TA Chainrings for DA Replacement
 

I have a DA EX crankset that is in near new condition aside from a thoroughly trashed inner chainring. so I bought a set of 9/10 speed TA Specialites off ebay. I think they are supposed to be fairly durable but wonder if anyone has had experience with them as I feel like I'm putting knockoff close but not close TA on DA. The saying "if it's French, it's crap" just keeps rolling through my mind.

French is not crap, Maillard have great gearsets, Peugeot have decent frames, Mafac has great brakes, and also Bugatti is French.

As for the crankset-chainrings, if the BCD match you are set to do the job. (BCD-bolt circle diameter, 130mm for example, the circle that holds the bolts for the chainring)

Wasn't fishing for an argument and should have left the last part out. Yes, BCD is a match. I'm much better at picking out a purple CNC'd piece of crap mountain bike part than the much subtler road offerings. Had never heard of TA before their chainrings looked to be a cheap replacement that didn't have the New DA look. I just hope they are not heavier than the ones they are replacing since a 30 lb. road bike practically moos when you grab the horns and mount up.

As far as I know TA is quite good stuff, as for the weight.. 30lbs=~14kg? that is a TANK! for a road bike. I have an old steel frame and as a bike it has 9.5kg (~20lbs)

I'm trimming the fat not lean muscle on this one. Minus the kickstand, stock bar and stem, stock seat, and old BB I've shaved almost 5 pounds off it recently. The frame probably weighs 16-18 alone. I'm thinking with the EX cranks, modern brakes, and a good training wheelset I can hit the low twenties. It should make a decent training bike I hope.

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There is no way that frame weighs 16-18 lbs. 4 or 5 maybe.

That frame probably has 1.5-2kg (0.45kg=1lbs), the wheels should have 2kg both of them, and after that the heavy parts are the chain/crank/bb/cassete/rear shifer/seat post/handlebars/etc
The frame itself (with fork) is pretty light (on my russian road tank bike that has 15kg, the frame with fork and headset has 2.2kg)

The wheels are heavy and the gearing/crank/shifters etc that is made of steel and very compact, lots of bearing joints.

As for the chainring, is ok to change it with TA, but it's not so worn out the current chainring, if you want it to be a commuter, or a weekend bike (for it's "vintage-bianchi-dura-ace" combo) i'd leave it in this form.

TA has been in the chainring business longer than just about anyone on the planet except Stronglight. If they were crap, they's be long gone by now.

Oddly enough I have not stripped it down to the frame though everything has been off at different times. I'm pretty sure a made in taiwan low end steel bike of that vintage weighs more than 5 lbs. Ditching the heavy 27" wheels is going to come about as soon as I get the campy brakes in the mail. I'm probably going to put a 7400 DA gruppo on it, excepting the cranks, as soon as I get all the campy stuff I want. I'm unsure of what frame I want to build up for fun and the 7400 is going to take a trip home to retrieve so it might be a frankentrainer as I cycle through some stuff so I get the fit I want on the fun bike. I'm getting way off point though.

The inner chainring was more distressed than I cared for. Having at least the inner ring late model compatible was going to be necessary to run 9 or 10 speed anyways. This bike is going to see a lot of miles regardless of weather hence the full vintage but high end final product.

TA are very nice chainrings. I take the stock rings off of all of nearly all my cranks, and replace them with TA in custom sizes to dial in my gearing. Shimano rings may be slightly more expensive than TA (particularly DA rings) but I would say that they are overpriced and the TA are fairly priced.

TA rings are also available in almost every size and bolt circle combo you can think of. Peter White Cycles sells them by mail, and your LBS can get them through a US wholesaler. They are high-quality stuff. They also make crank arms as short as 155mm and as long as 185(!) TA is a great source for cyclists who don't want cookie-cutter merchandise, or need something outside the usual specs.

TA chainrings

Thanks for the positive reference all. I was a little jumpy they might be akin to putting Sora parts onto DA equipment. As a point of reference my ride today included 30 miles of dirt trails, water up to the bottom bracket, a double flat, riding over an unexpected fallen tree, and standing in the lobby of a major museum dripping wet to receive some unloved tri shoes for rain days. I am rather hard on equipment in the field but rather finicky about maintenance and cleaning. If I wanted to be constantly fixing bikes I'd either race or be a mechanic. I may be considering cyclocross equipment but not everyday rains 3" or has me striking out in a new direction that ends up being loaded with adventure. Never again am I riding those recommended "bike paths" on a road bike.