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Dupuis 1952 Search HarrisCyclery.com Search WWW T.A. And Stronglight Cranks From Harris Cyclery We love old French bicycles, but it can be hard to find parts for those built to older French standards and dimensions. We stock repair parts to help keep yours on the road. We also have some authentic parts for restorations. We ship hard-to-find parts, tools and accessories all over the world Note: Recent changes in the Euro/Dollar exchange rate have forced a price increase in European-made products, and even these revised prices are subject to change. Bottom Brackets | Brakes | Chainwheels | Cotters | Cranks | Derailers | Freewheels | Handlebars Headsets | Pedals | Pumps |Rims | Seatposts | Saddles | Stems | Tires & Tubes | Tools In addition to this commercial page, we have a very useful page of technical information and tips about older French bicycles. Note; supplies on these items may be sporadic, and prices may vary. We'll make every effort to keep this page up-to-date as pricing changes, but cannot guarantee the prices posted here.

Cranks

T.A. Cyclotouriste

For many, many years the T.A. Cyclotouriste was THE triple, and was standard eqiupmemt on virtually all top-of-the-line touring machines. They are unusually light, and have very narrow tread (a.k.a. "Q-factor"). Cyclotouriste triples work best for half-step plus granny setups, where the middle chainring is only a few teeth smaller than the large one.

They don't work with many newer "MTB-type" front derailers, due to tight clearance between the outer ring and the inside of the arm.

As it turns out, half-step-plus-granny setups work better with "double" type front derailers anyway.

The Cyclotouriste is unbeatable as a wide range double, however. Here's an example:

This is on my Hetchins, it's a 50-28 double, running with a 12-28 9-speed cassette in back.

It is mounted on a Shimano UN series bottom bracket, 115 mm. This sets the chainline up closer in than most double cranksets.

The idea of this setup is that the 50 tooth chainring is usable with all 9 rear sprockets, and on most rides the 50 is the only chainring I use.

The 28 tooth chainring is the emergency "bail out" gear for unusually steep hills, or for when I'm all tuckered out. It is only used with the larger rear sprockets, but when I need that low a gear, I don't mind the big jump.

Click here to see a gear chart for this setup.

These cranks come in an unusually wide range of crank lengths, and offer an unusually wide selection of chainring sizes, from 26 up to ...? We have a limited stock, but have a regular source to order from.

Ref.#	Description	Options	Price
515/625	Cranks (pair)	167.5, 170, 172.5, 177.5, 180 & 185 mm lengths	$299.95	6082 aluminum (#31 Dust caps and #137 pedal washers included) Sorry, individual cranks are no longer available, pairs only. These had been discontinued, but TA did a production run to commemorate an anniversary.
31	Dust cap	Metal	Sorry, all gone.	These dustcaps are the proprietary TA 23 mm size, fit Cyclotouriste and Tevano cranks. They take a 5 mm Allen wrench, do not overtighten. Make sure to lubricate threads. They do not fit Alizé or Zephyr cranks.
137	Pedal washers	Protects crank from damage by pedal shoulder.	$4.95 pair
25	5 bolts/nuts/washers to attach outer chainwheel to crank		$14.95 set of 5
64	Chainring bolts/nuts/washers for double chainwheel sets		$16.95 set of 6
86	Chainring bolts/nuts/washers for triple chainwheel sets		17.95 set of 6
	"SPÉCIALITÉES TA MADE IN FRANCE" foil labels for the sides of the arms.	7.5 X 97 mm	Sorry, no longer available.

French-thread Bottom Brackets

Many French bikes sold before the late 1970s used the now-obsolete French bottom-bracket threading:

35 mm x 1mm (1.378" x 25.4 TPI), right-hand thread on both sides.

instead of the ISO standard threading:

1.370/1.375 x 24 TPI left-hand fixed cup, right hand adjustable cup.

If your frame is made for a French-thread bottom bracket, a standard adjustable (right) cup will fit in, at least a little way but it will be very loose and will be unusable.

We were probably the last online source for loose-ball French bottom bracket parts, but the supply has been exhausted.

The only alternative currently in production is Phil Wood. They're a great product, but expensive.

Swiss-thread Bottom Brackets

Many Swiss bikes, and French bikes sold in the late 1970s/early '80s (especially Motobécanes and later Peugeots) used the now-obsolete Swiss bottom-bracket threading:

35 mm x 1mm (1.378" x 25.4 TPI), left-hand-threaded fixed cup (right side), right-hand-threaded adjustable cup (left side.)

The diameter and thread pitch are the same as French, but the Swiss fixed (right side) cup has a left-hand thread.

We were probably the last online source for loose-ball Swiss bottom bracket parts, but the supply has been exhausted.

The only alternative currently in production is Phil Wood. They're a great product, but expensive.

T.A. Bottom Bracket Spindles/Axles $79.95: Ref.# Length Application #314 111.5 mm (track) No Longer Available, Sorry #344 116.5 mm (double) #373 120 mm (road triple) #374 123.5 mm (road triple) #375 127 mm (tandem) #376 133.5 mm (MTB triple)

Chainwheels

Some 5-bolt crank sizes:

TA Cyclotouriste/5 vis

These classic chainrings mount on T.A., Stronglight and other older cranks with a 50.4 mm bolt circle. The outer chainring mounts to the crank by this small circle of bolts, and additional chainrings bolt to the outer chainring using special hardware.

The Cyclotouriste was the original triple touring crankset.

Cyclotourites double chainwheel sets can give a wider range than any other double chainwheel set available, with rings as small as 26 teeth.

The Cyclotouriste triple works best with an old-fashioned "half step plus granny" setup, where the middle chainring is only a few teeth smaller than the large ring. This works with a "double" type front derailer.

The Cyclotouriste triple is not a good choice if you want the middle ring to be much smaller than the outer. This sort of setup calls for a "triple" type front derailer, with a highly 3-dimensional outer cage. Such derailers require more clearance inside the right arm than the narrow tread Cyclotouriste arms provide. If you try to run such a setup with a "double" type front derailer, upshifting from the small to the middle ring is likely to be difficult.

TA 5vis/Cyclotouriste Chainrings 7075 T6
#208 Inner & Middle Position		#CY 205 Outer Position
26, 28, 29, 30 teeth	N/A
31, 32, 33, 34, 35 teeth	N/A
36, 37, 38, 39, 40 teeth	N/A		36, 37, 38, 39, 40 teeth	N/A
41, 42, 43, 44, 45 teeth	N/A		41, 42, 43, 44, 45 teeth	N/A
46, 47, 48, 49 teeth	N/A		46, 48, 49 teeth	N/A
50, 51, 52, 53 teeth	N/A		50, 51, 52 teeth	N/A
			54, 55, 56, 57, 58 teeth	N/A
			59, 60, 61, 62, 63 teeth	N/A
			64, 65, 66, 67, 68 teeth	N/A

Cotters

French 9 mm Cotters $2.50/each

The diameter is standardized, but the bevel is not, so it is often necessary to do a bit of filing to get the correct angle and depth of bevel.

They should generally be replaced in pairs.

See also my Article on Cottered Cranks

T.A. Cyclotouriste

"Jeux de Grain" bolt sets for early T.A. Cyclotouriste cranks. No longer available.

The very early versions of the T.A. Cyclotouriste crakset used a special axle that was round with one sharp corner. The cranks were secured by these bolts, which look something like traditional cotters. They are not, however, traditional cotters. The bolt has a sliding bushing that presses on one side of the axle, while the special nut presses on the other side.

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