Compact Crank Review This review is on the 172mm Campagnolo Centaur CT Compact Crank 50/34. Installation: I replaced my Campagnolo Centaur Crank 53/39 with a Compact Centaur CT Compact Crank. There was no change in the Campy 111mm ball bearing bottom bracket, as both cranks require the same length and taper, which made installation quite easy. However a crank-puller is need to perform the exchange operation. One of the adjustments I made was to lower the clamp-on front derailleur on the seat-tube to accommodate the 50t chainring. I also removed two links from the chain to take up the extra slack when in the 34t. There was a question I had posted earlier to see if the Campagnolo Super Record front derailleur cage would clear the chain when in the 34t front and the 13t rear. As you could see in the photos there is plenty of clearance. http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/P4280536.JPG http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/P4280541.JPG All there was left to do was reconnect the shifting cable and tweak the adjustment for the front derailleur (fore and aft) and the bike was ready to go. The total installation time took less than a 1/2 hour. Cosmetics: Viewing the bike from the side, one would have to take a good look to actually see if the crank is indeed a Compact. It's hard to tell unless you get up close to view the 34t chainring. http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/P4280535.JPG Tweaking the bike: I think,the ideal cassette to use with a Compact crank would be a 12-21 or 12-23, but since I currently have the 12-25 I'll go with it for now. Other related components are the index downtube shifters and the Ultegra 9sp rear derailleur. With the bike on a bike stand, I was able to go through all the gears to make the necessary minor tweaking adjustments on the front derailleur only. The shifting was very smooth with the derailleur changers on both the front and the rear. Test Riding: With the previous set-up 53/39, I'm used to riding in the small front chainring which stems all the way back to my 52/42 days, so riding the new big chainring 50t on the flats seemed out of place at first. What I discovered is I could leave it in the 50t and not worry about shifting to the 34t until I hit the hills. Before the Compact Crank there were many times when I used to limit out on the 39/13 then shift to the big chainring, I'm sure there are some of you who have been there before. Another question was asked earlier, will I miss the 53/12 (119.3 gear inches)? On the flats I could never push that gear with a comfortable cadence, and only on the descents did I ever use the big gear. The 50/12 (112.5 gear inches) is plenty good for me, even on the descents, I just spin a little faster. Ah yes the hills. Now for me, this is where the Compact Crank's strength is. I took the bike up Old La Honda Rd for the test., and then up Hwy 9 the next day. For those not familiar with the Bay Area, CA, these are moderate climbs that quite a few cyclist workout on. I changed my style of riding in the hills with a higher cadence when I first saw Lance Armstrong's climbing techniques in his 1st Tour win in 1999 up L'Alpe d'Huez in stage 10. I have picked up my cadence ever since. With this Compact Crank I never have to shift out of the 34t front chainring while climbing, and made good use of the 13-21 cogs. The 23t/25t cogs were used as my bailout gears in case I hit the wall. I did briefly try the 23t and 25t just to see if it worked ok, it was fine. The 2-tooth jump between cogs wasn't a problem at all, however I was thinking it would be nice to have a 1-tooth jump except for the bail-out gear. I stayed seated throughout most of the climbs, and felt very comfortable with a moderate cadence. Conclusion: The Campagnolo Centaur CT Compact Crank works for me. I recommend this Compact for the competitive cyclist who loves to ride hills, but can't push the gears like they used to, and perhaps those who have picked-up or want to pick-up a higher cadence in the climbs. I also found I could stay seated longer by using the higher cadence. If you are not competitive and are currently using a triple, save your money and continue to use the triple. If you're a competitive cyclist, and have a slow grinding cadence in the climbs, I would stay with the conventional 53/39 because the compact crank will beg you to ride in a higher cadence. I'm happy I made the choice. -tom

"landotter" <landotter@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1177949181.070779.189930@n59g2000hsh.googlegroups.com... >> Cosmetics: >> >> Viewing the bike from the side, one would have to take a good look to >> actually see if the crank is indeed a Compact. It's hard to tell unless >> you >> get up close to view the 34t chainring. >> >> http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/P4280535.JPG > > Off topic, but what kind of saddle is that? The shape looks a lot like > a couple Selle Royale Prestige NOS saddles I got last year or even a > leather covered Unicanitor, but with the leather peeled back and the > plastic skirts trimmed before regluing the leather. It's classy, and > if it's the shape I think it is--firm and comfy all day. The saddle is an older Selle San Marco Concor Light Titanium Saddle. Those were the days when graphics on a saddle were held to a minimum. I believe the weight was around 210 gms. It's my 3rd replacement and I still have new one in a box. Before that I used the Turbo saddle and the Unicanitor. The Concor fits me nice, 100+ miles is not a problem. -tom