Barrettscv 

It's coming this summer: https://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2010...cru-crank.html

jet-flashman

These are going on my wish list.

Six jours

They also are planning on offering brazed, chromed stems. And they do all this for very reasonable prices. I hope he makes a fortune.

robertkat

Wow. I was planning on a White Industries crank for the new build but this is just beautiful.

CliftonGK1

That is really sweet looking. I love VO stuff. Got to see a pair of the Diagonale/105 wheels last weekend at our spring Pop. and they're beautiful.

Chris_W

Another 46/30 option was also just announced, see here, but it is just a triple with a chainguard in the outer position. This can be done with any standard triple crankset, the only special thing is that the 46 tooth ring is shaped to be mounted in the middle position; most other rings of this size are made for the outer position, but TA does make middle rings with up to 46 teeth (and I have one ). I'd really like to see the dedicated double 110/74 external bearing BB shown in this old post by Velo Orange. The last I heard was that Sugino wanted more money for it than VO thought they could sell it for, but I hope things change. I also haven't found this crankset mentioned by anyone other than VO.

JoeMan

Yes very nice! I am using a Compact Energy FSA 46-36. It works for me. However, I'd like to give this Velo Orange crankset a try.

RFC

With a crank that small, what do you intend to run for a cassette, 12-23?

unterhausen

It's pretty common for compact cranks to have a 34 inner chainring, so this is actually larger than that.

Funny that they stole TA's crankarm design and Stronglights logo.

RFC

34t is smaller than 30t?

unterhausen

reading comprehension problems strike again

Barrettscv 

I'll remove my 46 & 38t Cyclocross Crankset and instal the 46 & 30t supercompact.

The 46t chainwheel is very good for speeds up to 33 mph. Faster than that is not an issue for me.

Michael

robertkat

11-26 is what I will use. You get a 110" high gear that is more than enough for cruising on the flats and spinning downhill, plus a low gear that can climb anything.

Six jours

VO "steals" a lot of stuff, but as far as I can tell it's stuff that the original manufacturer can't or won't make -- or stuff that was dramatically overpriced to begin with. The cantilever cable rollers come to mind: $75 apiece for a little bit of aluminum with a steel pulley, that should have sold for $25 a pair... just like they do at VO.

unterhausen

I have no problem with VO's business model. I forgot about the Stronglight 49, this is basically a copy of those cranks and not the TA.

Six jours

Hell, I guess I don't know why TA is unwilling to continue production of those cranks. They came with an unbelievably high price and sold like hotcakes. If someone is "stealing" their design they have only themselves to blame -- especially when it turns out they can be sold for about half the TA price.

unterhausen

I agree, although TA may have figured that they sold so well only because they told everyone it was a limited run. It's strange that they continue to make chainwheels. As far as pricing goes, genuine TA crankarms would be worth more to me, not sure how much more.

redxj

Bike companies have been "borrowing" others designs for decades. The 50.4mm BCD 5 pin crankset has been around for decades and was copied by many companies. Similiar 50.4mm cranks include: TA cyclotouriste, TA Criterium, Stronglight 49D, Nervar 631/633, Magistroni (cottered), Lambert, Sugino Pro Dynamic, Sugino PX, and the Shimano Deore FC-DE20/21/30/31. All used the similiar 50.4mm arm to ring attachment and some had different ways to attach the other rings to each other. A lot of the rings can be interchanged between different brands as well.

unterhausen

I didn't really mean to start a discussion about intellectual property in this thread, and I don't think we should have one here. P&R is probably the best place because it becomes heated. As I stated in my previous post, the thing I thought was funny wasn't. That's because Stronglight had crankarms that looked just like these. TA has no complaint. Interesting choice.

Assuming these are well-made, this is a real service. The supply of TA crankarms is finite, the crankarms are old an usually well-used, and collectors are hoarding them. Those of us that just want to use them are well served by the availability of these cranks.

Hocam

My only issue is the heel clearance on old style cranks and their reproductions is almost nil. This is to get the golden q factor down, which is of uncertain importance.

I'm duck footed and new cranks with the arms angled out from the center line of the bike offer better heel clearance, and I'm either used to or prefer the wider q factor over my narrow old cranks.

bmike

i run 13-29 for climby rides and 13-26 for 'flatter'
most of the riding is in the 'big' ring, so i'm only shifting up and down in the rear.
i may even put a 44 on the front so i'll essentially have a 1x10 setup for most situations... until i head into the mountains or gaps.

i did spin out yesterday @ 46/13 chasing a riding partner. he was running something taller and was smoothly pedaling while i felt like i was descending on my fixed gear. i gave up the chase after about 1/4 - 1/2 mile. on a short social ride it might be fun to have something just a bit taller - but for most of my riding... and for brevets and ld rides in the mountains and hills - 46/30 with 13-29 works well for me. i don't ever see myself 'chasing' coming down a gap... unless someone stole coffee and pastry.

jet-flashman

I run a 46/34 with a 34-13(8-speed) I spend most of my time in either 46-20 or 46-17 so taller gearing is not needed. I sure could use that 30-34 low gear for some of the longer climbs or off road excursions.

ironwood

Does anyone know whether VO is planning to offer a wide range of chainrings as well as the 46-30 combination?

Barrettscv 

Yes

prathmann

Yes, and in addition there are the old TA and Stronglight rings that will work with these cranks. These came in a very wide range of sizes. The old TA triple on our tandem is 26/42/54 and I think the available rings went all the way up to 72 teeth or so.

These do seem like a nice range as is. My touring bike has the old 'half-step plus granny' arrangement with 30/46/50 chainrings which works well. But with the closer spacing and smaller cogs of today's cassettes there's no need for the 50t ring and the simpler double arrangement would be preferred.