jonwvara 

I need a 46 tooth outer and a 30 tooth inner chainring in 86 BCD. Stronglight apparently still makes them, because Spa Cycles in Britain sells them for a pretty reasonable price, in two different alloys. Unfortunately, they're out of stock of the rings I need.
It makes no sense to think that Stronglight manufacture these rings specifically for Spa Cycles, but I've scoured the Web and have yet to find anyone else who offers them. Ideas? Suggestions? If anyone would be willing to sell or trad me a couple of lightly-used rings in the sizes I need, that would be another option.
JV

jonwvara 

Now I'm really confused--just got an email directly from Stronglight saying that they no longer manufacture 86 BCD rings. So where has Spa cycles been getting the Stronglight rings they sell? Could they just be selling off remaining stock? If so, the fact that they're out of the ones I need isn't encouraging. I will check with them and report on the odd chance that someone here besides me might find that information useful.
JV

seypat

There are some 30T and 47T on the bay right now.

ericbaker

Spa is probably out of stock for good. I wouldnt get your hopes up on that source, just keep an eye on the bay

jonwvara 

I just heard back from the guy at Spa Cycles that Stronglight is now only making the Dural rings, not the Zicral ones. (If my information is correct, Dural is more or less the traditional alloy used for chainrings, while Zicral is somewhat more expensive but a lot more durable). He also said that the bolt holes of the Dural rings are not countersunk for the heads--a minor issue, but worth knowing about.
So I guess that makes it even more confusing--Stronglight says they don't make the rings at all anymore, and Spa says they do. Guess I'll just order the Dural rings and see what happens. Prices on ebay are generally nuts--there's the occasional $30 or $40 chainring listed, but most sellers seem to think a NOS 86 BCD chainring is worth a hundred bucks or more. I disagree.
JV

jonwvara 

Okay, heard back from John at Spa Cycles. If he's right, the 86 BCD Stronglight rings are in fact a Spa exclusive--he says that Stronglight has agreed to keep making the Dural (though not Zicral) rings for them if they agree to buy them in lots of 100 rings of a given tooth count.

And is this is an amazing thread, or what? A total of six posts, three of which are me responding to my own original post. Is there an echo in here?

ThermionicScott 

I don't have anything with 86 BCD, but I love the digging that people do on this forum for bike parts and information. I take it you're going to stock up while you can?

kc0yef 

A lot of folks are machining their own

jonwvara 

I thought about stocking up with several rings while I can, but then I thought, "hey, I'll be 58 in a few weeks. I've got half a dozen bikes. Am I going to NEED more than one set of 86 BCD chainrings?" So I'm going to buy just the one set--that should see me through this world.
If it bothers me that the bolt holes aren't countersunk, I can always take the rings to the local machine shop and have them do it.
JV

pastorbobnlnh 

Jon, you don't look a day over 49. Keep up the good living in VT!

Can you show us a picture of your 86bcd crankset? I'm certain I've seen one, but just can't picture it at the moment.

Speaking of rare chainrings; What about the ever elusive triplizer?

I've been hunting for an early '90s Shimano 105 triple crankset for months. No luck. Turns out Peter White, the bicycle curmudgeon over the mountain from me here in NH, has a TA Alize/K 130bcd triplizer for about $100 with shipping. Add the other two TA rings and a set of chainring bolts and the bill could hit $300. And think, you don't even have a crankset yet!

Well, a little bit of searching turned up XXCylces in France selling TA Alize chainrings for 1/3rd the price! I ordered the triplizer and the outer ring for less than the cost of a PW triplizer alone. Shipping was a reasonable $11.

I ordered the silver version. I hope the finish looks as nice as the 144bcd triplizer I have on my Super Sport. But as you can see, the style is different.

jonwvara 

Thanks for your encouraging comment on my age. I'm going to celebrate my 58th birthday by riding the length of Vermont Route 58, which runs from the north end of Lake Willoughby to Montgomery. I've driven over it before, but have never ridden it. There's a memorable 2-mile climb out of Irasburg, a descent to Lowell, then another climb (on dirt) through Hazen's Notch. Not a long ways, though--not much over 30 miles. That's a good thing, since I won't be in any kind of long-distance shape by then.
Good info about XX Cycles. I had a good experience with them in the past with some 122 BCD Stronglight rings. I will think about buying a 130 BCD triplizer from them to use with the NOS Shimano 600 crankset I've been hoarding for years as trade bait.
No movement on the elusive 122/74 BCD triplizer. There was a flurry of interest about it last fall when it looked as if someone here might be able to make a prototype, but that has apparently fallen by the wayside. Early last year an outfit called Warhawk Industries (they mostly make custom BMX chainrings) agreed to make me a triplizer. I'm not sure why they did, though, because they clearly have no intention of ever doing so. For my own amusement, I continue to email them once a month or so to ask them when I can expect to get the ring. Occasionally I get a response from a guy there named Colin, who tells me they're going to make it really soon. I think he means "soon" in the context of geologic time.
Earlier this year, I got in touch with Tarn Mott at Primate Cycles in Australia, who shares a workspace with a guy named John, who owns Cycle Underground, which makes custom chainrings. That's apparently the only way to reach him, since he doesn't answer emails himself (it wasn't always that way, though; a couple of years back John told me he would be happy to make a 122/74 triplizer, but I stupidly didn't follow up on it it the time). Anyway, Tarn says that he passed my message on to John, and that John is quite keen on making it, and that I would likely be hearing from him soon. That was a few months back. I love the word "soon."
Let's see--an outfit in Wales called Highpath Engineering used to make custom rings, but quit at about the time I started looking. I've been hoping that someone will pick up that part of their business again, but no one has.
The frustrating thing about this to me is that I think it would be a real niche for someone. A lot of people really seem to like their old Stronglight 93 cranks (also 49s and 63s, if I have that right) and would be happy to buy one of these things. It's not like it would be purely a one-off--I'd think one could expect to sell 50 or 100 of these things right out of the gate. I know I'd buy two
I'm not giving up, though--going to keep working on it. Success is on the horizon. The horizon is an imaginary line that recedes as you approach it.

pastorbobnlnh 

Sort of like the border between VT-NH-ME and Quebec. It's there, but it shouldn't be. It feels so arbitrary, so artificial. Your sight and hearing cross this imaginary line without a passport. Why does your body need one?

I once rode my bike into Quebec near to Derby Line, VT. It seemed so odd to have to stop and present a passport. I was just a guy on a bike enjoying a summer ride.

nickolasdemoe

I know this is an old post, but I have about 40 misc sized rings in this bcd from stronglight. All new. Any interest still?

pastorbobnlnh 

Absolutely! I just added a granny 30T 86BCD to my Nervar double. Turned out very sweet, but I'd like to source a spare if you have one.

jonwvara 

Yes, I'd probably also be interested in a couple. Since forum rules prohibit discussing sales except on the "for sale" forum and you're too new to send or receive private messages, you could email me at jonwvara[at]yahoo.com. I'd like to hear what sizes you have and how much you're asking.
JV