I agree Joel. I have always tried to buy stuff that will last a long time (I still have campy hubs and a set of brakes from the 80's that work quite well). When I swap out a component it's usually after a number of years of usage and the discovery of some aspect about it that I don't like, e.g. Suginos preference for hidden bolts. I have both the White VBC crank and the DaVinci crank that is made for them (the latter is a bargain). Both cranks are beautiful, stiff, and very thoughtfully designed. I'm rather baffled however by people who get excited about MUSA clothes but would rather buy Tiawanese knock off components. I'm glad to see RBW moving some frame production back on shore, although I think they waited to long to do it; the writing has been on the wall for that for quite few years. I don't know how much the US producers - White, Phil, Paul, Chris King - pay their employees, but at least I know they are held to decent environmental and safety standards. Besides that I have found I can call these firms and get immediate response to any problem.
michael On Aug 10, 12:03 pm, JoelMatthews <joelmatth...@mac.com> wrote: > > I give VO a lot of credit for making these cranks. Until now, there > > weren't many options for wide range compact doubles, and most of those > > cranks (TA Pro 5 Vis, TA Carmina, White Industries, etc.) are > > exceedingly expensive. > > Exceedingly how? I hardly doubt TA and the White family (the business > is owned by a husband and wife) are rolling in dough from ripping > customers off. > > Both companies sell good products at fair prices. Based on other VO > product I have, I doubt the VO cranks reach the same level of quality > as the TA Carmina or White VBC cranks. Add the higher cost of labor > in the U.S. and France than in Taiwan, there you are. > > Given what we know about the polishing process, I would feel somewhat > guilty paying the worker a pittance to make my pretty crank. > > On Aug 10, 10:24 am, stevep33 <steve...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > I give VO a lot of credit for making these cranks. Until now, there > > weren't many options for wide range compact doubles, and most of those > > cranks (TA Pro 5 Vis, TA Carmina, White Industries, etc.) are > > exceedingly expensive. > > > The cyclotourist gives the gear range of a triple with a simpler > > double crank. The low Q is nice too. I love the TA Pro 5 Vis cranks > > that I have now, but will probably buy a VO 50.4 BCD to take advantage > > of the improvements (ramps, derailleur spacing). > > > I have a 46T/30T and run a 13-30 9 speed cassette. 46T gives a > > practical range of gears with my cruising 73 gear inches near the > > middle of that cassette. I only use the 30T chainring for steep > > climbs. It's essentially a 1x9er with an extra bail-out granny gear. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
