Need a new crankset-Campy alternatives

[sjbraun]

Building a Campy 10 speed drive train. Plan to use a 50x34 crankset.
Any thoughts on non-Campy cranksets, (just for a change)?
FSA? SRAM?

[bfd]

What wrong with Campy? The new UT look like excellent cranks. If too much money, how about a nice Sugino Alpina:

http://www.velo-orange.com/sualcr.html

The polish on that crank is second to none and the rings have the same "lighten" profile as TA rings. At $165, its reasonably priced too. Get yourself a nice Phil bb and you're set. You can pay alot more for less....Good Luck!

[93legendti]

Zipp 300. Easy to find on eBay and very reasonable.

[sjbraun]

Thanks for the tip. The Zipp crank seems to be availlble only with 53x39 chainrings. Do you know if they be switched to 50x34?

[Dave]

I would consider the new Campy 11 speed cranks in Chorus, Record or SR, depending on your budget. The new hard anodize finish is great. To get a decent price, though, you have to buy from the UK. I've not seen very good prices from any US seller yet.

In the very worst case, you might need the .4mm spacing washer sold by Branford, if you use the 34 with the second cog very often. There is some chance of chain rub, since the big ring was moved .6mm closer to the little ring. That change corresponds to all of the chain width reductions since the first 6.1mm chain came out in 2000. Campy made no change when they narrowed the chain to 5.9mm.

I switched to a Chorus 50/34 UT crank last year and now have two Chorus 11 speed cranks on my other bikes. All are working great.

FWIW, I still have two 50/34 Record 11 speed cranks with 172.5mm arms to sell. See my add in the classifieds.

[93legendti]

Thanks for the tip. The Zipp crank seems to be availlble only with 53x39 chainrings. Do you know if they be switched to 50x34?
I'm not sure. I think I saw the Zipp in a compact crank, but I only wanted the std. With the Token ti bb, it is a nice setup.

[Birddog]

If I were building one up today I'd give strong consideration to the FSA. I think it is the SLK model that is a compact that will also handle up to 52/38 chainrings. That model shows up frequently on Bonktown at a very good price.

Birddog

[Dave]

FSA owners generate a lot of postings complaining of left crankarm loosening. FSA resorts to the use of two types of loctite to fill the gaps between the spindle and crankarm and keep the retaining bolt tight.

[skijoring]

I have also heard of FSA pedal inserts loosening... :crap:

[Steve in SLO]

http://cgi.ebay.com/carbonLORD-Compact-Integrated-Carbon-Road-Crank-Ti-BB_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a2067Q7c66Q3a2Q 7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a0Q7c293Q3a 1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem3 34ab47304QQitemZ220296672004QQptZCyclingQ5fPartsQ5 fAccessoriesQQsalenotsupported

See thread below for more discussion of the brand.

[MilanoTom]

FSA owners generate a lot of postings complaining of left crankarm loosening. FSA resorts to the use of two types of loctite to fill the gaps between the spindle and crankarm and hold keep retaining bolt tight.

I had the left crankarm loosen a bit on an early model of the FSA Gossamer with the Mega-Exo bb. I assumed it was just a matter of (my) inept intallation and went with either square taper or ISIS models ever since.

I've had good luck with both FSA and Stronglight (both ISIS) compact cranks.

Regards,
Tom

[Kevan]

...

[thwart]

I have a pair of FSA carbon compact cranks (not the SLK model, these date from 3 or 4 yrs ago) on a campy 9 spd and 10 spd bike. One is ISIS, the other uses Shimano's Octalink. They shift very well, have been true, durable, and weigh only 550 grams. I have not experienced any of the non-driveside arm (or for that matter pedal thread) loosening.

Have a Sugino compact (it's their top end model---I'm on the road and can't quote the model right now) installed on the wife's bike. It's truly a beautiful and elegant looking piece; very light (530 grams), but not as true as the FSA's.

FWIW, I've yet to run across a Campy crank that is less than nearly perfectly true... even the Mirage level stuff.

[MilanoTom]

Sugino makes a beautiful crank, but I don't think all of them are 10-speed compatible (they may work, but are spec'ed for 9-speed).

Regards,
Tom

[bfd]

Sugino makes a beautiful crank, but I don't think all of them are 10-speed compatible (they may work, but are spec'ed for 9-speed).

Regards,
Tom

The Sugino Alpina sold by VO is spec'ed for 9 and 10 spd:

"As you may know, the Alpina is Sugino's finest crank set. But there are actually several versions of the Alpina cranks; they range from just very good to fantastic. So we asked Sugino to make the best possible model for us. Of course, we wanted cold forged polished silver arms. Sugino also makes numerous grades of chainrings and we speced the finest available, CNC cut chainrings with all the shifting aids for 9-10 speed chains (though they work perfectly with 5-8 speed as well). Then we asked them to polish the rings!"

http://www.velo-orange.com/sualcr.html

[thwart]

Aah. The Sugino on the wife's bike is indeed an Alpina.

And it shifts 10 spd Campy very nicely (although would allow for a little less FD trimming if it was perfectly true...)

[djg]

The Sugino Alpina sold by VO is spec'ed for 9 and 10 spd:

"As you may know, the Alpina is Sugino's finest crank set. But there are actually several versions of the Alpina cranks; they range from just very good to fantastic. So we asked Sugino to make the best possible model for us. Of course, we wanted cold forged polished silver arms. Sugino also makes numerous grades of chainrings and we speced the finest available, CNC cut chainrings with all the shifting aids for 9-10 speed chains (though they work perfectly with 5-8 speed as well). Then we asked them to polish the rings!"

http://www.velo-orange.com/sualcr.html

It's a nice looking crankset. OTOH, for alternatives to CURRENT campag offerings . . . I mean, have you seen some of the prices advertised on NOS record alloy 10sp cranksets? Barely over a hundred bucks for what is, IMO, probably the prettiest piece of bike kit ever.

[ronlau]

I second the NOS Record crank. Bought a set for my brother, $120, in a box, 10s rings, with a cheap BB. You can toss the bb or save it for backup.

[bfd]

It's a nice looking crankset. OTOH, for alternatives to CURRENT campag offerings . . . I mean, have you seen some of the prices advertised on NOS record alloy 10sp cranksets? Barely over a hundred bucks for what is, IMO, probably the prettiest piece of bike kit ever.

Agree, but the OP was talking about a 50/34 crankset, so I automatically presumed he wanted a "compact" crank, i.e., 110bcd. Since the Campy alloy crank has a bcd of 135mm and smallest inner ring is 39t it doesn't seem to meet his needs.

BUT, if the OP wants a nice Campy crankset and doesn't mind 50/39, I agree, get yourself a Campy alloy crankset!

[Ken Robb]

I have a Ritchey/Octalink 50-34 with otherwise all Campy group on my Hampsten and it's fine.

[Bob Ross]

Fairwheel Bikes did a comprehensive review of many different cranksets here: http://fairwheelbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=5991

An entertaining read.

Oh, and fwiw, my Cannondale-branded, made-by-FSA cranks had that left arm failure problem...three times in 2.5 years!

[fiamme red]

Fairwheel Bikes did a comprehensive review of many different cranksets here: http://fairwheelbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=5991

An entertaining read.

Oh, and fwiw, my Cannondale-branded, made-by-FSA cranks had that left arm failure problem...three times in 2.5 years!Good review!

The Stronglight X-Wing is terribly ugly. How did this company go so wrong? :crap:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2253/2265872631_91fd125181_o.jpg