Ritchey Compact Crankset

If you don't need a new crank then there are lots of old
ones with 110 bolt diameter. That used to be standard for
touring and mid-range sport bikes. I even have one in my
parts box.

Bruce

"bigsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:N4-
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am interested in getting a compact crankset for my bike
upgrade project. I have seen the FSA versions and know
that Campagnolo will be relasing a version in September.
However, I was not as impressed with the FSA version and I
do not want to wait til September for the Campy release. I
know Ritchey is to release theirs this year, but does
anyone know when? If Ritcheys is September or later, I may
just go with a Centaur double until Campy releases theirs.

Thanks bigsky

bigsky <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I am interested in getting a compact crankset for my bike
: upgrade project. I have seen the FSA versions and know
: that Campagnolo will be relasing a version in September.
: However, I was not as impressed with the FSA version and I
: do not want to wait til September for the Campy release. I
: know Ritchey is to release theirs this year, but does
: anyone know when? If Ritcheys is September or later, I may
: just go with a Centaur double until Campy releases theirs.

TA do a very nice one called the Zepher Light. 34/48,
34/50 or 36/50 in compact 110 PCD. Also available in
130PCD or 135PCD.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a
philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

bigsky <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am interested in getting a compact crankset for my bike
upgrade project. I have seen the FSA versions and know
that Campagnolo will be relasing a version in September.
However, I was not as impressed with the FSA version and I
do not want to wait til September for the Campy release. I
know Ritchey is to release theirs this year, but does
anyone know when? If Ritcheys is September or later, I may
just go with a Centaur double until Campy releases theirs.

Thanks bigsky

Another one to consider is the Sugino compact...various
models, but they're pretty much all the same with
variations in the rings. Lickton's has them in 46/36/26 all
alloy...I found one in 48/36/26 with only the outer ring
alloy, the others steel. Price is also all over the map--
anywhere from $60 to $120. Yellow Jersey even sells a
double version of this one.

bigsky <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am interested in getting a compact crankset for my bike
upgrade project.

Exactly what are you upgrading? It seems your intent is to
change the gearing on your bike. Does a double 110mm bcd
crank give you a different gear range? It will most likely
give you a different shift pattern. Maybe, most likely, for
the worse. My preferred gears, 42x15 to 42x19, do not work
well with a double 110mm bcd crank. The low end of this
range falls at the upper end of the small chainring/small
cogs and the lower end of the big chainring/big cogs. Or all
on the very low end of the big chainring.

Maybe a 110mm bcd double crank works for special event once
a year rides, but its shift pattern would not be acceptable
for me on 99.9% of my miles.

Seems to me lots of people are taken in by the newest fads.
Whether they be in bicycles, vehicles, clothes, music,
diets, etc. Advertise it and they will buy it.

Arthur Clune said:

TA do a very nice one called the Zepher Light. 34/48,
34/50 or
36/50 in compact 110 PCD. Also available in 130PCD or
135PCD.

TA did, unfortunately. They do another now, see Peter
White's excellent
<http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/zephyr.asp>

--
MfG/Best regards helmut springer

Russell Seaton said:

Exactly what are you upgrading? It seems your intent is to
change the gearing on your bike. Does a double 110mm bcd
crank give you a different gear range?

Obviously, as it goes down to a 34t.

Quoted message said:

Maybe a 110mm bcd double crank works for special event
once a year rides, but its shift pattern would not be
acceptable for me on
99.9% of my miles.

Very much depends on where and who you are 8)

Quoted message said:

Seems to me lots of people are taken in by the
newest fads.

Actually 110BCD is a pretty old size and IMHO more suitable
for many riders than 130BCD with a 39t. YMMV, of course.

53/36,

--
MfG/Best regards helmut springer

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article
<[email hidden]>, Russell

Seaton said:

bigsky <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<N4-
[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am interested in getting a compact crankset for my bike
upgrade project.

Exactly what are you upgrading? It seems your intent is to
change the gearing on your bike. Does a double 110mm bcd
crank give you a different gear range? It will most likely
give you a different shift pattern. Maybe, most likely, for
the worse. My preferred gears, 42x15 to 42x19, do not work
well with a double 110mm bcd crank. The low end of this
range falls at the upper end of the small chainring/small
cogs and the lower end of the big chainring/big cogs. Or
all on the very low end of the big chainring.

