Crankset porn: Phil Wood

[keevon]

From Eurobike:

http://velonews.competitor.com/files/2011/08/crank413.jpg

Oh my...

[bicycletricycle]

how many NR knock offs do we need in this world? Its not like there is a shortage of the originals. Could they not imagine anything more interesting?

[Louis]

how many NR knock offs do we need in this world? Its not like there is a shortage of the originals. Could they not imagine anything more interesting?

Grumpy today, aren't we? ;)

[bicycletricycle]

yes I am grumpy, my cheap c record group got hijacked and my knee hurts

[spamjoshua]

1. Those are beautiful. The execution by Phil is always appreciated.

2. They are not that interesting. I do like the ring.

[keevon]

how many NR knock offs do we need in this world? Its not like there is a shortage of the originals. Could they not imagine anything more interesting?
I don't think Phil has ever done anything "interesting".

As the saying goes, why be original when you can be good?

[Doug Fattic]

They don't make me grumpy like some many carbon cranks with big bold (and in my opinion) ugly graphics do. They are fine on racing bicycles but don't sit well on understated steel frames. I'm delighted to see a new polished well-made alternative that I don't have to hope to find unscratched on eBay.

[brockd15]

Any idea what they cost?

[Louis]

IMO 48T is in a no-man's land.

Either go up to 52 or 53 or go down to 42 or 44.

Oh, I just realized that's for a single-speed / fixed. In that case I retract my comment.

[bicycletricycle]

lots of handsome 144bcd rings in every size anyone could ever want.

NOS old campy is hard to come by for sure but then again aluminum cranks that look good and work better than old NOS campy are not.

these would look nice on a fresh fixie like the MAX argonaut.

[miguel]

i have a hunch that the phil crankset wont have the spider cracking probs the campy one has.

[bicycletricycle]

they are cnc'd and not forged and have a very similar shape so unless they just made them heavier there is no reason to think that they have solved any problems inherent in the original design

[Mudbug]

Looks like old Dura-Ace to me.

[buck-50]

Meh.

And I say this as a lover of retro-designed things.

If yer gonna remake a classic, why not pick one of the hard to use classics that are oh so pretty- like, say, the stronglight 93-remade as a 130 bcd instead of the 122bcd original- or the stronglight 107- prettier than DA 7400.

[bicycletricycle]

i agree with this statement. maybe someone could remake those cool 3 arm rene herse cranks


Meh.

And I say this as a lover of retro-designed things.

If yer gonna remake a classic, why not pick one of the hard to use classics that are oh so pretty- like, say, the stronglight 93-remade as a 130 bcd instead of the 122bcd original- or the stronglight 107- prettier than DA 7400.

[Hawker]

They sure beat the looks of the new Ultegra and DA stuff. Just my opinion.

[sg8357]

i agree with this statement. maybe someone could remake those cool 3 arm rene herse cranks


You mean these ???

[rphetteplace]

Those are uber hot!

[Frankwurst]

i agree with this statement. maybe someone could remake those cool 3 arm rene herse cranks

They're in the pipeline
http://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/rene-herse-cranks/

[oldpotatoe]

how many NR knock offs do we need in this world? Its not like there is a shortage of the originals. Could they not imagine anything more interesting?

How many 144mm track cranks can you name? Real track cranks mated to a square taper BB?...Campagnolo, Sugino, Miche..I think there is room in the world for another.

[bicycletricycle]

How many 144mm track cranks can you name? Real track cranks mated to a square taper BB?...Campagnolo, Sugino, Miche..I think there is room in the world for another.

There is always room for another

[bfd]

How many 144mm track cranks can you name? Real track cranks mated to a square taper BB?...Campagnolo, Sugino, Miche..I think there is room in the world for another.

