Any options for these other than Da Vinci?

Any outboard BB options? I think FSA used to make 165 stoker cranks, but no more.

We went through this excercise when building up our Machiatto. Options we found were Lightning, Middleburn, and Zinn.


Good luck!

Could you buy two right cranks (square taper, octalink, ISIS, etc), then get one helicoiled?

wow, lightning cranks are $1680 for a set. Nuts! Da Vinci is a steal compared to that!

I might have to look into this. The original thought for all this was that I wanted outboard bearing cranks because they would be simpler to disassemble for our travel tandem. Helicoil is not an option there because of the spindle, obviously.

But now that I see the prices on the above options, helicoiling square taper or octalink cranks is definitely an option. Davinci still leading the field for the non-outboard bearing cranks though.

It should disassemble easily enough if you use extractor bolts.

Yup, true enough.

Ok, so who here has actually helicoiled pedal threads? Where are the supplies available?

I accidentally bought a Captains set that had been helicoiled without thinking.

I think the kits are pretty expensive, so if you're only doing one or two crank sets, talk to a couple of the better local bike shops about doing the work for you.

If making two rights into a right + left, you only need to do one side.

We used a helicoiled Ultegra 6500 crank to create a 165mm left-hand stoker crank for the Speedster.


No issues in 18 years and a bunch of miles.


My bike shop did the work - I suspect most competent shops could take this on.

FSA Gossamer 165mm stoker cranks may be available if you hunt around. We have a set that we like. I seem to recall it was about twice the cost of the matching captain crank.

With a BB30 spindle, you can have an external BB and use two right SRAM or Cannondale cranks (one helicoiled) plus a Cannondale SISL2 spindle to build a stoker crankset.

I have a spare set of 165 davinci cranks available if you want them. They are in good shape but could use some polishing.

You might want to check with Mark Johnson at Precision Tandems in Kansas (precisiontandems.com), as I seem to recall that he has a few New Old Stock (NOS) FSA Gossamer cranks, including a set of 165mm rear / stoker cranks. The front / captain cranks he has are probably 170mm.

Best to call 913.962.8866, but you can Email too: info2007@precisiontandems.com