Fenlason]

Sorry I have failed to say thank-you to those who assisted. I have "found" a selection of Salsa chainrings in the new QBP cat....that I had missed before. :rolleyes: although for some reason they list rings like the 42 as outer rings??

I did not get to the point of checking out Mel Pinto Imports... or a source of TA rings..... but I have sort of solved my "problem" another way. I bought new cranks.

I was upgrading this older 8sp tandem to 10 sp. I was unsure of compatibility issues. The spacing is not the same.. so some say it works... some say no. The stock chainring sizes would not work with the new deraileur. I did not want to take the time "experimenting". So I bought new 10sp cranks... and they of course have the 130mm bolt circle.

glenn

[beantownie]

Is anyone else still using older style cranksets with a 110 -74 bolt circle? I am fixing up my older road tandem... and can't seem to find any chainrings to fit, other than the new compact stuff?

Am I going to have to replace the cranks?

thank you
glenn

Keep your crank and don't worry about the 110-74 bcd crank standard as it is alive and well and not about to be discontinued. The problem is really with local bike shops that are pressured by Shimano marketing practices and pricing incentives to stock Shimano components.

Both TA and Sugino continue to manufacture 110-74 bcd cranks and rings and continue to come out with new crank models. Sugino rings are about the same quality, maybe a little better than Shimano (which doesn't say much) whereas TA rings are the best wearing rings you can find. Don't worry about the TA prices as $/mileage is unmatched. If you're on a tight budget, go with the Sugino rings. If you need to order rings, I have used two reliable TA ring sources - Peter White Cycles (Hillsborough, NH) for TA rings and Harris Cyclery (West Newton, MA) for TA or Sugino rings. They both have websites and if you call they will provide all the information you need.

BTW, if your thinking or replacing your tandem cranks you might consider a Zephyr tandem set from Peter White.

Regarding the post about spacing problems with mixing ring manufacturers this is never a good idea. However, the TA and Sugino rings can be mixed but you would be sacrificing mileage with the lower cost Sugino rings.