Full Speed Ahead Carbon Triple Crank for Recumbent

scsolomo said:

I'm picking up my Reynold's T-bone on Friday out in NH. George recommended the Full Speed Ahead
Carbon crank. Anyone using this? It looks awesome from what I've read on the web.

This crank is the one used on the Bacchetta Aero. < x-eyed.comaero1.htmlOpen ↗ >

I see a couple of downsides of these cranks for recumbent use. Available lengths range from 170-mm
to 180-mm in 2.5-mm increments and the only available matching triple rings are 53/42/30 and
53/39/30. [1] Riders wanting/needing shorter cranks are out of luck, and those wanting different
sized rings will have a cosmetic mismatch with the crank arms. < fullspeedahead.comfullspeedahead.comOpen ↗ >

[1] Why so many road riders are using the same gearing as UCI professional riders who have average
power outputs in the 400+ watt range can only be explained by marketing forces, i.e. riding the
same setup as the professionals use. Either the professionals are riding under-geared bikes (not
likely) or most everyone else is riding over-geared bikes. [End of rant]

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

"Tom Sherman" skrev

Quoted message said:

[1] Why so many road riders are using the same gearing as UCI professional riders who have average
power outputs in the 400+ watt range can only be explained by marketing forces, i.e. riding
the same setup as the professionals use. Either the professionals are riding under-geared
bikes (not likely) or most everyone else is riding over-geared bikes. [End of rant]

Well I ride a 170 mm 53/39 front 11-32 setup and I rarely use the small ring. 53 and 32 is just
right for starting with a 559 drivewheel and I've had it up to 95-100 rpm's in the 53/11 gear on a
bit of flat road. I guess I'm a pro. ;o)

Toodles Mikael "Armsweat" Seierup (Armstrong was taken alas)

I'm with ya Mikael. I run a 52/42/26 with an assortment of cassettes. I have an 11/21 12/23 11/27
and 11/32. The SRAM XO long cage handles it all well. My cadence is in the 90 to 100 range and can
top 120 on downhill spin outs. Today I went down a hill in the 52/11 and climbed the next one with
the momentum at 20 mph shifting at 90 rpm. I'm thinking about a 55/44/28. I'm not a pro just someone
who likes to take advantage of all that the conditions will give. Downhills, tailwinds and of course
matching the gearing to the terrain.
--
Jude....///Bacchetta AERO St. Michaels and Tilghman Island.. Maryland Wheel Doctor Cycle and Sports,
Inc 1-800-586-6645 "Mikael Seierup" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Tom Sherman" skrev

Quoted message said:

[1] Why so many road riders are using the same gearing as UCI professional riders who have
average power outputs in the 400+ watt range can only be explained by marketing forces, i.e.
riding the same setup as the professionals use. Either the professionals are riding
under-geared bikes (not likely) or most everyone else is riding over-geared bikes. [End of
rant]

Well I ride a 170 mm 53/39 front 11-32 setup and I rarely use the small

ring.

Quoted message said:

53 and 32 is just right for starting with a 559 drivewheel and I've had it up to 95-100 rpm's in
the 53/11 gear on a bit of flat

road.

Quoted message said:

I guess I'm a pro. ;o)

Toodles Mikael "Armsweat" Seierup (Armstrong was taken alas)

Mikael Seierup said:

"Tom Sherman" skrev

Quoted message said:

[1] Why so many road riders are using the same gearing as UCI professional riders who have
average power outputs in the 400+ watt range can only be explained by marketing forces, i.e.
riding the same setup as the professionals use. Either the professionals are riding
under-geared bikes (not likely) or most everyone else is riding over-geared bikes. [End of
rant]

Well I ride a 170 mm 53/39 front 11-32 setup and I rarely use the small ring. 53 and 32 is just
right for starting with a 559 drivewheel and I've had it up to 95-100 rpm's in the 53/11 gear on a
bit of flat road. I guess I'm a pro. ;o)

Mikael,

Two comments. Your drivewheel is an ISO 559-mm size, while the vast majority of these cranks will
end up on upright bikes with ISO 622-mm drivewheels. Therefore most of the riders with these
cranks will have both higher gearing and more aerodynamic resistance than you do on your
Velokraft lowracer.

Secondly, you live in an area with very few long or steep hills. Having been to both Denmark and
East Central Illinois [1], I am of the opinion that they are comparable in terrain and wind (but
VERY different in other respects).

