vitaly66

I have been researching for a wide-range, compact double crankset as a means to give a lower range than the original Campy Nuovo Record on my 1974 Raleigh International.

This offering by On-One has me intrigued as a possibility (maybe especially because of the reasonable price?):

https://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CSOOTOUR...uring_crankset

Here is their product photo:



It is described as a 110 BCD, but it would appear that there really is no spider. It is not clear whether the outer ring is a separate piece a la TA, or integrated with the right crank arm (I can't see any seam).

At first I thought it might be another labeling of the IRD "Defiant", but this one appears to be its own design. (If anything, it looks more like the SunXCD design.)

Anyway, just wondering if anyone here has direct experience with this crank and can comment on it. I am tempted by the reasonable price (under $100USD), useful gear range (48/34t), and by the classic styling. I am reluctant from not knowing how it actually delivers on performance (stiffness, trueness and durability), and by the likelihood that the outer ring is not replaceable.

Wheels Of Steel

If a double is what you seek you could also pick up a vintage 110//74 MTB triple crank and use the inner and middle ring positions. Limiting in some ways as the tallest gear for the inner would be a 32 tooth ring.

acoffin 

Interesting crank, that On-One. I would like to know more about it as well. Have you considered the Electra Ticino? The gearing is a little higher, but they are on sale for $75.
https://store.electrabike.com/eSource...V2.aspx?store=

fender1

Looks like a variant of the Electra Ticino crankset. My guess is that the arm uses a 50.4 bcd. If correct, it my be an interesting alternative w/ TA or VO rings. You could make a true wide range double.

This is the Ticino on my bike with 46/30 rings. I am using a 110mm bottom bracket and it works great. It is quite a bit easier to work with than a traditional TA crankset.

[IMG][/IMG]

vitaly66

The Electra Ticino has the 6-arm chainring configuration like the TA and the VO TA-clones, whereas the On-One has a 5-arm outer chainring.

It would indeed be sweet if the On-One drive crank had a 50.4 BCD for chainring attachment. In that case it would be like the SunXCD crankarms available at Soma:

https://store.somafab.com/sunxcd-exceed-crank-arms.html

And their product photo:



Although the optional inner spider provides 5-arm chainring compatibility (available for both 110mm and 130mm BCDs), the inner bolt circle is compatible for mounting TA-type chainrings directly.

It is an interesting design, and if the On-One offers the same thing, it does so at a very competitive price.

acoffin 

That does not look like 50bcd to me. Those bolts sit too far out from the center of the crank. The outer ring is separate though, as you can seen in this picture I found.

fender1

I think you are correct. What BCD is the spider then?

acoffin 

^74 would be my guess.

fender1

So are large rings available in 74 bcd aside from the crank shown?

vitaly66

Hmmm, that could be interesting in itself, providing an easy "triple-izer" solution for this crankset.

vitaly66

Not from On-One that I can find. This seems to be its own thing, which is the major downside at this point.

old's'cool

Au contraire... xxcycle has 74 BCD chainrings up to 36T

I have two bikes with 110/74 triple cranks setup as half-step + granny, using a 36T for the granny (normally, but on my bike here in Switzerland I fitted a 30T granny, since I'm living on a fairly steep hill).
Whether 130/74 or 110/74, that's my favorite crank setup; I have it on 6 of my bikes.

vitaly66

I decided to go ahead and give this crankset a try, ordering it directly from the On-One website in the UK last December.

Since then I have mounted it on a 1974 Raleigh International, and have put just under 200 miles on the cranks so far, including three 40+ mile club rides over hilly paved routes in the mid Willamette Valley, Oregon.

These are my first impressions for other C&V users who may be interested in this crankset for their own projects.

Executive summary: thumbs up.

Likes:
* aesthetics: nicely finished, fairly subtle graphics, good c&v vibe
* workmanship: solid, well-made, no discernable flex, spins absolutely true
* performance: shifts well and decisively
* value: $70 (USD) excellent value for money
* other: 110bcd for inner chainrings options down to 34t

Dislikes:
* 48t outer chainring is the only option
* unique outer chainring is likely not replaceable

Discussion

I ordered this crankset from the UK for about $70 bucks USD. The order with a few other things included free shipping to the US. It arrived in my mailbox on the west coast of the US in about 10 days during the busy Christmas season, with no delays or other customs charges or fees whatsoever. Easy peasy.

The crankset comes in an absolutely plain, un-marked brown cardboard box. The box contained only the crankset. No instructions, specifications, bottom-bracket, fixing bolts, dustcaps, or anything else. Just the crankset.

The crankset itself is completely unmarked as to country of origin, nor is this disclosed anywhere I could find on the On-One website product information.

My initial visual impression of the crankset was quite favorable. The design, materials, polish, and workmanship all seemed quite respectable.

I compared it to the 1973 vintage Campagnolo Nuovo Record crankset it was replacing. As one should expect, the Campy cranks are more sculpted and have a higher degree of finish and polish than the On-One. This is especially true on the inside surfaces of the crank arms. The On-One cranks on close inspection are a little less finely polished on the inside than their outside surfaces. But on the whole the On-One cranks stand up well to the comparison to Campy. They certainly look and feel like a good product, and not some faux wannabe knock-off.

