In process of a commuter build and while it is nowhere near original a modern compact crank would just look wrong. I want to take a double Shimano 600, DA 7400, or similar and put 48 / 32 or something around that. I want to stay with 80/90s cranks as 130 spaced chain rings in any number of teeth are reasonably priced.

Any advise?

The smallest 130 BCD ring possible is a 38T. I've had good results with 48/39, 48/38, and 50/38 combos on those. Vintage 110 BCD Sugino double cranks like the GT will take a 33T small ring (though 34T is much more likely to be found):

For starters, there's no such thing as a 32T 130bcd ring. Smallest is 38 I believe. Try looking for 110/74 bcd cranksets, which are also plentiful.

edit: oops, beat me to it^

I believe there were some vintage double cranks with 110 mm bolt circles which gets you down to 34 (I hear a minimum of 33, but they seem to be hard to find), since I set up a 50/34 on one of my vintage bikes. Or did I use a triple and just not put on a small ring? I'll have to go down to the basement tonight and look.

there are also lots of vintage MTB cranks in edition to the sugino GT that work great as a compact double with a shorter crank. TA is an option, there are some nice onces from velo orange and IRD and there is the elusive sugino mighty tour in 110...

You'll need a 110 crank, but the good news is there are lots of vintage options.

Sugino Maxy with 48/34. Together with a 14-28 FW it's a combination many short cage dérailleurs will be able to handle.

I'm a big fan of 86bcd cranks (such as the Stronglight 99), which go down to 28t, i believe. They often go for small money on eBay, whether arms or rings, and they're certainly C&V.

You could also convert a vintage triple to something like a 46/30 with a ta 46 center ring. Lots of vintage triples out there.

I am in complete accord with Neal on the virtues of the Model 99 and its clones. I have a couple of bikes set up as wide-range doubles that way.

It's also possible to create a compact "triplized double" by putting a 45 tooth triplizer ring (or whatever you can get for one) in the middle position of a double with an attached 74 bcd granny ring--something like a 30 or 28--serving as the lower part of a compact double. You can either leave the space for the outer ring empty, which looks like hell, or install a homemade or manufactured bash guard/pants guard. You also have to install a bottom bracket sized for a triple in order for this to work. If you're looking for a maximally complex solution, this is it.

I found an SR Apex in 86BCD a couple years ago. (The Apex came in several different BCDs.) 86BCD chainrings are plentiful, as that was (one of?) Stronglight's common diameters. I have it on my RRB, for use at Dairyland Dare and other hilly routes. It's currently outfitted with 52/30, but I have yet to really test that big jump. We shall see. I used to run it with 48/30 with no problem. It looks nicely vintage, sort of what a Campy crank would have looked like BITD if they'd ever made an 86BCD Record crank.

I don't have any pictures of it, but if you'd like some, I'm happy to oblige.

I stick with 110 BCD Suginos for this application. I typically take the two largest rings from a MTB triple and reuse them on the double. A lot of MTB cranks have a 46+/- tooth large ring, and a 34+/- middle ring. Poor man's thrifty compact crankset.

Stronglight 99 and TA Pro 5 (50.4mm BCD) are both options, but both may require proprietary pullers (N.B. Stronglight cranks after 1982 use standard 22mm pullers, and there was a Sakae Ringyo 86mm BCD crank that used a standard puller as well. And there were other cranks, like the Sugino PX that used the 50.4mm BCD and a standard puller, but these are fairly uncommon).

I third the approval of 86 BCD cranks for a double. Though the downfall seems to be finding chainrings since no one really produces them. Whatever stock still exists seems to be difficult to find within a reasonable price range.

Using vintage Sakae/Sugino/Shimano and the likes 110 bcd cranks with updated 48/34 chainrings is probably the best route I could recommend.

I'll cast a vote.

plenty of vintage triple cranks out there with 110 (for outers) / 74 (inner), right?

SR Apex 86 BCD 48/34:

a 110-74 triple , a disc chainguard instead of the Outer chainring, and a triple BB so its a 48t 1 by, with a 32t Bail out gear for the Hills .

even New Ones

A quick scan of eBay suggests the way to go about it is to find a seller in Euro-land who has several different sizes available, then buy several at once to save on unit shipping costs. Use trial-and-error to find on the best combination, then sell off those you don't need and retire to the Caribbean on the profits.

There are lots. But if you're OCD like me, those unused bosses for the granny ring might bug you. I like the clean look of two rings with slender spider arms behind them.

But on the other hand, those triples can be a great and cheap platform for wide range doubles, if you just use the middle position for your "big" ring, and the granny position for your "small" ring, down to 24T or whatever, and leave the outer ring position empty or occupied by a bashguard. That kind of setup seems to be getting more popular, and Sugino's OX601 crank is basically a formalized version of it.

I have a Sugino Mighty Tour in my pile o' parts. It looks dandy with a 34/48 chainring setup. Sorry, I already have a bike I'm going to put it on.

VeloBase.com - Component: Sugino Mighty Tour (double)

I'm placing an order and breaking out the suntan lotion now.