2x10 atlantis crankset options?

[mike gasparino]

Hi guys,

building up a 2x10 atlantis and looking for recommendations for a double crankset. I know with the bowed out chain stays the clearance is an issue. I would love to use the following cranks (WI VBC, TA cyclotouriste, velo orange, etc. Oh and if anyone has used any of them, what spindle length bb did you use. Please help get me on the road!

Michael

[Bill Lindsay]

What ring sizes will you be using?

[Mark Reimer]

Hi Mike,

Glad to share my experience as I had a bit of a difficult time figuring this out myself. 

I have White Industries VBC Road cranks. Originally I had the mountain/ENO cranks, but the limiting factor is chainring clearance, not crank clearance, so if you haven't bought any yet do yourself a favour and get the lower Q-factor road cranks.

I'm running a 44/26. Originally it was 44/30 which works fine, but I dropped to a smaller inner ring before touring in the mountains. Rear cassette is a 10-speed 11-36. I find this is just about perfect. I never use the 44x11, even flying down paved mountain descents. 44x12 gets a tiny bit of use. Maybe a couple of times after really long hard days I wished for just a tiny bit lower of a gear than 26x36, but again, that's after 100 miles a few days in a row. 

I'm using a Phil Wood BB. 119mm. I bought an offset BB but then pulled the spindle over so it was centered. Just did that because at the time it was hard to find a symmetrical 119. I think I could maybe go 1 or 2mm shorter, but I doubt it'd be a good idea. Might need to offset the spindle for proper chainring clearance. I suggest 119mm.

You can see the evidence of chain-suck on the chain stay. It was like that when I bought the frame used, but I've dropped the chain in there twice myself. Common Atlantis problem apparently, though it hasn't happened to me in about a year of daily riding. Maybe it's a shifting technique, not sure. 

You'll also notice I have a Sugino inner ring - picked it up from Riv a while back. $20 bucks. White VBC can use ANY 5-bolt inner ring FYI. Nice way to experiment with sizes and save money. 

[Mark Reimer]

Here is a photo of the crank and large chainring clearance using the 119mm Phil BB and White VBC Road cranks. 

[Minh]

Mark,

Is the use of any 5-bolt inner (is that 74bcd?) something that is intentional by White or just a happy circumstance?  I have a VBC (only recent) and this is good to know!

Though i use mine on a Hillborne so cannot provide any info on fitting an atlantis.

[Mark Reimer]

Any 5 bolt with any BCD - hence the 'variable bolt circumference/VBC' naming. It's a great system. The white rings are lovely, but this was a third the price soooo

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[Peter Adler]

One thing to keep in mind is that the cranks you list use different spindle tapers; WI VBC and Velo Orange are JIS, while TA's 5-pin Pro V is ISO. This shouldn't be a deal breaker, but ISO BBs are a little trickier to find. It's also possible, per the late great Sheldon Brown, to swap a JIS spindle for an ISO, and vice versa. You just have to do a little arithmetic to get the chainline right.

Mark's experience is with the WI crank. I'm guessing his Phil Wood BB is fairly new; Phil's recent 119mm BBs are JIS. My experience is with the TA, and its various French rivals (Stronglight 49, Nervar 631), all of which are ISO: I have 5-pin French cranks on four of my bikes, several cranksets in reserve, and a sizeable inventory of TA 6-arm chainrings. For a double chainset, TA recommends their own loose-ball ref:344 ISO spindle, at 114.5mm. Using Sheldon's JIS-ISO conversion factor (ISO crank on JIS spindle length X = ISO crank on ISO spindle length X+4.5mm), the optimum JIS spindle for a double on an British/French/Swiss-thread frame would be 110mm: the recommended 114.5 ISO minus 4.5mm.

A lot of this depends on frame specifics, of course. If you have a frame with wider-spaced dropouts, you'll probably need some extra spindle length to prevent the crankarms from chewing up the chainstays. This is particularly important with the French cranks, which are low-Q in large part because the crankarms are nearly parallel to the chainline. A more modern crankset will angle outward specifically to clear the stays. If you have access to a bike kitchen, I think it's worth rummaging around in the box of used BB spindles (every bike kitchen/shop has at least one of these). That way, you can swap spindles several times to fine-tune the length before choosing the exact BB on which to spend money. Even if you're going to use a sealed bearing BB, swapping loose-ball spindles around to assess the clearance/chainline helps to get the length correct before you sink your bucks into something.

By way of comparison: Like Mark, I too am using a 119mm Phil Wood BB - but it's an older '70s  Phil Wood #3 BB with a classic Campagnolo taper, which splits the difference between JIS and ISO. I'm using it with a 5-pin triple crankset (Nervar cranks, TA rings) on a 1971 Raleigh International. I have 20mm clearance between the crankarm and the chainstay, and 4mm clearance between the inner face of the chainring bolt on the granny and the chainstay near the BB shell.

Peter "French drivetrain survivalist" Adler

Berkeley, CA/USA

On Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 3:11:04 PM UTC-8, mike gasparino wrote:

[Mark Reimer]

Great response Peter. Lots of options out there. You are correct, my Phil BB is only about 8 months old or so, JIS taper. 

[mike gasparino]

Thanks gentleman! I actually ended up picking up a zephyr triple for a great price 😏 but I will keep this info handy if I decide to move away from the trips!

[Peter Adler]

I enthusiastically endorse TA cranksets of all BCDs.

Peter "keeping my eyes open for a 144 BCD Tevano, which has to be better than Campy's crack-tastic Record" Adler

Berkeley, CA/USA