Originally Posted by
rideandgoseek
Yup, I posted it on the valuation forum early this month and then finally pulled the trigger. TA crank definitely fits the bill of a tourist but it's what the seller called a 1/2 step and he said it was popular among the touring crowd of the late 70s. I think it's like 53-44t (will have to count tonight) but seems like it would hinder my climbing more than anything. If I do replace it I'll look for a TA with a much lower inner chainring.!
To my mind, that crank is the ideal touring crank. Why not just buy different chainrings. Hilary Stone has a bunch, many of them NOS. If you don't want to lose the high gears, I'm also pretty sure that you could convert that crankset to a triple fairly easily using a longer crank spindle, spacers, and longer bolts. I had such a TA Cyclotouriste triple on my long since departed Motobecane Grand Record.