_ You could get those gears with a 36 small ring.

36x13 - 36x16.

You wouldn't get as fine steps though if you have a 15-16-17-18-
19 somewhere in your cluster. Getting a compact crank does
not mean getting a 50/34.

Quoted message said:

Maybe a 110mm bcd double crank works for special event once
a year rides, but its shift pattern would not be acceptable
for me on 99.9% of my miles.

_ It works really well for me on 99.9% of my miles. There
is a gap, but with careful choice of cluster you can put
the gap at speed you don't use. If you live somewhere with
long hills, it allows a very rational set of gears. I think
if you're happy with a regular double it doesn't make much
sense. It's really an alternative to a road triple. It
works best with at least 9 gears in the back, but a 110mm
double with 9 or 10 speed clusters can easily cover the
same range as many triple ring setups with a lot less
hassle and expense.

Quoted message said:

Seems to me lots of people are taken in by the newest fads.
Whether they be in bicycles, vehicles, clothes, music,
diets, etc. Advertise it and they will buy it.

_ It's not a new fad, in many ways it duplicates the setup
that you'd get with a Cyclotourist half-step triple and a 5
speed freewheel. IMHO it's a return to rationality. The fad
IMHO is a 53x12. Besides, you can always return to a 42/53
if you want. Having a compact double allows you to easily
and relatively cheaply vary your gearing in a way that's
just not possible with standard road doubles. You can get
any even size you want from 34 to 56 in 110 bcd very easily
and cheaply. Odd sizes are available, but tend to cost more.

_ Booker C. Bense

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Helmut Springer said:

Russell Seaton said:

Exactly what are you upgrading? It seems your intent is to
change the gearing on your bike. Does a double 110mm bcd
crank give you a different gear range?

Obviously, as it goes down to a 34t.

Actually a 33t if you get the TA ring. It is about 1.5 to 2
gears lower, depending upon how one wishes to count gears.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Maybe a 110mm bcd double crank works for special event
once a year rides, but its shift pattern would not be
acceptable for me on
99.9% of my miles.

Very much depends on where and who you are 8)

No, Seaton's statement is false no matter what: the 110
*always* "works." I have a 53t big ring on my 110 double. I
vary the inner ring from 33t up to 46t depending upon course
need. A 130, for comparison, dies at a 38t. I don't know why
the 130 and 135 even exist other than the market power of
Shimano and Campy. There might be another reason; I am
unaware of it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Seems to me lots of people are taken in by the
newest fads.

LOL.

Quoted message said:

Actually 110BCD is a pretty old size and IMHO more
suitable for many riders than 130BCD with a 39t. YMMV,
of course.

Yes, I think it was the Sugino AT that introduced this bolt
circle over 20 years ago.

"Helmut Springer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Russell Seaton said:

Exactly what are you upgrading? It seems your intent is
to change the gearing on your bike. Does a double 110mm
bcd crank give you a different gear range?

Obviously, as it goes down to a 34t.

Quoted message said:

Maybe a 110mm bcd double crank works for special event
once a year rides, but its shift pattern would not be
acceptable for me on
99.9% of my miles.

Very much depends on where and who you are 8)

Quoted message said:

Seems to me lots of people are taken in by the
newest fads.

Actually 110BCD is a pretty old size and IMHO more
suitable for many riders than 130BCD with a 39t. YMMV,
of course.

53/36,

--
MfG/Best regards helmut springer

With an offering like a TA 110BCD Zeypher or Carmina you can
do pretty much anything a 130 or 135BCD can do. Of course,
the converse isn't true. If anything, 110BCD gives you a lot
of flexibility to configure to your preference.

The bike I'm uprading has a double 53/40. The main reason
for the upgrade is to replace a bad bottom bracket, upgrade
from Ultegra 7spd to Campy 10 spd, and to have fun working
on my bike. I'm in Florida so hills are not an immediate
concern but I may be going on trips where a triple would be
helpful. The main reason I was intrigued with the compact
double is I wanted to get away from the inefficiencies with
the normal double. Between the multiple cog/chainring
crossovers and the gear inch differences that are difficult
to even sense(conder tehm redundant), it seemed that a wider
spread between chainrings with smaller changes between cogs
would work better. In fact, as I started getting back into
cycling I considered converting a triple crank to a wider
double. Then I found out that others had the same idea (FSA,
Ritchey). Funny thing is, I had never even heard any of the
"fad", just considered it a "common sense" idea for my
application/situation. One question remains: Can you replace
the 50 with a 52 or 53 without shifting problems? Just
curious. Thanks for the feedback.

bigsky

gwhite said:

Helmut Springer said:

Russell Seaton said:

Exactly what are you upgrading? It seems your intent is
to change the gearing on your bike. Does a double 110mm
bcd crank give you a different gear range?

