Stronglight Impact compact crank- all silver

[eddief]

I don't think this is available in the US and I was looking for all silver other than TA. This set is my preferred 48/34 combination. The tweaked Sugino's from yellow jersey have a funky looking 48 tooth ring. The rings on the Stronglight have a smooth finish - better than the blasted finish on the yellow jersey 48.

Imported from Withington Cycles in Great Britain.

[dbrk]

eddie,
You could use TA rings on the Sugino or the Stronglight and add elegance to this very handsome, practical solution. Personally I prefer the 46/34 because there are just so many gears for these Finger Lakes hills. So just the crankarms would be a very good thing.

dbrk

[eddief]

Douglas,

I'm guessing you are still using "normal" road stuff on the rear. I get more than enough spin gears these days with XTR rear derailleurs and 11-32 cassette. That works well for me with either 48 or 50/34 up front. Lots of climbing here in the East Bay too.

By the way all the bikes have either of those combos up front and shift great with the el cheapo 105 double front derailleur.

[bfd]

Two other silver "compact" crank that you may want to consider are the Sugino XD double crank and Sugino Cospea sold by jitensha.

Apparently, the Sugino XD double crank sold by jitensha is a *true* double crank, not a modified one like that sold at yellow jersey. Here's a link to both crank, with a small pic of the Sugino XD:

http://www.jitensha.com/eng/miscparts_e.html

Here's a big pic of the Cospea crank:
http://www.jitensha.com/eng/cospeacrnk_e.html

I haven't seen either cranks sold anywhere else. The Cospea is one fine looking crank, but at $265 ($295 if you want TA rings), its a bit more than I am willing to pay.

As for gearing, I'm currently using an older Shimano RSX double crank with 46x36 gearing. It was cheap, $30, and seems to works fine. However, the 46t big chainring is definitely not enough as I spin out on any decent size downhill. I've try a 50t, but it seems too big. I'm planning on trading the 50t for a 48t, that should do it!

[eddief]

was about $150. The perfect price point for my bikes.

[bfd]

Jitensha sells the Sugino XD double crank for *only* $115:

http://www.jitensha.com/eng/miscparts_e.html

(scroll down to XD crank)

On the other hand, I think its very similar to this all-black version that is sold on ebay as a track crank for about $70:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=56195&item=7152357561&rd=1

Note - I contacted the seller and he only has these cranks in black.

[eddief]

the Jitensha is Sugino triple without the granny, but still with the tabs. Maybe Hiroshi is filing down the tabs as does yellow jersey. By the time you tweak it to get the rings you want/I want it ends up costing about the same. Up to 46 teeth the rings are polished. The 48's I've seen/gotten are a blasted finish. The 48's I've seen are sort of crude.

The best deal for XD is at aebike.com...by a mile:
http://aebike.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=30&SKU=CR1030

The Stronglight from Withington came witht the rings I prefer both size and finish. Andrew at yellowjersey will also tweak ring combos for a reasonable slight upcharge. He provides great, great customer service.