I weighed the drive-side assembly (right arm/spider and chainrings) of each crankset, as well as that of a newly-purchased Race Face Cadence CX:

* Campy (50/45): 467g
* Race Face (46/34): 455g
* On-One (48/34): 451g

So it turns out the On-One is a little bit lighter than the others. (It is also more nicely finished than the Race Face, too.)

I waited until I had the crankset in hand before ordering a bottom-bracket. As mentioned, the information for this crank is sparse. Only the website mentioned to use a 113mm spindle, but did not even confirm whether for jis or iso, and there was no additional information in the packaging.

Once I had the crank I did verify it to be jis square taper. I then ordered an inexpensive Shimano UN55 bottom bracket with 113mm spindle, and crossed my fingers. At the same time I also ordered some fixing bolts.

With all the parts finally in place, installation was simple and straight-forward. And now I can confirm that the 113mm spindle length does indeed appear to be absolutely optimal for a good chainline.

The construction of this crank appears similar to and evocative of TA and vintage Stronglight cranks. That is, a drive side crank arm with a very small inner spindle, to which attaches the outer chainring only. The inner chainring is then attached directly to the outer chainring, rather than the crank spindle.

The inner chainring is a common 110mm bolt circle, a very common standard so that any number of optional/replacement chainrings can be fitted at any time. The outer chainring is another matter.

On the On-One crank, I measured the inner spindle bolt-circle diameter to be approximately 63.8mm, with a bolt-to-bolt measurement of approximately 37.5mm. A 63.8mm BCD does not match any other crankset, past or present, that I have been able to discover. This means that the outer chainring is a completely proprietary design, and one will likely never be able to find another one as a replacement, either for wear or to obtain a different tooth count.

Not even the On-One website offers replacement outer chainrings for this crank.

I believe this is the main deficiency of this crank.

On balance, though, I do not feel this is necessarily a fatal deficiency. When the time comes that the outer chainring is worn to the point of needing replacement, the modest cost of this crankset makes it possible to replace the entire unit for not much more than a single large chainring costs anyway. It is not optimal, but possibly workable.

Mounted on the bike, I think the crankset looks great. And the performance is all I could hope for. The outer chainring is pinned and ramped, so upshifts from inner to outer are fast and smooth -- even better than the campy original. The original campy front derailleur seems to handle the 14t jump just fine, without any strain or hesitation. The crankset spins perfectly square and true, no side to side wobblies whatsoever.

I am not a powerful rider, nor at 160lbs am I a heavyweight. I personally don't find any discernable flex in this crank at all. Maybe someone larger/stronger would, but that is impossible for me to say either way. Based on appearances, materials, and ride characteristics, I would expect this crank to be the equal or better than any other comparable square-taper crank on the market, whether vintage or current.

On the whole, I consider the project to be a success. I have a much better range of gears on this bike now, and that allows me to undertake a much wider range of rides with confidence. At the same time, the bike looks good and maintains its essential vintage appeal.

The only thing remaining to discover is longevity: how well will this crankset hold up over time and with the miles? Only time and miles will tell. I will report back any additional findings as they arise.

Coupla pics:


on-one crankset by incidence*, on Flickr


riverfront raleigh by incidence*, on Flickr

non-fixie 

Thanks, @vitaly66! It's posts like yours that make this such a valuable forum!

Monoix

Very nice to find some good information about this crank.
@vitaly66, could you please measure the Q-factor/tread of these cranks with your 113 mm BB? I usually measure the distances from the outer sides of the pedal arms to the seat tube on both sides, plus the seat tube diameter. How much clearance is there between the arms and the chainstays by the way?

Q- factor: Bridgestone Bicycle Catalogue 1991-13

If the outer chainring really mounts with a 74 BCD, I guess it could be possible to replace the other ring with an even smaller standard 74 ring, mounting them both on the spider. The spider mustn't be to thick and reasonably flat, and you need longer bolts of course. This would make it a true wide range double. I'd like to use 48/28 for example, and that is only possible with very few cranksets - TA Pro 5 Vis and its copies, and Compass Bicycles' Rene Herse cranks for example.

(edit: How do you mention/link to someone like in the post above? Manually add a profile link?)

(edit two: Thanks @non-fixie...!)

non-fixie 

No, just add a @ in front of the handle. Like this: @Monoix.

Monoix

Wow, I had missed this information - just wanted to check back here to take a look at that on-one touring crankset. I had no idea Stronglight made bigger 74 mm chainrings. That is excellent news for me, since I have an old Sugino MTB crankset with a 74 mm spider. I almost threw it away when I discovered Sugino had stopped making chainrings for it. I would love to have a setup with 36/26 on my MTB, and have been considering to manufacture an adapter from 74 mm to 110 to make that possible, but now I can just buy the correct chainring directly. Many thanks for the info and link!

By the way, too bad that On-One crank seems discontinued. Even with no big chainrings readily available, I would like to have tried one.

@vitaly66 - did you see my question before? If you don't have time or means to do it it's OK, I'm just curious about the design of the crank.