T.A. Cranks School Me on Them
01-30-13, 06:02 AM
#1
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T.A. Cranks School Me on Them
I've got a set of T.A. cranks of an old MTB. It's a triple with SunTour Alpine derailleurs. Anything special I need to know about them if I transplant them to another bike? V.O. has rings and hardware, but I didn't see any triple hardware.
01-30-13, 06:48 AM
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Question...what MTB are/were they on?
TA cranks should fit fine on any standard ISO taper. Not JIS.
TA cranks should fit fine on any standard ISO taper. Not JIS.
01-30-13, 06:59 AM
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You will need a 23mm puller.
The crank arm is very close to the big chain ring, which can make front derailleur adjustment very tricky.
The crank arm is very close to the big chain ring, which can make front derailleur adjustment very tricky.
01-30-13, 07:00 AM
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Not sure exactly what you're asking. If you transplant it to another bike, as long as the BB threading is the same, transplant the BB set too. Spindle for a TA Cyclotourist triple should be 118mm. If by "hardware" you mean nuts, bolts, and spacers, they're available here:
https://www.renehersestore.com/servle...are/Categories
Vintage TA rings were made of seriously soft aluminum, and wear out pretty quickly. If the bike is going to be a daily rider, you might want to replace them with VO or TA modern stuff.
https://www.renehersestore.com/servle...are/Categories
Vintage TA rings were made of seriously soft aluminum, and wear out pretty quickly. If the bike is going to be a daily rider, you might want to replace them with VO or TA modern stuff.
Last edited by SuperLJ; 01-30-13 at 07:06 AM.
01-30-13, 07:23 AM
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01-30-13, 07:53 AM
#6
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T.A. Cranks School Me on Them
Contrary to legend, old TA and Stronglight actually have JIS tapers.
01-30-13, 07:55 AM
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Some of the early MTB's had long TA cranks - 180s. They may not work on a Road bike with a lower BB.
01-30-13, 08:25 AM
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01-30-13, 09:02 AM
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Sutherland's may be the bible, but I've assembled my Stronglight 93 crank with it's 118.5mm spindle, and then taken the same crank and assembled it on an old Campy spindle and a Shimano cartridge BB (JIS), and the three are not the same. The Stronglight spindle resulted in a q-factor a full 6mm less than the Shimano JIS...
You could just use a shorter JIS BB set, but many modern BB sets are symetrical, which might not be compatible since TA sets were not. Vintage TA BB spindles are 6mm longer on the drive side for a double, 10mm for a triple.
Last edited by SuperLJ; 01-30-13 at 09:26 AM.
01-30-13, 09:14 AM
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I'm glad I asked. T.A. cranks are more complicated than I thought.
01-30-13, 09:37 AM
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I am not certain but I think I would leave the cranks on the '82 Stumpjumer.
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01-30-13, 10:14 AM
#14
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My recollection is that TA tapers are somewhere in between JIS and ISO. I don't know why I think this, just thought I would confuse things further.
01-30-13, 10:56 AM
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01-30-13, 11:53 AM
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01-30-13, 12:31 PM
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01-30-13, 12:34 PM
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https://www.compasscycle.com/bb_SKFBRC_iso.html
The ISO taper is used by Campagnolo cranks. (Information that TA and other French cranks use the ISO taper is incorrect. They use the JIS taper, which is a copy of the French standard.)
I didn't know there were other taper standards. Interesting. I suppose that in some ways it might not matter much if there are small differences, as repeated removal and installation of the cranks stretches the tapers and alters (decreases) the tread, anyway. I have three sets of TA cranks on three different spindles (Campy, Shimano and TA). I have the Q factors and spindle lengths recorded somewhere, I'll look them up...
Last edited by southpawboston; 01-30-13 at 03:38 PM.
01-30-13, 01:18 PM
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I never knew there was a difference. And my cranks seem to not know about it either. I installed a Camp bottom bracket on my wifes Mercian and put on the Sugino Mighty cranks from my old bike, which had a Sugino bottom bracket.
01-30-13, 02:02 PM
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Here's some TA specific info that might help. I've had good luck finding TA bits on ebay...
01-30-13, 02:03 PM
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Well, old Sugino and Campagnolo were nearly identical.
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01-30-13, 02:24 PM
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Rereading this, I don't understand all the spindle dialog. Seems like its covered if the OP just puts what they have it in another English frame.
I try to keep the BB and cranks more or less the same, but honestly, I don't think anyone thought much about this in the old days.
I try to keep the BB and cranks more or less the same, but honestly, I don't think anyone thought much about this in the old days.
01-30-13, 02:26 PM
#24
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73mm vs 68mm
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