At 11:16 AM -0700 10/20/07, Sean Flores wrote:
>I think the answer was pretty much covered, but just to add...
>
>I recently got a hold of a an old TA/Tevano catalogue. It does have a page
>titled "Pista" and somewhat 'deceivingly' lists crank arms for both Pro 3
>and Pro 5 crankarms, along with the "3" stamped chainwheels, "pista"
>chainring bolts and a BB.
>
>However as everyone else noted these are the same crankarms used for all the
>other configurations. But at first blush, it does make them seem 'track
>specific'.
>
>Sean Flores
>San Francisco, CA- Who currently has a set of TA 'Pista Cranks' for sale on
>ebay. :)
Could it be that they are track-specific, even if they look the same? In the days when tread (Q factor) was a major concern, I am told that Stronglight offered their cranks with several different distances between chainring and crankarm:
- smallest for single-speed and track - intermediate for front derailleurs (you need clearance between chain and arm for the derailleur cage) - large for full chainguards.
I haven't been able to check this - does anybody have a 1940s Stronglight catalogue or something other info?
I do know that TA made arms with extra clearance for Alex Singer. This was easy to do, as that gap is machined after forging.
Of course, the standard "Pro 5 vis" arms had so little clearance that you couldn't go much closer even for track use...
If your catalogue lists part numbers, they will tell whether they are the same arms or not. I'd be interested to know.
Thanks,
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.bikequarterly.com