>>>Bill Bryant wrote: I think you and Joe are discussing two different cranks. I don't know about the ones on ebay, but as to Topline, it is way outside the CR time period; these were sold in the mid-90s. Note that the info page you link to has a 1997 copyright and they tout these cranks as being a new product.
I'm guessing their intro was about '94 or so.
http://www.bikepro.com/
These cranks are definitely outside the CR time line, but I'll ask the list's indulgence for a final response, as the eBay set appears to have very (and I emphasize very) subtle but significant differences to the Topline. The manufacturer, Precision Tooling, produced cranksets for other enterprises prior to marketing there own as Topline, so these may have even been an early prototype of some sort, maybe even for a major company. The Topline cranks were introduced in about '91 or '92. The BikePro link Brian references (having a '97 copyright and now long defunct) carries a description that was first printed in the BikePro catalog which was published in early '94. What's most interesting about the eBay crankset is that is has a spider arm oriented behind the crank arm, and it is designed for 135 BCD rings. Almost no one was designing for 135 (Campy) rings at the time. The Topline crankset was sold only with a conventional spider orientation and 130 BCD. Virtually all "other" road cranksets were moving to a 130 standard. Even Stronglight followed suit. That's moderating a bit now, with the carbon crank manufacturers offering both 130 and 135 spiders.
One last note on the BikePro catalog. If you can find one, and are at all interested in post 1985 componentry, grab it. It's a great reference resource, almost like an encyclopedia, with lots of very detailed information.
Okay, we can go back to discussing what to wrap our tubulars in now.
Wayne Bingham
Falls Church VA