specialites TA cranks...french thread-but they come in small crank arm sizes
 

According to the crank arm charts, I should have 160mm cranks, 165 would be the limit.
It is difficult to find anything in anything less than 165 except for the mythical specialites TA cranks. I did find some specialites TA cranks with 160 cranks online. What would the issues be if they are french threaded? I recently gave up on a french bike project for many reasons, so I dread what this might mean. If I could put them on a modern or vintage bike would there be a bottom bracket issue?
Thanks.

French size pedal threads are easily re-tapped to standard 9/16-20. Any good bike shop should be able to that for you.

You can tap 14x1.25 to 9/16" x 20 tpi easily, but the Pro 5 Vis arms were available in either threading.

And quality French-threaded pedals are still widely available for reasonable prices on eBay.

I am wondering if you are maybe a bit too concerned with what the "charts" are telling you. You should always remember that charts like that are recommendations and not set in stone. Have you tried riding 170s and found they do not work for you? The difference between the two is really quite small. I know some claim they can tell a difference, but I have one bike with 175 as opposed to all the others being 170, and I cannot say I feel a difference. If I go by the charts, I am not supposed to be riding 170 at all, but a 165mm. YMMV.

:thumb: , I dislike the tapping french cranks thing.

Also the TA cranks I have take 'standard 9/16-20' pedals.

The cranks usually require a 23mm crankpuller to remove them. Standard crankarm tools are 22mm, stronglight is 23.35.

There is another alternative. Have a set of cranks shortened.

Bikesmith Design Crank shortening service

While not all cranks can be shortened, many can. He has done work for SRAM. His custom tools work well too,

http://bikesmithdesign.com/Short_Cranks/shorten_tn.jpg

While I'm sure you can ride 170's I have no doubt you will be more comfortable (and less likely to hurt yourself) on shorter ones. I prefer shorter ones myself, and I'm 6' tall.

There are actually some pretty good options in shorter crank arms. Look on ebay, search something like "155 crank arm" Bulletproof BMX cranks, for example, come in 140, 145, 150, &c on up, and take 110 BCD chain rings (a common size). Only problem is they're quite ugly. But there are other options. Any of the "fixie" cranks, with one chain ring, can be set up with two.

That's strange, I remember you being taller, Rudi.

If anyone is looking for a 152mm double crankset, let me know - I have this Silstar. Not great, but it might work for someone:

http://www.kurtkaminer.com/silstar_crank1.jpg

-Kurt

As others have pointed out, tapping French threads to standard English sizes threads is easy to do. It's a very common modification and I'm just about to do just that with a pair of 165mm TA cranks.

You could get pedals with French threads easily enough but then you run into problems of quality, fit and aesthetics.

I've had 3 Lyotard spindles snap on me and despite loving the look of the ubiquitous 460D I can no longer trust them. A real shame as I had them on most of my bikes, now replaced on 3 of them by MKS, a Japanese copy.

You'll also find that a lot of the French pedals on eBay have short threads which are meant for steel cranks - those made for alloy cranks such as TA have longer threads, necessary as the alloy they screw into is weaker than steel and you need more of it for it to be as strong as steel.

Lastly, apart from the Lyotard 460D and the No.3690 Spécialités TA, the more modern, longer threaded French pedals are much of a muchness and pretty boring. They do suit some people, though... YMMV.

To the OP:

Wow tall are you?
What's your leg inseam?
What size shoes do you wear?

Oh, is the threading about the pedals? I have french pedals, lovely leotard ones if that is the issue. Retapping is also not a problem. I have looked at the bikesmith making new hole thing and I would really rather find something the right size first. I am just worried about bottom brackets etc..Or am I just thinking about dreaded cottered cranks? They are vintage cranks, but not overly vintage. I recently saw a vintage set on a MAP randonneur, so somehow they got put on. The new Specialites TA options are a bit ugly. I do look on ebay and this is the first time I found nice looking TA's...
I have been riding all my life, always stock cranks which may have been shorter on my bikes in the past. 170 are too big for me, that is why I am looking. I have been having problems.
Less than 5'3'', 291/2" legs, and size 4-5 feet depending on the shoes I can find. My foot size alone really cries out for shorter cranks.

My wife is very close to your size (actually is 5' 2.5" and has slightly shorter legs, but wears a 5.5 shoe) and she has ridden 170s forever. I put 167.5 cranks on one of her bikes when I set it up, but didn't tell her, and she hasn't ever noticed any difference, so far....

Edit: my wife's pbh is about 30.5" so it depends on what you mean by leg length.