Does a true "track" crank have to use 144mm bcd and square taper? If not, here are a few more that are supposedly designed for "track" use:

Paul crank:
http://www.paulcomp.com/rdcrank.html

IRD defiant crank (144bcd):
http://store.somafab.com/irdde144trcr.html

Pake crank (130bcd):
http://store.somafab.com/paketrackcrank.html

Soma Hellyer crank (144bcd):
http://store.somafab.com/sohetrcr.html

Soma messenger crank, in a variety of colors (130bcd):
http://store.somafab.com/sumecr.html

White Eno Crank:
http://www.whiteind.com/cranks/singlespeedcranks.html

and if you're not limiting yourself to square taper bb, there's always the Dura Ace track crank, which uses an octalink bb:

http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/road/Dura-Ace_Track/product.-code-FC-7710.-type-..html

[HankHornbuckle]

Whoa... soooooooooooooo sweet... I'm lovin' em!

The only other crankset(s) this should even be compared to would be the offerings from White Industries and/or Paul Components.

I would happily ride any of the three, but out of the playing card suits motif of the Paul's, the Orange County Choppers motif of the White's, and this one... the Phil reigns supreme.

[christian]

The only other crankset(s) this should even be compared to would be the offerings from White Industries and/or Paul Components.If they're truly CNC'ed and not cold-forged, as bicycletricycle says, then they should be compared to big steaming piles of dog poop.

[jmoore]

They don't make me grumpy like some many carbon cranks with big bold (and in my opinion) ugly graphics do. They are fine on racing bicycles but don't sit well on understated steel frames. I'm delighted to see a new polished well-made alternative that I don't have to hope to find unscratched on eBay.

agree 100%

[retrogrouchy]

i agree with this statement. maybe someone could remake those cool 3 arm rene herse cranks

They are. See Jan Heine's blog.

(They are dog-leg 'kinked' arms though, unfortunately, to bow to modern requirements)/

[retrogrouchy]

How many 144mm track cranks can you name? Real track cranks mated to a square taper BB?...Campagnolo, Sugino, Miche..I think there is room in the world for another.

IRD....

[retrogrouchy]

If they're truly CNC'ed and not cold-forged, as bicycletricycle says, then they should be compared to big steaming piles of dog poop.

Hee hee - funny, and you are prolly right. :beer:

Q: Why don't you see any of those USA-made 1980s-1990s fancy CNC'ed aluminum cranks any more?

A: 'cuz they all broke!

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

+1 on that. Dura-Ace cranks looks do zero for me. But, this is coming from someone who still runs square taper (and mostly alloy) Campy (GASP!!) on every road and CX bike in the stable.
They sure beat the looks of the new Ultegra and DA stuff. Just my opinion.

[slowpoke]

A significant part of what made the Stronglight 107 beautiful is the engraved logo itself. If you wanna go retro, give me some flutes (like the 93).

[bart998]

the drillium look of the Stronglight 105. I think I still have one in a box in my garage.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=stronglight+105&view=detail&id=65F6633EC2817A657EF297AC9C141A77DBB6013E&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR

[vjp]

they are cnc'd and not forged and have a very similar shape so unless they just made them heavier there is no reason to think that they have solved any problems inherent in the original design

The originals (Campagnolo) cracked/broke because of stress risers, the most common being the sharp edges between the arm and the first "fingers". A common fix is to round off those edges with a file. If Phil Wood & Co. have machined these to not have sharp edges then they would have "solved" the problem.

But, these (besides the 144 bcd) look WAY closer to a Dura Ace 7400 than a Campagnolo Record crank anyways.

[54ny77]

Yawn. Other equally stylish silver crank options already out there, like these:

http://store.velo-orange.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/750x750/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/v/o/vo-50_4-cu.jpg

http://store.velo-orange.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/750x750/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/g/r/grand_cru_110bcd_double-1.jpg

http://store.velo-orange.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/750x750/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/r/cr-0001_1.jpg

[flydhest]

I like a lot of Velo Orange stuff, but the Sugino is hands down much, much better looking.

[Villgaxx]

i can't believe anybody'd do a cnc fork these days.