smd4

Both those cranks are pretty fugly. There are enough ugly things in the world without us adding more.

smd4

Shouldn't it be "DR?"

smd4

Why is the White Industries lettering on the crank arm on upside-down??

seypat

When the OP says DD, does that mean commuter bike or blingy/showoff bike? If it's a commuter, I wouldn't necessarily have lots of bling on it. With the black frame, there are lots of options to get a good aesthetic without spending major bucks.This build is a weight weenie/middle finger to Big Bike and their groupset only marketing plans. Not much matches here. The hubs and the RD are the only components from the same company/brand. I tried to find the lightest components that would meet my requirements. Under 21lbs with a triple and long cage RD. I don't think the pedals were on when I weighed it.

Germany_chris

The nice part about the VBC and Carmina is they can be any chainring size I want them to be so I'm not worried so much about that.

Germany_chris

Yea I've been on internet forums for too long, I just assumed that everyone knew what DD meant I won't be doing that again.

seypat

If having a matching/all Italian groupset is important, I'd go square taper and find a nice looking Campy crank from the past and put 11 speed chainrings on it.

Trakhak

Under $500 for a full Centaur groupset in silver. Sigh. I didn't want to have to build up a bike this winter, but looks like I have no choice. Now off to look at modern swoopy carbon frames.

Germany_chris

I used DD as a way to differentiate it from
a race bike though being what it is I probably didn’t need to. Without going into a long explanation this bike live at my home and is my weekend/vacation/longish ride bike.



My commuter is a bit more blingy than that bike but it also doesn’t get locked up outside it live in my house or in my office.

seypat

Maybe something like this with chainrings to match the number of speeds of the shifters/cassette/RD. It is a Centaur, after all.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/38529625012...Bk9SR_aT-v-lYQ

seypat

Are those different bikes? If so, it's not really going to matter much what you put on the one you're working on now. You probably need more differentation for the casual observer to see the differences. Something like the bike I posted above and this one.

Germany_chris

They're different bikes..

One has silver stuff the other black



They look fairly different side by side

Trakhak

I've been here since 2005 and I don't remember ever seeing DD before (except to refer to Drillium Dude), but maybe i missed an instance or two.

BFisher 

Ha!
When I first saw the title I thought I was about to see a complete groupset custom drilled by The Dude himself.


No opinion on crank choice to add. Best of luck either way.

The Golden Boy 

Without trying to be insulting- Because my aesthetic taste runs towards C&V- Neither of those cranks look particularly graceful or elegant.

People go all nutty over WI and Paul stuff... that CNC look is "nifty," but not what I want on a classy old or retro-styled bike. And I'm not a fan of the blorby components.

The WI doesn't look too bad in context, but I'm like seypat and go for that Sugino AT look.

I ran into this when re-doing my Trek 620- I wanted to have something like a "modern" crank, built with graceful style- but not like a retro copy of something that came before. I ended up with the SunXCD crank- which is pretty much exactly a modern TA copy.

SJX426 

I like the looks of the Record crankset with the 4 spiders exposed
P1040770 on Flickr

It appeals to my pragmatic engineering side of efficient design.

I don't care for the Shimano 7400 crankset. Too blocky, but the transition to the rings is good.
P1020170 on Flickr

The best-looking Shimano crankset is the FC-6500, which I don't have because I don't run Shimano on my road bikes.


"DD" is common on the Jeep forums. We differentiate between off-road specific and daily drivers. Some off-roads rigs are not legal on the road because of modifications.

theblackbullet

Just looking at the cost of replacement chainrings for either the WI or Campy crankset, I would choose neither for a DD. (Unless cost is of no concern). I'd personally track down a square taper 5x110bcd crankset. Any flavor.

seypat

Exactly. Or get a 110/74. The crank on the black Turbo I posted above cost me $20 plus some more for shipping. I blacked out the markings on it with a Sharpie as well as the rest of the components. That's the look I was going for. It's like the Interceptor in Mad Max/The Road Warrior. A crusty survivor that can still do the job.

smd4

I think all the cranks you posted are far superior than the two the OP is looking at. The 7400 was a masterpiece in its time. Both the Campy and 6500 are beautiful.

Germany_chris

OK I don’t love the crankset, it’s pretty fugly. I’m going to spend Christmas and new year’s riding it then I’ll make the call on whether I keep it or not.

I’m going to rebuild the Bruce Gordon with these wheels so I may just keep the WI w/Ti BB fit that build. The wheels for this bike will be crabon and I have a set of crabon one piece bar and stem coming.

With all the modern chit going on the bike maybe I’ll begin to like these or maybe I’ll buy something else or use one of my Carmina’s

AdventureManCO 

Thanks for coming over to the C&V side of things. I think I'm in agreement with you on your overall opinion on these two cranks. Also, some good suggestions from the crew.

Here are two of my own...

For a more 'classic' type of crank, with graceful lines, IMO nothing beats the DA 7410. Absolutely lovely crankset. Having one in hand, it looks even better in person. Has nothing where it isn't needed, and has a svelte, understated beauty.



My other favorite crank is a Deore FC-M510. It comes in black or silver, can the design can be found in both square taper or octalink. It is a bit more of a 'generic' looking crankset, but could look good on something like a Surly. I like it because it is relatively stiff and the actually crankarms are some of the lighter Shimano arms out there.

Schlafen

For a DD you probably want DD gearing as well and while older Campagnolo square taper cranks look nice, you'll be stuck with the standard race ratios for chainrings, unless that's not a problem for you.

Also, ALL Campagnolo components after they switched to carbon fibre and 4 arm cranks are absolutely ugly, Tulio himself would have probably ordered a public flogging for whoever came up with the idea.

As a modern option with outboard Shimano BB, I would go for a Sugino OX.

If opting for the cyclo type cranks, Sun XCD, TA or Stronglight 49D, the overall form factor is similar to the WI VBC cranks above, in which case you might as well use what you have and paid for already, when you wear out the chainrings you can get silver ones.

The WI cranks look a bit more modern than the cyclo type.