I'll share my thoughts on the White Industries VBC, of which I have two pairs.
The pros: Pretty, not crazy expensive, seems strong and stiff enough for mortals like me (i.e., doesn't rub the front D cage when hoofing it), MUSA (if important). The cons: uses proprietary lockring and chainrings, polished finish requires upkeep or it'll tarnish with sweat. The funny: one of the flat polished surfaces, of which this crank has many, once caught the sun just right that I was flashed with each revolution. Unfortunately, this was on a long multi-mile straight so I couldn't escape it for a bit. Yeah, you probably won't encounter this too much… Given the chance, I'll purchase it again. The proprietary lockring isn't too expensive, and is a one-time cost. The proprietary chainrings seem to wear excellently, and are noticeably more durable than the Sugino chainrings that came on my XD-600 (granted, the WI chainrings cost as much a complete XD-600 crank). I also did not suffer from any runout issues that were reported for the Compass cranks, even if the chainrings are mounted in such a way that wobble is magnified. Given your directive of building up your Roadeo as a go-fast bike, you should really first consider what kind of gearing you'll like. A lot of nice cranks are 130mm or 110mm BCD only, and this will limit your lower chainring size to 39T and 34T respectively. Since it's a go-fast, and presumably, you may want a cassette with fairly small jumps, the choice of crank can come into play. Furthermore, I would also try to go with a double front, as that will simplify shifting, especially for a Shimano STI. Good luck with your build! On Thursday, October 25, 2018 at 5:23:53 AM UTC-7, David Wadstrup wrote: > > I’m really unsure about this component choice. There are only two > cranksets currently in production that I’m considering. That I know of, > that is. I’d love to hear of others if you know of any. > > > > 1. White Industries VBC. > > > This is the one I’d like to choose, but their rings only come in black. I > may change my mind, but this is probably a deal breaker. > > > > 1. DaVinci. > > > I have this crank on another bike. I really like its looks and that it’s > US made. I’ve mounted French made TA rings to it. I would like something > different for the Roadeo, though. > > > TA makes a couple of good looking cranks, but none I’d choose over the > DaVinci, I don’t think. And I’m not really interested in the Compass of VO > cranks. So.... I’m hoping someone might have another idea. I thought a nice > NOS Dura Ave crank would look great, but I’m not sure how smart this is. > First, I would imagine the stock rings would not be the best choice for a > 11sp drivetrain. Am I correct in this thinking? Also, I read some > somewhere(maybe a Riv Reader) that metals, and aluminum in particular, > weaken significantly with age. I’m guessing the vintage crank I’d buy would > be from the 80’s? Maybe 90’s? I’ve seen a couple for sale in the $400 > range, but am nervous about investing so much in a set that might not be as > robust as I’d want it. Am I worrying about something I shouldn’t? > > > Again, thanks so much for helping with this build. And thanks in advance > for all of your advice. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
