Current Projects chat and miscellany

You haven't seen lighter then.

steel cranks that are lighter?

my alloy FRM mtb cranks are 660g and they are silly - it's insane that these can be steel + that light. clever little things

so if they are light and strong why don't we all use them?

Cost?

Strong, light, cheap. Pick two.

i don't think they were cost effective and the manufacturer went bust but i've lusted after them since the 90's so couldn't help myself.

lets see mdcc says - up close they are beautifully made but them being on of the first external bb cranks, they ain't perfect

Cost?

Strong, light, cheap. Pick two.

600 bucks certainly aint cheap... (not what i paid!)

just need a new ring now... wish they were 170's for my tt bike but sadly they are huge so they'll be on the brompton or the single speed mountain bike - feels wrong!

nos sweet wings by monomaniac(tom), on Flickr

What length are they? Get em stuck on the tt bike and drop your saddle..

Lighter & more areo ;)

lets see mdcc says

Needs aero hat

spokes looked fucked too

Needs aero hat

we've been through this before... bat ears = aero splitters

needs twin spok

we've been through this before... bat ears = aero splitters

Oops, I had better catch up on my aero data..

What length are they? Get em stuck on the tt bike and drop your saddle..

Lighter & more areo ;)

177.50 - the toe overlap on my bike would be redonkulous

Thems some long arms!

Is it a fixed tt?

yup! with the shortest wheelbase in the world

first ride by monomaniac(tom), on Flickr

nos sweet wings by monomaniac(tom), on Flickr

Lovely cranks but good luck running them .. the worst thing is the design of BB! the bearings can easily pop out into the frame! If I recall correctly the fella that designed / made these is the same fella now making the EE brakes.

Oh and the English you posted no longer runs sweet wings as the bearings popped out on a ride and the inner chain ring damaged the chainstay of the frame.

give the guy a break.

I've just sent my 50's Claud to the restorers and they've come back saying they're not comfortable re-chroming the fork crown (and the frame - but I can live with that) because of the age.

It seems a shame to get the whole frame restored while leaving the fork crown pitted/corroded.

Has anyone else ever had this problem?

Lovely cranks but good luck running them .. the worst thing is the design of BB! the bearings can easily pop out into the frame! If I recall correctly the fella that designed / made these is the same fella now making the EE brakes.

Oh and the English you posted no longer runs sweet wings as the bearings popped out on a ride and the inner chain ring damaged the chainstay of the frame.

o dear - not heard that before - very silly though as that can only happen if the inner bb sleeve wasn't in ( save maybe 10 grams?) - won't happen on mine anyway!

you sure that's a true story? sounds like a drastic oversight from such an accomplished builder

and yes - same guy who designed the EE brake (which seems rather over-engineered imho)

Sadly it's true. If I remember correct his cranks worked loose on a ride so he tightened them and missed the fact the bearings were moving into the bottom bracket until the inner ring hit the chainstay.. too late! If you look on WW in the Intro section (search English) you can read all about his problems with the sweet wings .. that's were I remember reading about the problem and unfortunanetly his is not a isolated case from the feedback. Just saying forewarned you may spot the issue before it becomes a problem for you're ride

lets see mdcc says

I wanted them in the 90s, but not enough to pay the asking price as I already had CQP Ti for racing. Compared with Gusset Pygmy R 853 cranks, the Sweet Wings are not dramatically light, given that they are road/XC cranks, not for jumping off cliffs, so there's no reason to expect them to be failure prone if they have been built properly.

thanks tester -i'd be tempted to run them on my ss but the exposed bearings don't really appeal - no doubt they'll stay in my toolbox till i get bored and install them on the brompton :)

p.s thanks for the tt bars - they arrived today - i might get around to building that up at the weekend if my pump valve arrives for the disc wheel

Sadly it's true. If I remember correct his cranks worked loose on a ride so he tightened them and missed the fact the bearings were moving into the bottom bracket until the inner ring hit the chainstay.. too late! If you look on WW in the Intro section (search English) you can read all about his problems with the sweet wings .. that's were I remember reading about the problem and unfortunanetly his is not a isolated case from the feedback. Just saying forewarned you may spot the issue before it becomes a problem for you're ride

if i have the inner shell in, the bearings can't move anywhere so it won't be a problem - i can't really understand why he would use the cranks without the shell when the weight saving is so little.. strange! i'll be sure to loctite them too as recommended (my nos pair came with the original loctite tubes too)

hmmm, tester - out of interest, would it be heinously inadvisable to run 177.5 fixed?