Obviously, as it goes down to a 34t.

Actually a 33t if you get the TA ring. It is about 1.5
to 2 gears lower, depending upon how one wishes to
count gears.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Maybe a 110mm bcd double crank works for special event
once a year rides, but its shift pattern would not be
acceptable for me on
99.9% of my miles.

Very much depends on where and who you are 8)

No, Seaton's statement is false no matter what: the 110
*always* "works." I have a 53t big ring on my 110 double.
I vary the inner ring from 33t up to 46t depending upon
course need. A 130, for comparison, dies at a 38t. I don't
know why the 130 and 135 even exist other than the market
power of Shimano and Campy. There might be another reason;
I am unaware of it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Seems to me lots of people are taken in by the
newest fads.

LOL.

Quoted message said:

Actually 110BCD is a pretty old size and IMHO more
suitable for many riders than 130BCD with a 39t. YMMV, of
course.

Yes, I think it was the Sugino AT that introduced this
bolt circle over 20 years ago.

Booker C. Bense <[email hidden]> wrote:

: _ You could get those gears with a 36 small ring.

: 36x13 - 36x16.

: You wouldn't get as fine steps though if you have a 15-16-17-18-
: 19 somewhere in your cluster. Getting a compact crank does
: not mean getting a 50/34.

No one gearing works for everyone. For me, one of the main
benifts of my 34/48 double is that I can stay in the big
ring most of the day.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a
philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

Helmut Springer <[email hidden]> wrote:
: Arthur Clune <[email hidden]> wrote:
:> TA do a very nice one called the Zepher Light. 34/48,
:> 34/50 or
:> 36/50 in compact 110 PCD. Also available in 130PCD or
:> 135PCD.

: TA did, unfortunately. They do another now, see Peter
: White's excellent
: <http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/zephyr.asp>

Nah, they do. I bought one new two weeks
ago......erm....though on looking at my crankset I see it's
actually called a Vega Light

wiggle.co.ukwiggle.co.ukOpen ↗

It's a very nice crankset though. Very light, very stiff. I
guess this is the replacement for the Zepher.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a
philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

I am interested in the very same crank for the very same reasons. My frame is
a Ritchey Road Logic with lots of Ritchey parts (stem, bars, post, wheels,
etc.) so it was a natural to look at the new Ritchey WCS 110 V cranks. I'm
having a hard time deciding between it and the upcoming Campy Record compact
crankset. I've had much corespondance with the Ritchey tech staff as of late.
The last word on the cranks from them was:

Cranks should be her by the end of May and pedals will be
close behind!!!! Johannes Schmidt Ritchey Design Inc. 860
Hurlingame Ave. Redwood City, CA 94063
p. (650) 587-6705
p. (651) 261-1317 www.ritcheylogic.com

Well...it's now the end of May...I wonder where they are...

bigsky said:

I am interested in getting a compact crankset for my bike
upgrade project. I have seen the FSA versions and know that
Campagnolo will be relasing a version in September.
However, I was not as impressed with the FSA version and I
do not want to wait til September for the Campy release. I
know Ritchey is to release theirs this year, but does
anyone know when? If Ritcheys is September or later, I may
just go with a Centaur double until Campy releases theirs.

Thanks bigsky

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article
<[email hidden]>,

bigsky said:

One question remains: Can you replace the 50 with a 52 or
53 without shifting problems? Just curious. Thanks for the
feedback.

_ Depends on your derailleur and shifters, if it works
well with a 50/34, it should be okay with a slightly
bigger gap. I ran a
53/36 for a while and it worked fine. You need to be a bit
cautious going from big to little as it's a long way
down. Some people recommend installing a chain watcher,
but I haven't found it neccessary.

