Jerry Moos wrote:
I'm curious about the Nervar Sport COTTERLESS steel crank, like this one currently for sale bt CyclArt:
Although it isn't specified, I think this crank used the same 128 BCD as the 5-arm alloy Nervar Star. Anyone know when this steel crank was introduced and how long it was sold? Also, when newly introduced, was this considered a high end crank worthy of the top bikes of the era? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Just a couple of notes that may be useful, but nothing definitive: 1) That *@ 128 mm bolt circle seems to have been unique to Nervar. At least I've never seen anything that matches. Replacement rings are not in great abundance, as far as I can tell. I only know one person with some spares, but the usual culprits (Larry Black, Sheldon Brown) might have some. 2) In my experience, the Nervars were what manufacturers used during the bike boom when they ran out of other options. They came on my ~73 Raleigh Competition, for example. This is not believed to indicate that Nervar was first choice or regarded as highest quality. As the boom faded, I picked up Nervar 5-pin cotterless cheaply enough to willingly convert two rights to lefts for tandem use. 3) Two redeeming virtues: (a) the 5-pin crank arms used the same bcd as TA, etc, unlike the iconoclasts as Zeus. (b) If memory serves, all used the standard "Campy" 22x1 extractor.
Your mileage may vary, but my own choice in neat cranks has been the Stronglight 99 (later models with Campy extractor thread) instead of the Nervar for touring use.
harvey sachs
mcLean va.