Tom, you've already been given all the good current Strada-looking cranks.

So I'll throw something completely different out - the Rene Herse look.

Sun XCD makes 3-bolt rings for their 50.4mm bcd crank arms JBI - Search Results



And here's another nice example from the UK https://www.velovitality.co.uk/produ...ouble-chainset
and this is not a bad price



You can also make a nice compact double with the 50.4mm crank arms and Cyclotouriste 6-arm ring stack - just can't find a good photo offhand.

One of each. Nice. How do you like the Carmina? We don't hear much about those, presumably because of the high cost. The back is hollow, right? They are lookers for sure and it seems like a nice flexable setup for a touring bike.

Yeah I could live with having that crank in the pic on my new (2k Koga race frame) build, and it is Dura Ace - hard to go wrong there.

I had a set - properly installed, torqued, greased, the whole thing. Was on dry weather only bike. After about thousand easy kms I decided to put it on another bike - had to grind them off. Very anecdotal and YMMV but be aware, take them off once in a while and re-grease, re-torque. Never had problems with their mtb cranks and I have several, no abuse spared on them.

Backdate, modern Italian flare. Perhaps look at the Ofmega / Avocets. The Mistral is cool and easy to source, but rather the hard edge look, could soften it with the Mundial arms and slicer chain rings. Could snag some low count rings for the 118 bcd.

I have the Velo Orange 48-34 model which looks almost the same. I'm only 155 pounds and I think that crank flexes a bit as well, but only during really hard efforts. That said, I've used it for years and many thousands of trouble free miles.

I agree with this comment, however they do often have sales that make them even more attractive. I bought mine "used" and love it.

I am also looking at Middleburn. Whole thing was bought by BETD, https://www.bikerumor.com/2016/10/20...nk-brand-line/
They had RO1 (square taper) and RO2 (external bearing) for their road line. Their mtb and tandem models are very popular with good reputation in SS and mtb crowd.
To my knowledge original Middleburn was part of bigger company (aerospace and formula one).

I had a chance to test ride them once on my friend's bike (I think he had RS8), they felt very nice and machining/finish was exceptional. So if brand is truly resurrected I may get them

The new silver 5800 cranks grew on me after I installed a set on my Guerciotti. It helps that they are easy to install, shift really smoothly, and seem to have exactly zero chainring runout.

I think much (all?) of the weight savings is in the BB system (at least for Shimano). The Hollowtec II BB cups weigh almost nothing, and the 5800/6800 crankset weight is similar to what a conventional set weighs but that includes the spindle built in to the drive side arm. So you end up saving about the weight of your old square taper BB.

here's a good price on a nice-looking Sugino compact double
Sugino XD-500 "Swiss Cross" Double Crankset: 48 / 34 ? Box Dog Bikes

I think up to 5500/6500/7700 Shimano stuff looks great. It goes downhill after that for me. I'm using a 6500 crankset with an otherwise 5700 group for that reason and it functions perfectly. I see them used at reasonable prices on the auction site.

if money was no object, I would go for a TA Zephyr Light
Zephyr

Yeah I've been blown away with how light BBs are these says. I have a Dura Ace Octalink style BB that is truly feather-light. And I momentarily picked up a Deore BB recently at the LBS just to gauge the weight, and could not believe how light it was. Way lighter than the Ti square tapers of yore..

Seems like manufacturers are using alloy everywhere.

Yeah, but you get the priceless Peter White interaction experience.

Just the arms right? Pretty sure the rings only come in black.

Innovative design; the versatility to accept an infinite range of inner ring BCD is commendable. However, consider what happens when high torque is applied while on the inner chainring. The bending forces on those rails that hold the inner chainring fasteners would be considerable. Maybe they provided enough material to keep the stresses not only within the elastic limit, but also to give a reasonable fatigue life. At any rate, it must either weigh significantly more than a conventional spider, or be destined for an early failure under foreseeable heavy use.

