Came accross these pictures of a Stronglight (TA?) crank/chainring set. I figure it to be a mix of TA (drilled?), Stronglight 49d and a Stronglight 'Marque Deposee' crank from around 1970/75, but can't exactly pinpoint it. Who solves the riddle? Thanks for any input!

Stronglight 49 crankarms with T/A rings.

Plus drillium

OK. The crank-arm has a small 'diamond' engraving in it (to the right on the picture) and I haven't seen this before either. Prototype?

Official or D.I.Y.?

That "diamond" looks like the end of the flute continued on the other side of the logo.

It looks like the lower part of the crank arm has been milled, thereby creating the 'diamond'. It would have been a flute before.

and the "drillium" in the central arm areas of the TA ring looks pretty crude.

It's a 1960s-on Stronglight crank (MARQUE DEPOSÉE, rather than the simpler, pre-60s DEPOSÉ) which looks to either have been shortened or maybe meant for a child's bike. I've never seen one like it before

This is how they are usually proportioned, with the flutes of equal length:

[IMG]Untitled by Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]

Thanks for all reactions, appreciated! The flutes stay a mystery though...

Has it been shortened and milled, or is that just excessive toe strap wear on the side of the crank arm?

I vote that it's been shortened by cutting and welding then grinding to clean up the weld...just a guess Wrong guess as it turns out! ;(

That would have been a pretty abrasive cow!

And one no doubt crying LATIGO!

Maybe to reduce weight.

The "milled" section is full of striations that are are all concentric with the pedal. This is what toe strap wear looks like. Toe straps get dirty. The dirt is sand, which is abrasive. The toe strap wears out long before the crank arm, but the toe strap gets replaced. Compare:



Note that the "stronglight" logo is not centered between the pedal and crank holes; it is closer to the pedal. I rather doubt OP's crank has been shortened in any way. It may be a short crank arm, with different proportions than the usual ones, but it has not been intentionally modified. It's just worn out.

You nailed it exactly. Brought the bike home today and it is toe strap wear! Excellent guess and herewith the confirmation. 10 points

And after this crank mystery a new riddle...! Same bike, but now the head-badge. Has anyone seen this before? I know already it's a Belgian-made bike, coming from Tervuren, but that's about it. I've googled everywhere, but this is either a one-off or the shop didn't/doesn't have internet. So here goes...

Well, it's a cool head badge anyway!

Google maps doesn't show a Rue du Poivre in Tervuren, but there is a Peperstraat...

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.8230...7i13312!8i6656

It's cool indeed! Yes, there is a Peperstraat, which in French is the Rue du Poivre. But there's nothing mentioned at this adress of a bicycle-shop, manufacturer or mechanic. It's quite close to my home in The Netherlands, but I doubt I will find anything there. The road/buildings might have been changed in the past few years... may-be a Belgian forum-member has a clue...?

I did a google search for 'wargee fietsen' and got a couple hits, but trying to read Flemish started to give me a headache!

I'll give it a try again!

Yeah, that's what I got too. I'll contact the bike-shop in Tervuren. They might know something more. I really like these things... trying to unravel the (hi)story of your bike. So sweet.

Indeed. I am continuously amazed at the level of knowledge of all things bike around here.

I like the weird flag in the headbadge decal behind the US flag: appears to be a Union Jack drawn from memory by somebody without one. Why the'd do that for a Belgian shop-brand is yet another mystery.