kcblair

Ok, I know my '90ish Athena crank has a BCD of 144mm. There is no 34T chain ring. I'm contemplating , maybe another brand (I hope the Campy Police are not monitoring this post). I would like to get my Concorde , gearing into the 29ish GI range.

Currently, I have a 30T in the rear (that is max) and a 39T (low) in the front, giving me a 34GI. What I would consider is: a crank with 110MM BCD, 34T (inner), don't care too much about outer chainring, square taper to fit the Campy bottom bracket, and polished aluminum to "look like" Campy. I will consider vintage or modern crank set.

I'm really not sure where to start looking, but I know you pro's, with all your experience, will point me in the direction. Thanks so much. KB

Slash5

Usually recommended is a Sugino or Stronglight for a normal looking silver crank.

https://www.niagaracycle.com/categor...rd2-slvr-165mm
Stronglight Impact JIS Compact Chainset Road - Chainsets - Ribble Cycles

There are modern Campy that look ok but you have to buy into their weird BB setup.
Campagnolo Veloce Silver PT Chainset - 10 Speed - Chainsets - Ribble Cycles

Then you get into the retro cranks.
Holdsworth Retro Crankset | Planet X
Velo Orange Grand Cru 50.4 Crankset

seypat

Try to find a Campy Euclid 110/74. That will do the trick.

Cyclist0108

I got a Campy Athena-11 triple crank (silver colored), whose smallest chainring is 30T.

There is an IRD crank available in 50/34T or 46/30T that kind of looks Campyish. It is square-taper.

kcblair

Thanks Slash5. That Stronglight looks very similar to my Campy. Now I need to measure the axle and shop for a 170mm arm length. Price is right, too. KB

Andy_K 

I agree that the silver 11-speed Athena cranks look nice, but the graphics aren't as nicely understand as mid 90's Campagnolo. There was a compact double version.



I know it's a bit out-of-style these days, but a Campy Racing T (triple) crankset would also give you what you want and happily the Campy shifters of that era will work with it. You would need a new BB and maybe a new FD for the Racing T solution, but it gives you a lot of gearing options.

kcblair

Thanks, my Campy Athena is from '90. The Campy Athena 11 isn't square taper. I don't really want to mess with replacing the BB.

Now, the IRD looks interesting, I'll check the specs. BB axle length is important, now that I've done some research. KB

Cyclist0108

It's dead easy (until you go to take the crank off).

Cyclist0108

I think this uses JIS (Japanese-style) square taper instead of the Italian style, which I am pretty sure your Campy crank would use, so be careful.

Choke 

FYI your crank has a 135mm BCD. The easiest solution is to find a Campy MTB crank and run it as a double. They were 110/74 BCD (with the exception of Record OR and Icarus which used splined middle/inner rings) so it's easy to find chainrings. You can likely use your existing BB spindle since you would not be using the inner ring...I can't say 100% but there's a very good chance that will be the case. I have two of these on different bikes - one is a double on a 102mm spindle but it has very tight clearance, one is a triple and it's on a 115mm spindle.

Some #0000 steel wool and a few minutes time will get rid of those graphics and leave you with a nice all silver crank.


Yep, the Campy spindle is an ISO so the best solution would be to install a new BB. For the OP, here's a bit more info on that - https://www.sheldonbrown.com/bbtaper.html

kcblair

Good point. I was afraid this wasn't a simple project. I was hoping square tapers in the 90's would be compatible.

I have JIS square taper cranks on other bikes, maybe I'll pull one, see how it fits. Thanks guys. KB

kcblair

Yep, good info on Sheldon Brown, I should of checked there first. I think your MTB solution is the way to go, as I don't want to change the BB. I stand corrected, the BCD is 144. The spindle should be 111mm. KB

Otis

If you want a really expensive solution I make these out of the IRD arms and custom made rings. 50/34 or 46/36 (to use with single pivot derailleurs):



You will need a JIS axle to use the IRD arms, they a will not fit right on a the Campagnolo axle. IRD makes a very nice sealed BB that you can get with Italian cups if needed.

The Golden Boy 

Are the Avocet/Ofmega triples too old?

non-fixie 

If you have any parts bins near you available for scavenging: SR made several 118 BCD crank sets that came on many mid-level bikes in the eighties. I like this Apex-5:

kcblair

Thank you all, for your inputs. It looks like my best route, is to acquire a Campy MTB crank. I don't really want to change the BB, to gain another 4 GI's. But, this morning, I made a measurement, the difference between a 52T and 48T chainring. As the 48T chainring, would be the outer ring, on a MTB chainring. The 52T=218mm and 48T 210mm.(diameter)
That means I need to move the FD about 6-7mm down. That's were the next challenge is, my FD is a braze-on. I only have 1mm of play left. So, another road block . KB

seypat

I mention the Campy Euclid crank again. There might be one for sale on another site somewhere....There might also be an Euclid BB spindle for sale on another site as well....

That would not be my crank and BB spindle by the way. No connection what so ever to the items for sale.....if they did exist.

kcblair

Thanks, I did search that and found a Eucilid crank, problem, outer chainring is 48T. I have no room left on the FD braze-on mount, to lower the FD for proper shifting. See my above post. KB.

seypat

Stronglight and SR Sakae made cranks in 86BCD that will take a 28t. Some of the Takagi Tourney cranks are 130/86 and will take a 28T. I have one myself. Good cranks that look Campy-ish. Here is one I think but have the seller verify.

Takagi Tourney AD Crankset 170mm A/D BMX Silver | eBay

Even if it is a 110/74, it will still meet your needs. BTW, I think the spindle length for that one is 124.5 ish. I would have to pull mine to be sure. If I remember correctly, I tried a 121.5 for a Shimano FC-6206 and it did not give enough clearance for the 3rd ring.

The Golden Boy 

A 50T 110BCD ring should be no problem to find.

If you don't mind not being especially pretty, I've got a Campagnolo triple I can let go of.

kcblair

THank you Golden Boy for the offer. I have one more idea to try. I was able to get the gearing from 39GI to 34GI, by going from a 26T to the max 30T Campy Athena RD) cassette in the rear. I rode another bike last year with a 34GI and was able to climb most hills in my area. During the winter I converted my Ciocc to a 32T and lowered to a 28GI. Now I can climb any hill in the area.

I want to try that 32T cassette on my Concorde. That will get me to 32GI , gear. If that 14-32 cassette works, I may stop at that point. A 32GI will get me up most hills.

I lost 30 lbs. last year to diabetes and that alone, got me up hills, that I use to avoid. Now at age 70, I lowered the gears in my Ciocc, adding a long cage Shimano 105 RD, coupled with the 48/34T chain ring, plus the lost of 30lbs, I can climb with the best of my club.

I'll get back shortly.

Again, thanks Ken B.

jiangshi

FWIW, Centaur was made in a square taper compact.

kcblair

Thanks for the tip. Found one on first search, and silver tone, too. 53/34T. A little our of my budget, but will keep a watch out.

kcblair

Ok, Thank you "Golden Boy" for the offer. I tried a 14-32T cassette, and it works. The teeth clear the upper jockey wheel by 6-7mm. I am well aware of cross chaining, so no problem there. That gets me down to 32 GI. gear. I'm fine with that for now, no cost either.

I have 2 other bikes with a 28 GI., so that covers any hills I will encounter around here.

Thanks to " jiangshi", I found a Centaur 53/34 in silver finish, a little out of my budget at this point. I will keep a lookout for Centaur 53/34T square taper crank set. KB