[1] I have done more than one 70+ km long club ride in Champaign County without ever getting out of
the middle chainring on my RANS Rocket.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

Jude T. McGloin said:

I'm with ya Mikael. I run a 52/42/26 with an assortment of cassettes. I have an 11/21 12/23
11/27 and 11/32. The SRAM XO long cage handles it all well. My cadence is in the 90 to 100
range and can top 120 on downhill spin outs. Today I went down a hill in the 52/11 and
climbed the next one with the momentum at 20 mph shifting at 90 rpm. I'm thinking about a
55/44/28. I'm not a pro just someone who likes to take advantage of all that the conditions
will give. Downhills, tailwinds and of course matching the gearing to the terrain.

Jude,

I would rather spin out and have to coast on a downhill than mash my way uphill at a low cadence.
The latter may be hard on the knees, and leads to rapid muscle fatigue.

What crank and chainrings are you using on your Aero?

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

I have an FSA Carbon Pro Team Issue 170mm crankset on my Bacchetta Aero. This model is one up from
the type that comes on the factory setup Aero and it has an integrated carbon fibre spider rather
than a seperate aluminium spider. I'm running the stock 53T and 39T FSA chainrings and replaced the
stock 30T ring with an FSA 24T ring which is a black with silver machined teeth like the middle and
outer rings. My drive wheel is 559mm and the Dura-Ace cassette is 12-27. I find this gear range
overall good for a bike of this weight in the hilly area I ride in. I sometimes spin out the 53-12
top gear but usually stop pedalling once I hit 55-60 km/h on a descent and have pedalled it to 65
km/h though at higher than optimal RPM's. I can get up most hills in the 39-27. On really steep
climbs like 18% I use 2nd gear which is a 24-24. I've only needed the 24-27 first gear on some very
long, steep climbs on the Terrible Two double century.

I use 165mm cranks on most of my triple chainring equiped bikes and wish the FSA was available in
165mm but the 170mm has been working out fine. At my leg length the difference in crank length is
really no big deal. The crankset itself has held up well for the 1875 km I've ridden it so far. The
label is starting to get scuffed off on the right arm. Time will tell how it holds up long term. I
have it mounted to an American Classic ISIS bottom bracket.

Zach Kaplan

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

scsolomo said:

I'm picking up my Reynold's T-bone on Friday out in NH. George recommended the Full Speed Ahead
Carbon crank. Anyone using this? It looks awesome from what I've read on the web.

This crank is the one used on the Bacchetta Aero. < x-eyed.comaero1.htmlOpen ↗ >

I see a couple of downsides of these cranks for recumbent use. Available lengths range from 170-mm
to 180-mm in 2.5-mm increments and the only available matching triple rings are 53/42/30 and
53/39/30. [1] Riders wanting/needing shorter cranks are out of luck, and those wanting different
sized rings will have a cosmetic mismatch with the crank arms. < fullspeedahead.comfullspeedahead.comOpen ↗ >

[1] Why so many road riders are using the same gearing as UCI professional riders who have average
power outputs in the 400+ watt range can only be explained by marketing forces, i.e. riding
the same setup as the professionals use. Either the professionals are riding under-geared
bikes (not likely) or most everyone else is riding over-geared bikes. [End of rant]

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

Zach Kaplan Cycles said:

I'm running the stock 53T and 39T FSA chainrings and replaced the stock 30T ring with an FSA
24T ring

Zach, are you using the stock derailers with this setup?

The C Man <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Zach Kaplan Cycles said:

I'm running the stock 53T and 39T FSA chainrings and replaced the stock 30T ring with an FSA
24T ring

Zach, are you using the stock derailers with this setup?

Yes, Dura-Ace Triple front and rear, shifts great with the SRAM Rocket Half Pipe shifters. The front
shifter is the indexed version.

Zach Kaplan

Hi,

When I purchased my Bacchetta Aero it came with 172.5 FSA's. The shifting was great, the high 55T
gave me plenty of headroom on the downhills and the granny went unused here in Southern ME. The
workmanship is great, it never creaked and they are beautiful to look at.

If you are interested, I have the crank and BB available for sale and would be willing to give a
good price on them.

BTW, when you pickup your bike, please give my regards to George. We ride together and he's a
great guy.

Regards, Tom Leake