I'm converting an old Austro Daimler Vent Noir into a rando bike. That means, sadly, I have to replace the beautiful, drilled-out black first-gen Dura Ace crankset, because it has 53-42 gearing, which is way too high.

I'm looking at either getting a VO or SunXCD 50.4 BCD crankset (I can get the VO for a lot cheaper) with 46/30 rings, or just putting on a new Sugino triple. I already have the Sugino on my touring bike, and it's great, but I wouldn't mind trying something new. Also considering the new external BB 46/30 cranksets from FSA and Easton, but I wonder how that'd look/feel on a vintage bike.

Anyone have experience with these 46/30 cranksets? Any recommendations generally?

I’ve have the Sun XCD on one build and have had the V-O. I found that latter to suffer wear to the taper fairly quickly after moving it around in a few different bikes. If you want to stay vintage, you can look for an 86 bcd crankset such as the Stronglight 99 and set it up as a compact double. You can even find drilled rings for that particular look. That’ll likely run you less than the cost of a new Sun unit.

I have a vo 50.4 crankset that has been great. I have had it on several bikes and it operates flawlessly. My only complaint is that 26 is the smallest ring it takes. I expect there are adapters that could help but since you are looking at 30,46 it would be great.

TA makes a 38T ring that will fit the Dura Ace cranks (you may have to file off a mm or so from the spider arms for the chain to properly clear them). With a Crane GS RD and a 34T cog in the rear you have a ~30" low gear. Would that work for you?

Maybe. Thought about that, but I'm concerned about the bottom bracket. I'd need a new one, and my understanding is that first-gen DA used some weird not-JIS-or-ISO standard.

I also wonder about the possibility of snapping a 43-year-old crank in the middle of a hard effort...

I always just grab a vintage Sugino 110 BCD out of the bin, and replace both rings with rings from a MTB. Can go 45/34 without a problem, I've heard you can go as small as 33. First gen black DA crankset is worth some coin!

Yeah--I was thinking I could sell the DA to fund the new crankset!

A contrary take, if I may: compact and "sub-compact" cranksets are a fine thing, and the cycling world is better now that they are more widely appreciated and available. But they are not mandatory on a rando bike! Many randonneurs, especially those who are former racers, still ride with standard doubles. Roger Baumann used a 52/44 when he won PBP 1956. John Lee Ellis, the current president of RUSA, uses a standard double (once 53/42, now 53/39 I believe). When building up my rando bike, I briefly considered using a 52/42 BioPace double with 14-32T cassette. (In the end, I used smaller sprockets all around for a nearly identical gear range.)

Where I'm going with this, is that it might be possible to keep that crankset and arrive at gearing that works for you with a combination of smaller chainrings and bigger cassette cogs. If you wanted to.

Preferences for gearing are a personal thing. I, for one, do a fair bit of long distance riding (just gearing up for PBP again), and I don't have a need for very small gears (a 39-27 will be my smallest for PBP). In the vintage department a cheap 14-28 cassette is perfect with a standard front for me. I find changing the cassette has less of an impact on the appearance of the bike. I'd hate to lose the black DA.
But it sounds like you may have your mind set on smaller rings? As above, I'd get a 110bcd Sugino from the parts bin and keep the DA in storage as the original equipment for the bike or you'll regret it one day

Heh. You should've seen the SR series I just did! All through the driftless region of SW Wisconsin, with grades of 15 to 20% common. 26500 feet of climbing on the 600; 18000 on the 400, 13000 on the 300. Hills just too big and steep to use your momentum to get up. Extremely challenging. I had a 26-36 small gear (riding my touring bike) and was grateful for it.

So the lower gearing is mandatory. The triplizer option sounded good to me, but the rings are really pricey on eBay and I do wonder about riding on 43 y/o cranks..

IRD has a nice looking 46/30 compact.

Defiant Super Compact Road Crank Set ? Interloc Racing Design / IRD

Best options:

1) Shimano 130mm 38T inner ring; no other crank or spider mods needed;

2) Any 110mm crankset with a 34 or 36T inner ring.

Use a smaller outer ring, as well, and then see how large a freewheel you can accommodate. You may be pleasantly surprised.

I run a 46-38 Nervar Star (funky 128mm BCD, but one can very easily adapt 130mm rings to fit) with a 13-15-17-19-22-25 Regina America freewheel on the 1959 Capo, for a low of 41 gear-inches.

Sorry for resurrecting possibly old thread but I've been considering a 46-30 crankset, particularly the VO or IRD options. Did you ever buy one and if so and positives/negatives you've come across?

They are both pretty nice but the clear negative is they are a knock-off of the real thing (TA Pro 5 Vis, Stronglight 49D) for twice the price of the real thing. I think the only real functional advantage is the chainring bolts are nicer than the original TAs/Stronglights.

I have a set of TA Pro 5 Vis cranks that I got for $75. Bought some new TA chainrings and Velo Orange hardware kit and I am still under what a new VO crankset costs. Plus VO's chainring options are limited to 46-30.

Thank you, that makes perfect sense. I've been looking on ebay, however the TA, Stronglight, and sun xcd cranks available all seem to be listed for over $200 these days. I guess I need to get creative and search craigslist and the marketplace on here. Great to know a deal can still be found on these!

Thanks again.

Sorry, never bought one—stuck with my 50/34 Sugino.

Planet Bike in the UK sells a Holdsworth 48-34 Drillium crankset that looks pretty nice and it's on sale for $99. I run one of their 53-39 cranks on my Japanamount and love it, very nice shifting. In the below link scroll right to see the drillium one.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CSHOCN...retro-crankset