shorthanded

anyone run into tight fits with this crank?

figured a randonneuring audience'd have more experience with this crank than other places-- so i'm asking here.

just got the gran cru rando crankset- LOVELY TA copy-- but i have a modern steel frame of not so fancy lineage-- and the stays are set for a 135mm rear hub. there's no pedal 'squashes' on the frame-- and so with the lovely 139mm Q.. sadly.. my cranks hit the stays! mmmrph.

anyhow-- reordered a 122mm bottom bracket (had a 118mm), that apparently ought to fit with a 3mm spacer.. an hoping it does! fingers crossed that 4mm does it. i suspect it'll be close, as i CAN get the cranks around the stays now.. but they do bump pretty hard when the crank bolts get tightened.

anybody else run into issues with this beautiful beast? i was SO excited to ride with a 46/30 over my previous 44/34.. but looks like i'm gonna wait another day while the bottom bracket heads out from annapolis.. and the weather's not complying anyhow..

thanks all-

shorthanded

well.. as far as an update goes-- took delivery of a 122mm bottom bracket today, and sadly, under crank pressure even while pedaling sitting-- there's just enough flex either in the crank or in the frame to land me on my stays. it'll rotate fine and clear.. but under real working pressure, no dice. it clinks, and it drives me nuts.

so-- looks like despite my wish to drop the q tighter, i'm going to lose only 8mm. BUT-- it's still 8mm narrower than my previous compact- and i have better ring selection than i would otherwise.. so i can't complain too bitterly. i gotta say- the bike feels very different with a narrower stance, and i'm looking forward to getting it on the road without shearing paint off my stays :/

by way of review, so far-- this thing shifts WAY faster than i thought it was going to with a 16 tooth jump! i have a 105 front derraileur-- and it really does shift fantastically well-- and it pretty much offers me full range on a 9 speed cassette with a pretty solid chainline and no fussing. like it.

nobody else with experience with these cranks?

LWaB

Many years ago, I chamfered the ends of a Campag SR crankset to give a hair more clearance. The cranks were fine for a decade of use without failing.

shorthanded

y'know what LWaB-- i actually tried a bit--- but realized it would've been WAY more chamfering than i would've wanted to do. there's a good millimeter and a half of clearance NOW-- but with whatever's flexing-- it's STILL making pretty good purchase on the frame under torque, and i probably chamfered a mm or so off the backside of the crankarm. i don't think i COULD'NT go further.. but if i'm still hitting pretty good.. i think i could use the extra 2.5 mm's for sure.

bobbycorno

That bike must have some FAT chainstays! Or are the VO cranks just super thick?

I just installed a TA Cyclotouriste "subcompact" (28/46) double on my '84 Trek 610. 130mm OLD, 43cm chainstays, 175mm cranks, 115mm Shimano bb, 134mm Q and a good 5mm clearance between arms and stays. 'Course the stays are Reynolds 501, round-oval-round and tapered*. That must have something to do with it...

SP
Bend, OR

* No indents for crank clearance - the oval part is for tire and chainring clearance.

shorthanded

it DOES have some fat chainstays! no indents, barely ovalized, and a 132.5mm hub spacing in the back (for 130's or 135's).. it's a newish masi 4130 frame, which looks suspiciously like a surly in many ways. but yeah.. big and fat

the crankarms are definitely NOT super fat- and are really pretty thin... but i think this frame is just 'modern' and built for a triple with a 127mm bottom bracket... the old one on it was external.

i'm envious of yer 134 q though.. daggone! i felt like i was knocking my knees together at 141! my old road bike's pretty narrow-- but i haven't ridden it much in the last few years. amazing how much different it feels to shave 15mm off your stance.!

Holden McNeil

I bought this crank (50% for their mis-ordered chrome finish model) and installed it on my Nashbar X Cross frame (which is known to have a tight fit). Running mine with a 110 bottom bracket. The crank arms are close (say 4mm) but not enough to hit the stays. As a matter of fact, I liked the cranks so much I bought another set just to have for a future build!! The only complaint I have is that the caps for the crank arm bolts have hex cutouts which will eventually lead to road grime settling in the crank bolt area.

rhm

I'm guessing your crank arms are relatively long? Shorter ones might solve the problem.

You might also post your problem in C&V; several of the regular posters there have bought this crank.

shorthanded

here she is installed. phew... 3 bottom brackets is a charm- the 127 i put on is JUST right-- never a klink on the stays, but still pretty doggone close.

meanwhiles rhm-- youre right-- the shorter crankarms WOULD make a difference-- but sadly, they only offer them in 170 and 175. i used to ride 172.5s, and these are 175s.. but all worked out, and i still shaved 8mm off my stance.. so i can't complain too badly.

the 46 feels a little bigger than i'm typically used to-- but nothing too bad. the 30/25 feels like i dropped my chain compared to my previous 34 but it DEFINITELY a nice bailout for the regions hills. we have a few out here.

so far so good-- can't wait to get out and ride on saturday-- we're in for near 50 and sun.. so i'll be out, for sure.

BikerThomas

Hi Shorthanded,

I just bought a Masi Rando '09 myself and was thinking about putting on the same crankset.

How is the grand cru working out for you? Do you like it? What would you recommend (in terms of BB, etc) to someone else with the same frame for chainstay clearance?

Thanks!
Thomas

shorthanded

hey thomas-

i love the thing. the gearing is great- the quality on the thing has been fantastic, and the ramped large ring shifts super well despite the 16 tooth jump. as a bottom bracket though-- i needed to use a 127.5 on my 56cm frame to get it to work for clearance. that's as low as i could go-- a 122 still hit the stays with a 175 crankarm. it might work with a 170-- but it doesn't buy much room-- those stays are FAT and untapered!

re

Six jours

If you really want that super low tread, you can just indent the stays yourself. I build frames as a hobby and indenting the tubing - even on a frame that's already been painted - is very simple and can be done with a homemade "tool" (really just a short length of aluminum rod and a bench vise.)

But I'm personally done with my quest for ultra-low tread. I find that anything narrower than TA/VO crank with a 122 mm spindle feels weird. So if I was in your shoes I'd simply use the set-up you've got now.

shorthanded

oh nah-- i think if i go any narrower than i have now, i'd knock knees on the top tube!

this is about perfect at 140mm- which feels way better than the 156 i used to have.. and even THAT wasn't nearly as bad as a lot of triples.

southpawboston

Haha, either you or I are a little off on our measurements. I'm running the same crankset (but with 46/26) on a Shimano 115mm JIS BB, and my Q measured at 136.6mm. I suppose one of us has the tapers on a little tighter, or they've been removed a few more times, but that's kind of weird nonetheless to have a 2.6mm discrepency. The same crankset on an ISO 118mm spindle gives me 135mm Q.