Bob Reid asks:
> Can someone explain in simple terms how to spot the
> difference between each of the different crank and
> chainwheel designations ?
If you're talking just Record-NR-SR, then it is easy.
All the cranks are the same, that is to say, they varied over the years, but in any given year the cranks weren't different between gruppi. All the cranks are Record.
Chainwheels (pardon me if I call them chainrings or just rings for short, as we are accustomed to over here) come in only two flavors, Record and Super Record; there was no NR chainring. SR rings are lighter than Record as they have no inner circle connecting the 5 bolt holes, and they have a distinctive cutout outboard of each bolt hole.
You can't turn a Record ring into an SR by cutting, as there is metal on an SR where there is air on a Record as you'll see if you lay the Record on top of the SR. many have tried, but the look isn't quite right. Tevano, Ofmega and others made SR "knockoff" rings that were essentially made this way, and technically speaking, they looked dorky.
Mark Bulgier
Seattle, Wa
USA