Won a Set of TA Cranks!!!
 

Woot Yeah :D

I've been pining for some TA cranks for a long time now and I finally got my hands on a set at a reasonable price last night on ebay :D

I understand they are good for 1,2,3 and even 4 chainrings :eek: I'm considering setting mine up as a wide double...something like 50-28 perhaps. I'd love to see some different setups that you folks use with your TA/Stronglight 49D cranks...

Congrats! I feel they're about the most attractive crank for the types of bicycles I'm drawn towards. I'm going to purchase a single Pro Vis 5 with TA chainguards for my wife's Peugeot mixte project. When VO's Grand Cru are available I'm going to put them on my faux constructeur.

Which bike are you going to put them on?

They'll probably go on my Super Course. JunkYardBike sold me a nice Sugino Triple for it that works well and looks decent, but I've found from using it that I don't really need a triple on that bike and I feel like I'd be happier and get a nicer overall chainline out of a wide double. The VO rack I got from you is also on that bike now so it seems like the Brit is taking a bit of a holiday in France....maybe I should just go the whole hog and get a TA/Mafac front rack and put on a set of Mafac Racer brakes.


If you're referring to the set thats on ebay right now ending in a couple of days let me know so I don't bid you up. I was gonna take a stab at those too in case they went cheap. :lol:

After getting my 23mm crank extractor I've been able to enjoy my TA cranks.

I had to put a set (38/52 maybe) on this bike to ride up le mont d'or

http://prettyshady.com/veloup/june/t...b/DSC_0018.JPG

Ha! I am indeed. :o They're nice. I'm going to bid on them, but I wouldn't ask you not to.

As for Frenchifying the Raleigh, just do it. If one day you find a Pegueot or Motebecane move all the parts over if it makes you feel better. I see that VO will be importing the new Dia Compe rack for 610/750 brakes of which I'll bet you already have a set.

Those are in great shape man, I've gotta spend my money on chainrings now anyhow ;) you go ahead and have at those...I'll leave em alone :thumb:

prettyshady, Nice setup and thanks for the reminder...I'm gonna need a new crank extractor.

Damn your Super Course! Its outstanding beauty is a constant reminder of the work I need to get done on mine! and now it's getting an upgrade...

...yeah if that bike had its own thoughts it would be thinking "Hot Damn, I hit the Lottery!" :lol:


I also just realized that I may have to get the pedal threads tapped to english. Is that something a LBS can typically take care of?

A shop that's competent at wrenching would be able to.

I've been collecting TA cranks and pieces for awhile now, haven't used any yet though... I like the triples.

What the devil, what is that language? C'mon now.

I'm a big fan of the low Q and overall looks of TA pro vis 5 and Stronglight 49D cranks (and the Nervar variant, too). I have them set up in a variety of ways, but my two favorites are the 46/42/28 TA triple on my Ebisu and the 44/30 Stronglight 49D on my '71 Raleigh International. I find that a primary chain ring in the neighborhood of 44-48t and a rear 5 or 6 speed block with a wide range of cogs give me just about all of the gearing I need.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_GmYBBzTzcVQ/Sv...0/Ebisu_12.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/nlerner/Public/Bi...ryFrench15.jpg

Neal

Can your FD handle that big of a drop?

I'm running a 42/28 on my Schwinn Sports Tourer. It is a Nervar crank with TA rings.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...6/IMG_2785.jpg

Also joined the TA club about 6 months ago. Put a triple (52-44-34 or in that neighborhood) on my 65cm Gazelle CM rando ride. It's a big heavy bike and I'm pretty tall too. Some folks warned me that the flex and FD rubbing would not suit my riding style, which mostly consists of going full bore until I collapse road side. But, so far, I'm very pleased. It doesn't seem to give more than other cranks, and shifts are pretty smooth with a Campy NR FD and friction bar-cons. I have used it for maybe 600 miles, including the notorious Chilly Hilly ride on Bainbridge Island.

prettyshady: that looks like a wicked steep finale on Le Mont d'Or. Is that the one in Jura?

I picked up this 43/30 set at a swap a couple years ago for $10 and put them on one of my wife's bikes:
http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/bumby/build6.jpg

Her other bike has a 48/44/27 triple:
http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/tsisaac/Stratus5.jpg
Then I picked a a couple TA track rings at a swap for $10/ea:
http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/ta-track-rings.jpg

I have always liked the look of a TA ringset, either as a wide double or as a half step plus small granny.

I got a nice triple TA on my Dawes Super Galaxy that I really like the looks of and it is cleaning up nicely, except the damn chainring bolts and crank to chainring mounting bolts. I can't afford what they are getting for NOS bolts ( over $60 a set) even when you can find them,what have you guys done when your bolts are in poor shape. I was going to clean,polish then paint but that never works out on bolts as the paint just chips off as soon as you put a wrench on them. This bike is getting a total restore as soon as I can find a powder coater for the paint or even someone that wants less then $200 to paint it black at an autobody shop which is what the shop that painted my bronco wants and it took them 4 tries before I found it acceptable and even now is going back for warranty work because of seam sealer that they installed popped and is now rusting on what was a rust free truck:mad:.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...epics184-1.jpg
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...ikepics176.jpg

I've been a fan of the looks and versatility of the TA crank ever since I was a teenager. I know that since I'm among bike freak guys, you won't think it too strange that at age 15, I actually had near sexual fantasies of the TA crank.

Back then, it was considered a "whippy" crank, i.e. it would flex under pedaling, compared with others with thick spiders. The TA has no spider connected to the right arm. Was that criticism apt? Or did it perhaps apply only to very strong riders?

Somebody posted here a while ago that he had one fail at the center bolts.

Take the arms off the bike, disassemble all the bolts, brush off the loose rust with a wire brush and then drop them in a bowl of dilute oxalic acid to get rid of the rest of the rust. While they're soaking, use some Simichrome and a buffing wheel (or a soft cloth and elbow grease) on the arms and chainrings. They'll polish up to a lovely mirror finish. When the bolts are done soaking, coat them with boiled linseed oil before reassembling. The oil will provide lubrication while you're tightening things up, and then over the course of a few days will harden into a protective varnish to help prevent further rusting.

Don't try to boil your own linseed oil, by the way. Buy the pre boiled kind.

Boo! Aerodynamic twisted spider look not suitable for your snobby build? ;)

Alternative (and I do it all the time with rusty parts; and you don't have to deal with harsh chemicals that might be hard to find) : Take them off, pop them in a clean glass pasta sauce jar (or whatever glass container), add el cheapo white vinegar (available at most grocery stores) to cover the parts (at least). Let it sit for a week. Take them out, scrub, dry very well. All done... Note: Do not cap the jar.

Boiled linseed oil is not boiled.

Heh. What is it? Is it not boiled the same way a 2x4 isn't 2"x4"?