dbrk
09-13-2004, 09:28 PM
I'm in line for a Mariposa lightweight, a road bike without fenders, racks, or lights, not unlike my 531 Cooper because the Mariposa too will be made from NOS 531 with a curvey, bendy low fork. Anyway, when Mike Barry and I discussed this bike he mentioned a solution that would allow us to use the old TA Cyclotouriste crank. The solution involves using the so-called etiolle attachment. This attachment had originally been used when the cranks were mounted to bikes with chain guards, allowing the rings to come out some from the crank arms and now, rather by coincidence and certainly without intention, creating the clearance necessary nowadays for modern front derailleurs. The principal reason that the Cyclotouriste's wonderful design has been abandoned on modern bikes is that it is too efficient, too correct (imo). It does not allow modern front derailleurs to work and doesn't usually clear the chainstays unless you use its own bb...two reasons, actually. You can get around the chainstay clearance issue by using the appropriate bb but what about the front derailluer? Well, that's where this etoille attachment comes in. It moves the rings out a bit and voila! The modern fronts will work. Just as Mike figured this out TA told him that there will be no more etoilles. He bought the last few and that is apparently that.
Today I received one of these last few etoille-attachment TA Cyclotouriste cranks (with my favorite 46/36). The five-bolt pattern of the old crank design would let you use any number of teeth in your chainrings and the etoille will accommodate a modern front derailleur. The intended victim of this brilliant and quite beautiful solution will be the incoming Luigino Pegoretti. Photos to follow.
All this talk of compact cranks and new solutions and there is an old design that not only increases these so-called compact options a hundredfold but can be adapted simply and inexpensively to meet modern requirements. It is a handsome and elegant solution as well, one I hope to use at least one more time (after the new Mariposa) on the Nagasawa road bike. It's a shame that something this good will soon be gone.
dbrk
Today I received one of these last few etoille-attachment TA Cyclotouriste cranks (with my favorite 46/36). The five-bolt pattern of the old crank design would let you use any number of teeth in your chainrings and the etoille will accommodate a modern front derailleur. The intended victim of this brilliant and quite beautiful solution will be the incoming Luigino Pegoretti. Photos to follow.
All this talk of compact cranks and new solutions and there is an old design that not only increases these so-called compact options a hundredfold but can be adapted simply and inexpensively to meet modern requirements. It is a handsome and elegant solution as well, one I hope to use at least one more time (after the new Mariposa) on the Nagasawa road bike. It's a shame that something this good will soon be gone.
dbrk