Remember those British-made, classic Grand Tour road pedals we saw earlier this spring? Now Chater-Lea has the Grand Tour crankset to thread them into, blending their own mix of classic road bike styling with modern quality manufacturing, finish & detailing. Developed to give your modern retro bike builds a touch of class, the three-arm Grand Tour cranks offer both single ring and sub-compact double chainring to give your drivetrain the best gearing for real world road & all-road riding…
Chater-Lea Grand Tour Crankset – classic style & modern detail
The first new cranksets to be made under the Chater-Lea name 55-years, the contemporary take on classic crankset styling of yesteryear maintains the beloved retro looks – and CL initials cut into the rings – while modernizing with gear selections that will actually be fun to ride.
Chater-Lea Grand Tour Cranks – Tech details
While pretty much every new crankset we cover is the newest, lightest, stiffest, most carbon fiber-est thing to use the latest spindle axle diameter and bottom bracket standard, this is not that. Instead, these are UK-made alloy cranks that you will fit to a square taper bottom bracket (110mm for long for singles, 113mm for doubles).
But they aren’t necessarily heavyweights, and not devoid of new tech. The Grand Tour arms themselves are machined from 7050 T7451 alloy and clear anodized. The chainrings are silver ano, machined 7075 T6 alloy. Then, machined 316 stainless steel chainring bolts, nuts & dust caps finish them off – with decorative ti nitride PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating to give the heads of the steel hardware a classy ‘brass’ look (standard raw stainless hardware will also be offered as an option.)
For now the cranksets are only being offered in 170mm arms, with a 142mm Q-factor, and two different chainring setups that share the same proprietary 3-bolt spider. Chater-Lea will sell rings separately as wear items, and also say they would introduce additional gearing options if there is consumer demand.
The single ring chainrings (36 or 40 teeth) feature narrow/wide profiles for good chain retention with 9/10/11sp chains. The double ring chainrings come only in a sub-compact 46/30T pairing, without dramatic tooth shaping but feature shift pins for reliable shifts with 9-11-speed chains & drivetrains.
Weights vary by gearing option, with the 36T single ring the lightest at 565g, 40T at 582g, and 46/30T at 668g.
Grand Tour cranks – Pricing & availability
The new 100% UK-made Chater-Lea Grand Tour cranks have not officially opened up for orders yet, but we have gotten some more exclusive availability info. You can register your interest now for either the 1x or 2x cranksets on the Chater-Lea website, but official ordering will open up within the next two weeks.
Complete crankset pricing will start at £600, presumably for the single ring setup, adding a bit more for the 2x setup. Those first crankset orders though, are already expected to ship before the end of August 2020. So, your modern retro road, all-road, gravel, or cross bike build won’t have to wait too long for a little more shiny C-L bling, on top of those Grand Tour pedals.