_ Booker C. Bense

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In article <[email hidden]>, Eurastus

Quoted message said:

I am interested in the very same crank for the very same
reasons. My frame is a Ritchey Road Logic with lots of
Ritchey parts (stem, bars, post, wheels, etc.) so it was a
natural to look at the new Ritchey WCS 110 V cranks. I'm
having a hard time deciding between it and the upcoming
Campy Record compact crankset.

_ Doesn't the Campy one use some wierd chainring size? The
wide range and common availablity of 110 rings is seems to
me to be a big advantage. Of course if you have to have
Campy, then well you just have to have Campy....

_ Booker C. Bense

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Quoted message said:

I know Ritchey is to release theirs this year, but does
anyone know when?

If Ritcheys is September or later, I may just go with a
Centaur double until Campy releases theirs.

Quoted message said:

Thanks bigsky

I'm getting Deja Vu here. I have a Ritchey 110 bolt circle
crankset sitting new in a box from about 12 years ago. I
bought it as a spare to the Sugino I was riding at the time.
I also wanted it because it had a hidden 5th arm like the
Campagnolo Record crankset. I'm still riding the 110 Sugino.
110 cranksets make total sense.

[email hidden] (Qui si parla Campagnolo ) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

bbense-<< Doesn't the Campy one use some wierd chainring
size? >><BR><BR>

The article said it wasn't 110mm, but they have a 34t
small ring so it is smaller than 110...or maybe
110..we'll see.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali
costruite eccezionalmente bene"

I read (somewhere--cyclingnews?) recently that the trick has
to do with the position of the hidden 5th bolt on the back
of the arm not being in the same circle as that which would
be drawn by going through the other bolts. Sounds very weird
to me, but it would certainly guarantee that you always got
the pins and ramps set up correctly!

Russell Seaton said:

gearing on your bike. Does a double 110mm bcd crank
give you a different gear range? It will most likely
give you a different shift pattern. Maybe, most likely,
for the worse.

Not at all. It is easily a large improvement.

Quoted message said:

My preferred gears, 42x15 to 42x19, do not work well with
a double 110mm bcd crank.

Try a 52x18 instead of the 42x15, and a 34x15 instead of the
42x19. You are going from a 70" gear (good for flats) to a
58" gear, which is definitely a climbing gear. What is the
problem with switching chainrings for that?

Quoted message said:

Seems to me lots of people are taken in by the newest
fads. Whether they be in bicycles, vehicles, clothes,
music, diets, etc. Advertise it and they will buy it.

Well, the traditional 53/39 (or perhaps your preference is
the older tradition of 52/42) worked well with 6 (resp., 5)
speed freewheels, but with 8-10-speed cassettes, those
chainring sizes are limited. It is about time for a wider
range to work better with a 10-speed cassette.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with
a pig... You _`\(,_ | soon find out the pig likes it!
(_)/ (_) |

David L. Johnson said:

Russell Seaton said:

gearing on your bike. Does a double 110mm bcd crank
give you a different gear range? It will most likely
give you a different shift pattern. Maybe, most likely,
for the worse.

Not at all. It is easily a large improvement.

Quoted message said:

My preferred gears, 42x15 to 42x19, do not work well with
a double 110mm bcd crank.

Try a 52x18 instead of the 42x15, and a 34x15 instead of
the 42x19. You are going from a 70" gear (good for flats)
to a 58" gear, which is definitely a climbing gear. What
is the problem with switching chainrings for that?

Quoted message said:

Seems to me lots of people are taken in by the newest
fads. Whether they be in bicycles, vehicles, clothes,
music, diets, etc. Advertise it and they will buy it.

Well, the traditional 53/39 (or perhaps your preference is
the older tradition of 52/42) worked well with 6 (resp.,
5) speed freewheels, but with 8-10-speed cassettes, those
chainring sizes are limited. It is about time for a wider
range to work better with a 10-speed cassette.

One could argue that with 10 speeds in the rear, why even
have more than *one* chainring?

34-48 cranks are great for getting a wider range with a
double crank. But I'd still rather have a triple.

One thing that occurred to me lately is that the stock
Shimano triple w/ 30-42-52 gives practically a straight
chainline w/ the 42 for flatland riding. Equivalent gearing
with either ring on a 39-53 double would be more cross-
chained, w/ more friction.

Matt O.