I also wonder about the concentricity of the inner chainring; but at the moment I can't think of any serious consequence if the concentricity is out by a mm or so. (only some minor torque/angular velocity fluctuation, like a Biopace or similar chainring, but periodic once per rev instead of multiples).

The other part about that design that I don't like is, when the outer chainring is worn out, you're into replacing the whole element. I can't tell if that includes the crank, but even if the crank is separate, I doubt that the spider plus outer chainring element is cheap to get separately.

SRAM S-500 (and lower) are fairly easy on the eyes: https://www.sram.com/sram/road/products/sram-s-500-crankset

To the OP, I understand the dilemma. Lovely thin standard steel tubing and detailed lugs and...a monster-armed crankset. All sorts of dis-proportion.

I'm totally going to sound like the Trivago guy here, but:

"Most Classic & Vintage riders want the most appropriate crankset for the best price. Even with modern components. I totally get that. But what they don't realize, is that they are crankset blind. Some forum threads suggest these options, while other threads suggest those. Still others suggest those ones, too. Come to Bike Forums C&V section, and we put all those suggestions in one thread. So before you make your next crankset choice, give it the Bike Forums check. Cranksets? Bike Forums........."

If I may suggest semi-modern cranksets as I am a 5-arm fan and kind of think that modern cranksets look great on vintage....Cannondales! Proportions work very well, IMO.

7700-era Dura Ace: The belle of the ball. (I have three sets!)



6500-era Ultegra: Unassuming in triple form (BCD 130/74), sexy in double.



Both of these are Octalink V1 bottom bracket users (BB7700, BB6500, BB5500) and have worked flawlessly for me.

If you still want square taper, the 7410 cranks have a nice swoop to them, and are quite visually delicate. Otherwise, last generation silver/polish Campagnolo. Great prices and nice designs, and you may be able to snag a triple for cheaper than a double due to triples being 'lamer' somehow. Comp triple has Chorus levels of finish, and 'rings, too (or in that realm--they look fantastic).

This looks like the previous year's Apex and/or rival. I have them on my LeMond and on my Felt.

Since these have been mentioned but no one has posted pics, here's one of Sugino modern hollow BB offerings, the EXP 110. The crankarms look suspiciously similar the TA Carmina, though admittedly less graceful. Chainrings appear to be standard Sugino 110.



Here's the other one, the OX 610, with the strange exterior spider.

Ha! I have to agree. Worst website design ever. To find something on their site I use Google search. No way I could find anything from their home page.

I don't have a Carmina. Yea, their flexibility is a plus. And I figure TA will be making bits and pieces for a while longer. I do have another TA from Peter White. I can't remember what it is called. I bought it to go with a new in 2011 7900 group because I don't like the look of newer Shimano. Since got rid of the 7900 and have a complete 7700 group on my go fast with bar ends.

Modern SRAM road cranks have nice lines and use 5-bolt rings, they're non-ugly except for some of the screen printed designs and huge typeface names... fortunately though there's a solution for that: just remove the logos and make the cranks shiny enough to suit your preferences.

Rival:

Red:

Maybe I need to go back and re-read the intial post, but why not just get a vintage crank that suits the build?

They are pretty much all non-ugly. And they tend to be less expensive anyway.

One would think with all the CAD machining and water jet technology we would see some really interesting and creative designs comparable to the automotive rim industry. I have a soft spot for the drilled look.

No offense to Dura Ace or people that like this design, but the crank below is horrible and uninspiring and boring. One may say it goes better with the modern bikes, but I don't agree. I also haven't come around to the all black cranks. I see it as a way to use crappy materials and the finishes are never durable enough to stand the test of time and not much you can do about it without spending too much money. Fading, oxidation, scratches, peeling, no thanks. I've never seen one over a year old that still looked good. I certainly dont foresee a whole lot of people searching out black cranks 20 years from now. They just wont last. As many other things ... disposable items