Bilenky sells the Carmina complete for a bit less. It was significantly less, but they've raised their prices.
I have mixed feelings about the Carmina, as I recently bought one. First, the BB sizing is soup du jour. You'll never know what it's going to need until you actually get it. Forget anything you've read online. Forget it. My 185mm arms take a 113mm BB for a 160mm Q on a Bombadil(measured accurately on digital calipers about 10 times) On a bike with more ring clearance, you could probably use a 110mm or even 107mm. You don't need a Phil BB, I'm using a Shimano UN54. I little heavier, but I care not. Second, the first one I received was crooked beyond acceptance, about 1.5- 2mm of deflection. I troubleshooted it and it was either the spider or the arms. I shipped it back to Bilenky, who ordered another spider, and it was crooked too. It was likely improper machining of the arm. They sent everything back to their distributor, and the finally received a straight one. This took about 5-6 weeks. Third, the rings. If you're using a 10 speed setup, it may be okay. For 7-8 speed setups, forget it. The rings, with all the ramps and pins, make for a limited number of cogs available to use in each ring. 3 for the small, 4 for the mid, 5 for the big. I swapped the rings out for regular good ol' non pinned rings. Even then , I needed to use some micro spacers to get good clearance between rings. The small ring required a longer spacer too. Fourth, an annoying clicking sound from either the BB or the interface of the two. This is the second crank that has been noisy. My Zephyr creaked with a UN72, but it eventually went away. This sound is different, more clicking, and it's definitely from the BB area. I must say I'm no fan of cartridge BB's, the three I've used have all been noisy. With cups and cones, I never heard one noise. Other than that, I love the crank. I mean..... it spins, holds the rings, and hasn't broken, what more could a guy want? A quiet one I suppose. If anyone gets one, make sure it's straight before you go riding it. I had considered, and still am , a Surly crank. Yeah, outboard bearings are what they are, but no BB is a panacea. The Q is only 6mm more than the Carmina with a 47.5mm chainline spindle. For you guys needing regular length arms, don't forget VO has three new cranksets in the works, not just the ultra low Q Grand Cru. http://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2010/02/velo-orange-cranksets.html Listed here . http://www.voimports.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=29 -- 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.
