calamarichris

What type of crank is this?


It's a steel, 172.5 crank on my old Dutch 3-speed, and I'd like to get a longer replacement for it, but I don't know what it could be called. Sheldon either doesn't have anything like it, or I just don't know the search term.
Many thanks in advance!

calamarichris

Bump.
This is on my steel-on-steel Dutch bike. I desperately need to find a 177.5 (or 175mm) replacement with 42 or 42 teeth.
The chainrings are also steel, but it appears that the right crank is distinct/removable from the steel chainring. Will provide a photo of the crank/chainring with the chaincase removed if no one can tell from this photo. Any ideas?
Thanks!

calamarichris

Bump #2 Here's a photo with the chain & chaincase removed.
Even if you know the style of the crank, I sure would appreciate knowing how to look it up.
It's such a great bike, but it's geared for the pancake-flat polders of Holland, not the hilly coastal desert of San Diego County.



Pity that the chaincase makes changing rear flats such a PITA, because thanks to it, I'm still on the original chain that came with the bike after 10,000+ miles and 21 years!
Safe riding this weekend!

Jeff Wills

What's under the cap on the right crank arm? And what does the left crankarm look like?

I'd guess that it's a standard square-taper crank under all of that. You might be able to replace it with an aluminum single-speed/track crankset, but the chaincase complicates things. Not many cranks will have the room between the crankarm and the chainring to fit the chaincase.

calamarichris

Thank you kindly Jeff.
It appears to be a simple dustcap with a standard bolt beneath.
I guess I can go with an aluminum crank, but it will feel pretty lonely on this bike, since everything else is steel, (even the rims!) However, is there such a thing as an aluminum crank with a steel chainring?
I've gotten addicted to zero maintenance on this bike. Same chain and sprockets since 1989, and I've only cleaned and lubed the chain twice in that time (thanks to rear flat tires)!

Iowegian

Sweet bike! Loose steel chainrings aren't hard to find. Just make sure the bolt holes use the same BCD as your crank and you are good to go.

Grand Bois

Take a good look at his crank. It doesn't have a BCD because it doesn't have a bolt circle.

southpawboston

the crank looks a lot like the lower-end stronglight steel crank that i had on an 80s dutch bike i used to have. however, mine was cottered, whereas the OP's is cotterless.

i think i also had the same, or at least very similar, plastic chaincase. most dutch branded bikes used the same stock parts from the same vendors... it was mostly just the frame decals that were different.

instead of swapping out the crankset for one with a smaller chainring, you could just replace the rear cog with a larger one, like a 22T. this is what i did with my dutch bike to make the bike more suitable to the hilly area in which i live. that also meant replacing the chain, but it's still cheaper than doing a crankset swap, and there were no chaincase compatibility problems.

calamarichris

Thanks for the kind compliment Iowegian.

And thanks very much for the guidance Southpaw. That is a beautiful bike (really striking) and I see many similarities between yours and mine. Mine is rusty because it languished neglected for a few years in my father's garage while I was away in the Army. But I find that the light coat of rust is nearly as effective a theft deterrent as the bike's Axa lock and the bike formidable weight.

I've already got a larger rear sprocket on order, but I'd really also like to get a longer crank; at least a 175, but ideally, I'd like to find a 177.5, because I've got a few steep hills on my commute.