While Sugino has long been thought of strictly as a throw-back component manufacturer, the company has been offering cranksets with hollow axle spindles and outboard threaded bottom bracket bearings for a few years. The SG75 DD Crankset is a track crankset featuring this system, and for many track riders this is a welcome advancement. Outboard bearing and hollow spindle systems are inherently much stiffer, though perhaps less sexy, than square taper interfaces, and the larger bearing structures are more efficient. Replacing bottom bracket cups after years of use is also less expensive. Sugino refers to their version as Direct Drive (DD), and it sets up and installs almost exactly like Shimano's Hollowtech II crank and external bottom bracket system.

The Japanese company did a great job of maintaining some of the svelte, classic aesthetic of the standard 75 track crankset with this modern update. The shape of the forged aluminum arms evokes the original, and it is only visually obvious that this is a 2 piece crankset when you see the large hollow crank spindle. Many top Olympic and National Champions have moved to the SG75 DD for improved performance. Sold here as a complete 144 BCD Track Crankset, complete with Sugino MB-608 steel bearing threaded bottom bracket cups and the famous 1/8 pitch Zen track chainring, you have one-stop shopping for one of the best track cranksets available today.