Comments on: Compact cranks

By: Rob in Seattle

Rob in Seattle — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:06:29 +0000

A few years have passed and there are definitely more options. I”ve been looking at the Middleburn cranks for my rSogn. You can do a 27-40, 29-42 or 32-44 compact double, with the inner ring acting as a spider. With a 12-36 or 11-36 cassette, it closely approximates the wide range of a mountain triple. Current price is $238 with chainrings.

http://www.middleburn.co.uk/chainrings_duo.php

Available in the US here:
http://www.mtbtandems.com/Middleburn.html

By: Eric

Eric — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:33:25 +0000

It’’s been a few years… but I”m not going through the exact same thought process and also arrived at the 94 bcd crankset with 46/30 rings as the best solution for a touring bike with Sram shifters. Check out Topline or Cook cranks – also the Suntour Microdrive. These are all 94, pretty easy to find on Ebay in 175mm or longer, a bit tougher in other lengths. The Toplines/Cooks really are beautiful.

By: SuperDave

SuperDave — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:59:58 +0000

You can use a 33T on your inner 110mm BCD compact cranks and Campy now makes a 29T largest cog, that should solve your issues for that “one day…”

Enjoy,
-SD

By: Harry Lackland

Harry Lackland — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:26:56 +0000

Having ridden a compact crankset (FSA Gossamer 50/34) for the last three years, I gnash my teeth that I didn”t have one 28 years ago, when I began cycling. It’’s well nigh perfect for me, except for one thing: once a year, I need a smaller inside chainring. It’’s for the Mt. Equinox climb, which is bloody steep: average grade 12 percent, maximum 28 percent. Using the biggest cog that Campag makes–a 28–in combination with the 34 chainring, I have a 33-inch gear. It’’s worth noting that that’’s the gear the 2006 Equinox winner, Joe Moody, used. But it’’s too much gear for me. I need something about halfway between a 33 and the 1-1 that a lot of Equinox riders use. To the best of my knowledge, there is no compact triple crankset on the market, and if there were I couldn”t bring myself to hang one on my beautiful handbuilt steel frameset. (I already feel like an aesthetic sell-out for sticking a blackTaiwanese crankset on my steed.) The day I turn to a triple crankset is the day I start wearing knee-high white tube socks. If only I could bolt a 30 or a 32 onto the inside bolts for that one day each August!

I”m technically maladroit. Ideas, anyone?

By: Geof

Geof — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:36:21 +0000

This website will sell them in the US for $135.

http://www.xxcycle.com/oxale-two,,en.php

I believe that it is a French company so I have no idea how much shipping would be.

By: AlexWetmore

AlexWetmore — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:39:38 +0000

Great find on the Stronglight Oxale Two. It looks like it is widely available in the UK for reasonable prices (around $140). Maybe someone will import it to the US as well.

By: Geof

Geof — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 19:24:44 +0000

It looks like Stronglight still makes a MTB double with 94 mm BCD. The Oxale Two model is what one should look for.

http://www.stronglight.com/stronglight/page.php?nom=produit&keyProd=oxaletwo

It comes with 44/29 chainrings. They make a 46t chainring for the outer ring as well.

By: AlexWetmore

AlexWetmore — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:48:40 +0000

Sadly it is difficult to get a 46/31 double today. You have a couple of new options:

White Industries cranks use custom outer rings and let you use any BCD inner ring.

TA Cyclotouriste cranks are still being made in very limited quantities. http://www.velo-orange.com has them. These can be setup with a small inner ring.

TA still makes a 94mm BCD double spider for their cranks. http://www.peterwhitecycles.com sells these.

You can buy used 94mm BCD mountain bike cranks such as the Ritchey Logics that I used. It can take some care to make sure that you”ll get good chainline with a double.

You can find some used 86mm BCD cranks. They were sort of common on touring and sport touring bikes in the early 80s. They often came setup with 50/45/28 rings, if you remove the 50 and change it to a double you get a nice 45/28. Spare rings are a little hard to find, if you go this route I”d stock up on rings too.

By: Nate

Nate — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:07:07 +0000

Great story Alex. How can i get a double with the 46/31 gearing? Can I buy a mountain triple and simply remove the small ring?

Thanks

By: Dave Cramer

Dave Cramer — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 21:38:58 +0000

I”d be delighted to find a nice 94bcd double, silver and low-profile.

Right now I”m running 46/33 chainrings with a 12-32 9sp cassette, which is working well for me. This is with one of the new Sugino XD2 doubles available from Yellow Jersey (they no longer have to grind off the inner chainring mounts).

Dave Cramer
Brattleboro, Vermont