stronglight 49D chainring...star pattern
 

Did they make a star pattern 46T outer ring?

According to this old Wheel Goods catalog scan, outer rings were available in 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, and 53 teeth:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/49d-rings.jpg

Yea....but did they make the smaller outer rings in the star pattern?

The catalog scan suggests that the smallest outer ring was 48T. Since the other outer rings were 'star pattern,' presumably the 48T ring was as well.

OK.....just saw the link. So smallest star pattern made was a 48.

Now.....how to get one!!!

Search Stronglight 48 on Ebay and hope finding nicer vintage chainrings like these is pretty hard. I have owned one and only one and sold it for $50.

An entry on the 49 and 49d cranksets on the Classic Lightweights site says this:

"Model 49D (...later simply 49 by the mid 1960's) - 50.4 mm BCD (outer) / 122 mm BCD (inner on a double or middle on a late model 49 Tn triple) / 86 mm BCD (inner on a late model 49 Tn triple) - the first Stronglight crankset to incorporate the distinctive "star" shaped profile, albeit based upon on the drive side outer chain ring itself, which continued to be attached to the drive side arm using a series of five hex bolts with any inner chain ring attaching to the outer using a total of five chain ring bolts in conjunction with spacers. The natural aluminium finish, non-anodized crank arms themselves have slightly rounded edges with an interrupted center channel having an oval Stronglight logo at the center point of those arms (...available in 165, 170, and 175 mm lengths). Intended primarily for touring use with an effective chain ring capacity of 46 to 53 teeth at the outer position, 38 to 48 teeth at the inner (49 double) or middle (49 Tn triple) position, and 28 to 48 teeth at the innermost (only 49 Tn triple) position."

In other words, the crankset reportedly has a capacity of as low as 46 teeth in the outer position, but it's not clear whether the company actually made one in that size. Who knows? Look around and maybe you'll find one.
It's pretty easy to find a 46 for a Model 93, because there was no specific inner or outer, and apparently a 52-46 combo was common. And a 93 looks pretty similar to a 49d, although it's a somewhat later model. If you already have a 49d you'll probably want to keep it.
TA evidently did make a 46-tooth outer in the same size (according to my 1970 Cyclo-Pedia catalog), but that's a six-arm ring, not the nifty star pattern you're looking for.

Yes, the BCD for the inner ring is the same as the mod. 93, but the outer ring uses the same 50.4mm 5-pin mount that TA uses, so you can't use a mod. 93 ring as an outer ring on the mod. 49d crank.

N.B. I suppose you could fabricate a star-pattern adapteur ring to do this, but I'm not aware of any off-the-shelf product that would allow it.

You're right, John--I see that I didn't explain myself clearly. My suggestion to the OP wasn't to use a model 93 ring on a 49d crankset, but to abandon the idea of a 49d altogether and change over to a 93 with a 46-tooth outer. Again, not something that will work if one is already committed to the 49d.

I have a strong suspicion single 46t rings have been made for that crank at some point. Note the use of the word "single" as opposed to "outer." Single rings might be 1/8" rather than 3/32".

TA rings will fit, of course, but they won't have the "star" pattern.

Committed to the 49D because I want to run 46/36 rings upfront.

From the catalog picture and footnotes it appears that the #12 ring (catalog) was made in 48; I'd compromise if I could find one!!

https://secure.flickr.com/photos/str...57604050476598

:innocent:Well, you could run a 46-37 with a model 93. :innocent: [He adds as a guy who sells 37-tooth Stronglight rings.]

Inner and outer 93 rings are different in that only the outers have the pin. The smallest outer I've seen is the 48 on my Peugeot.

I have a 46t 93 ring, but it's 1/8".

I'm a big fan of the 49d, but the arms are why I like them. I'm currently running 48/33 TA rings on one bike and a 48t on a single speed.

Yes....I like the 49D for 2 reasons; small inner rings possible and the star pattern.

Is the 48T a star pattern? Pic??

No, it's this.

You mean the screw-and-bushing assembly that's there to prevent the chain from getting stuck between the crankarm and the chainring if it somehow falls off to the outside? That's true enough. But I've never run anything but a pin-less 46 or 48 on the outside of my 93s, and haven't had a chain come off and get wedged yet. If one were really concerned about it, it would be easy enough to drill and tap such an inner-position chainring to accept a pin

Verot offered an adaptor outer c/w for the 49 which permitted running model 99 inners. this lends itself to tripling with the smallest inner possible being 28T.

Hilary Stone has this Williams ring:

http://www.hilarystone.com/images/sa.../ccr80_sml.jpg

and then there's this....

Just pointing out that there is a difference.

That's exactly what I did when I ran a 28-45 mod. 99 setup.

N.B. the little stand-off posts found on many computer motherboards work well for these pins...