Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 19,810
Likes: 597
From: NJ, NYC, LI
Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...
[MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION], forgive me for nitpicking, but you should have started out with a working definition of the word "modern."
Not knowing what you meant, I offer a few criteria that make a crank "modern":
1. Large diameter, light weight BB spindle;
2. External BB cups;
3. Ramped and pinned chain rings.
4. Hollow crank arms.
External BB's are not a new invention, but we're not paired with lightweight spindles until recently. Having reappeared after being out of fashion for 90 years or so, we can call them modern. Likewise, hollow crank arms have been around too; but they've now caught on in a way they never did before.
Square tapers are very nice, but they've been around for 80 years, and seem "modern" only in comparison to cotters and ashtabula cranks. Sorry, but square taper cranks, as much as I love them, are old school.