What is your favorite square-taper Crankset?
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What is your favorite square-taper Crankset?
Show us your favorite square-taper Crankset! Newish or vintage, single, double or triple: it just has to have a square-taper.
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#3
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I really like this modern Suntour Superbe triple. 52, 42 & 30 alloy chainrings with ramps and pins. It has an old school charm, IMO.

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When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.
When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.
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Electra Ticino. All of the TA chainring selection goodness w/ no funky extractor needed, no interference with the front derailleur, uses a standard Shimano cartridge bb, can be set up with auto extractor crank arm bolts for field service and no branding. They are often on sale for about $75.
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#6
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
Judging by the number of my bikes that have Deore cold forged cranks I'd say this one tops my list but there isn't quite anything as nice looking as a Stronglight 49D... they are the folks that invented the square taper interface.
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Modern - Sugino XD
Vintage - Sugino AT; SunTour Superbe Pro; Dura-Ace 7400; Campagnolo Record C; Nuovo-Record; Super-Record; Stronglight 49; Stronglight 93; Ritchey Logic
Vintage - Sugino AT; SunTour Superbe Pro; Dura-Ace 7400; Campagnolo Record C; Nuovo-Record; Super-Record; Stronglight 49; Stronglight 93; Ritchey Logic
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Agree with Gios - Campy C Record.
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Tagaki Tourney AD (the XT is nice too)
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#11
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Vintage Sugino cranks are also very nice... and they make some of the nicest quality chainwheels.
Competition crankset on my Moulton...

Sugino Mighty on my Ron Cooper...

Stronglight on my Garlatti...
Competition crankset on my Moulton...
Sugino Mighty on my Ron Cooper...
Stronglight on my Garlatti...
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Stronglight 106 Crankset.
Lightweight, and elegantly designed and well crafted...... I think it was the best crankset made by Stronglight. Frankly, it's even much nicer than the higher model 107.
Heck, it even has flutes at the back of its crank arms! (You can see the flute of the NDS crank arm in the pic above).
I even prefer it over Campy's SR crankset because of it's much smoother contours and shapes.
The Edco Competition crankset (in 144 BCD) is a close second to the Stronglight 106 for me....

It's one of the first crankset, if not the first, that was designed with an aero theme, and they got it correct the first time with their 144 BCD "Competition" crankset. Many, copied their basic design in the following years, but the Edco is still one of the best looking one, IMO.
The always interesting looking Ofmega Mistral is my third favorite....
Last edited by Chombi; 02-01-14 at 06:54 PM.
#14
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Styling wise, it set a trend. It could handle 39t chainrings. The problem is if you over-shifted beyond the big ring, the chain would drop all the way to the pedal, little hope of recovery. Dismount time. With the earlier design the chain would land at the spindle land and you could shift back and recover while on the bike.
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I have a 86 BCD Stronglight 100 crankset. It has a 52 & 42 Chainring combo but can fit down to a 28 on the inner chainring. I just purchased a 28t and plan to move the 42 to the outer position and use the 28 on the inner position for hilly gravel rides.

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When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.
When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.
Last edited by Barrettscv; 02-01-14 at 04:43 PM.
#16
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Zeus. Classic good looks, factory drillium, and a wide enough chainring capacity to accommodate my old legs (48-36 pictured).

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Campy C-Record for its aesthetic beauty. Even though its one-key release is a PITA.
I'm drawn to clean lines and curves. And have always prefer cranks which follow the cleaner crank arm as mounting point.
Therefore I like the Sugino offerings. Sugino is probably my favorite crank maker, great quality and design.
XD, Cannondale PX, Specialized mtb cranks that they made for them.

Trek 1000-5 by WNG555, on Flickr
I'm drawn to clean lines and curves. And have always prefer cranks which follow the cleaner crank arm as mounting point.
Therefore I like the Sugino offerings. Sugino is probably my favorite crank maker, great quality and design.
XD, Cannondale PX, Specialized mtb cranks that they made for them.

Trek 1000-5 by WNG555, on Flickr
Last edited by WNG; 02-01-14 at 05:59 PM.
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Vintage Sugino cranks are also very nice... and they make some of the nicest quality chainwheels.
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I love the look of this Stronglight 99 Triple on my 73 Schwinn Super Sport. I think it is a 52/42/30.

0430201173SS 073 by vonfilm, on Flickr
This Stronglight 104 bis on my Peugeot PFN10 is just as pretty.

Untitled by vonfilm, on Flickr

0430201173SS 073 by vonfilm, on Flickr
This Stronglight 104 bis on my Peugeot PFN10 is just as pretty.

Untitled by vonfilm, on Flickr
#23
curmudgineer
I agree, because of the unique yet attractive, daringly open spider design. The crank arms show the right thinking from a stress handling point of view, with their quasi I-beam cross section.
Someone also mentioned that Stronglight introduced the square taper design. Whichever manufacturer did deserves kudos for a significant innovation that dominated spindle to crankarm interface design for decades.
Someone also mentioned that Stronglight introduced the square taper design. Whichever manufacturer did deserves kudos for a significant innovation that dominated spindle to crankarm interface design for decades.
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I always liked the finish on the Specialized crankset that came on my brother's Trek 1500 (circa 1986). I don't have a pic, though.
#25
Banned
Schlumpf [Mountain drive, in my case] uses 2 square taper crank arms on them .
neither one have the chainring attached to them .. https://www.cyclemonkey.com/schlumpf-innovations.shtml
https://www.schlumpf.ch/hp/md/md_engl.htm
I got a 54t to go on my Brompton.. the bottom picture shows the unique one for those Bikes .
but You would probably like the looks of the Gippiemme triple I used to make
a 52 -36 double , with a <C> 222 chainguard , on instead of the outer ring being there ..
Its Boxed away somewhere the roadie uses <C> 50,40, 24 race triple instead ..
neither one have the chainring attached to them .. https://www.cyclemonkey.com/schlumpf-innovations.shtml
https://www.schlumpf.ch/hp/md/md_engl.htm
I got a 54t to go on my Brompton.. the bottom picture shows the unique one for those Bikes .
but You would probably like the looks of the Gippiemme triple I used to make
a 52 -36 double , with a <C> 222 chainguard , on instead of the outer ring being there ..
Its Boxed away somewhere the roadie uses <C> 50,40, 24 race triple instead ..
Last edited by fietsbob; 02-01-14 at 07:04 PM.