Sierra

I'm curious about what front derailleur could handle these.
Aside from the lateral movement required, mine has a 30 tooth difference(26/56) between the smallest and largest chainring.
I don't know of any front derailleur that could handle that.

obrentharris 

I recently came across this 50.4 BCD cottered steel crankset. Drive side has the Williams logo. Non-drive side has no logo. Chamfer on back side is just a little larger on drive side crank.
Both are marked "Made in England" on the front and "1/2" on the back.

Any suggestions for date of manufacture? What is the significance of the letter "Z" below the Williams logo?






Brent

Rooney 

I recently pulled a Sugino Super Maxy 5 vis crank from an 84 Univega Alpina Uno and wanted to use the crank on a 91 Trek 950 (68mm bb shell). The original axle measured around 127.75mm (asymmetric) and resulted in the non-drive side grazing the chainstay. I'm not sure how to go about figuring out the correct axle length. It's also currently set up as a triple, and I plan to convert it to a double (2x9 ultimately), which I believe means getting different bolts/spacers, correct?

Any help would be appreciated!

JaccoW

Yup, you'll need the bolts for a double setup. They are being sold by both Specialites TA or Velo Orange.

Rooney 

Ordered bolts from VO, thanks!

Still looking for assistance on spindle length, if anyone has recommendations.

Jim Cardiff

I’ve been having a sort out recently and discovered I’ve still got a pair of TA “Cyclotouriste” cranks in 185mm length.
in my youth I used to compete in hill climbs, and used this with a single 39t chairing and fixed wheel. I’m 6’3” and the length was fine. Interestingly overlap was never a problem.
I’ve not seen these cranks in that length elsewhere though

non-fixie 

Picked up another example of my favorite chainset style today at a jumble sale. An early Stronglight 49D. I don't recall having seen this version before.

BFisher 

The TA I installed on my Raleigh Super Course, freshened up with new stainless hardware from V/O and a little bit of polish. Currently 54/40, but I plan to go lower gearing.

bulgie 

No! 50-40 or fight!

Nice lookin 5-vis there. I bet the 54 came off an early-'70s Schwinn Sports Touring, do we know? It has the extra set of bolt holes where Schwinn had TA add a shifting ramp that prevented the chain from ever skating on the tops of the teeth ("neutral") rather than engaging down on the ring in the correct way. A problem which I have never seen happen without the ramp, but Schwinn knows best...

Mark B

BFisher 

Thanks, Mark. You're exactly right; the crank came from that very bicycle. Had the Schwinn repaired by a local welder (hole worn into the chainstay) and built that 3x7 upright.

What I found with the Schwinn spec. on that TA unit was that they used 5mm spacers between the rings, which is bigger than the spacing on all of the cranks I have. With the shifting ramp all worked well, but I did have some engagement issues when I ran it without the ramp, intermittent, but I could never get it to completely go away. I kind of wanted to remove the ramp and outer guard for aesthetic reasons. The Velo Orange hardware utilizes 3.6mm spacers, closer to all of my other vintage setups. Plus, the old nuts and bolts were looking a little tired.

bulgie 

Ah right, wider spacing, that makes sense. "It's a Schwinn thing, you wouldn't understand"
I used to have real TA spacers in thicknesses from 2.5 to 4.5 mm, every half mm. Now I have used up one or two of the sizes so I can't say I have them all anymore but I know they existed. I guess I must have had 5 mm too, since I had one of those Sports Touring cranksets... just never measured them. Wacky.

BTW, not that you need them, but did you know there are very good repro TA crank stickers available? Of course the cranks look fine without them, but if you want them, I got mine from Grey Softley in Australia.

Mark B

BFisher 

I have seen those stickers. I got some Weinmann rim decals from him in the past. Nice looking stuff. Still debating on leaving them bare, putting in for the stickers, or maybe a paint infill. Leaning towards leaving them alone, but we'll see.

Andy Antipas 

Restored this bike about a year ago. I replaced the cotter crank with the 49D. Timeless design.

Andy Antipas 

1951 Helyett Randonneur

1973 Moto-Gugie 650b conversion

bulgie 

Oops just saw this post from a year ago, but I'll relay what I know (I think!): according to this date chart, a single letter Zed means 1937.

Mark B

El Chaba

I have another TA crankset ( more modern to match the updated drivetrain) on my camper, but this is the crankset that came with the bike. The bike was nicely cared for by the previous owner, and the crankset was in very nice, very unmarked shape. I can switch back very easily with just a spindle swap and front derailleur adjustment. The PRO 5 has to be the most versatile and enduring crankset ever produced. It seems that TA has tried to discontinue it 4-5 times and then a few years later it is back again.

CV-6 

Las Vegas area a few years ago.

Lejeune Pro by L Travers, on Flickr

Roger M 

Impressive that the SLJ derailleur can handle the triple.

Also, nice bike.

CV-6 

Although not a long cage, it is the model where the pivot is near the upper jockey wheel rather than centered on the cage. I believe it is designated as a "T" model.

merziac

Road Fan

Easier access to brake cable adjusters?

Rooney 

Does anyone know the bb axle length for Electra Ticino 50.4 crank arms (seen here)? I feel like I'd found it somewhere before, but can't turn it up now. I just got 46/30t TA chainrings and the VO double chainring bolts. I'll be able to try a few options at work tomorrow, but if anyone could save me some time trying different length bottom brackets, it would be greatly appreciated!

EDIT: My findings are thus; 113 is too short (chain rubbing big ring when cross-chained small/small), 116 seems more appropriate. 115 would maybe be ideal?

alexnagui

I've made a few CNC chainrings for 50.4bcd cranks lately. Mainly replicas of old French chainrings which are impossible to find these days. I am planning to make a few more designs. All the hardware is CNC made from stainless steel btw.

Cyclo Rosa and Simplex Touriste replicas

Stronglight Diamond Touriste/Super Touriste. One of the most beautiful chainrings ever made imho

My own take on Herse Clover style inspired by early Verot chainrings

juvela

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thanks so much for sharing these beauties!

have long been a fan of the Simplex Touriste...but alas, as you write they are rare on the ground and the examples one is able to locate be typically in a poor state o' preservation...

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alexnagui

I was able to find a set of Simplex Touriste riveted chainrings made from steel on eBay last year. And some NOS Simplex chainring bolts. That's how I was able to replicate the original design as close as possible.
The Cyclo Rosa and the Stronglight are "copied" from the originals as well.