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Truvativ Descendant

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
I got them installed on my bike and the bolt on the non drive side has been torqued down to specs and it's not moving any more, but there is still a little bit of the spindle showing on the drive side. Should the crank arm be completely flushed to the BB cup?
I hope my crude drawing explains my question better...
Yeah, assuming it's small. Any press fit system's going to do that to some degree. If the crank arm bottoms on the BB it's not working right.
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,913
647
how on earth do you up the bar from a super strong pretty much indestructible crank that happens to be one of the lightest on the market, has a great and easy to install/uninstall interface, cheap and really well built BB's? As far as I can tell, the only reason to get a different crank then the saints is $ or weight. If you're looking for weight, get a set of flexy fliers that bend if you look at them sideways, otherwise saints.

Not saying the truvativ descendants are bad, just there isn't much to improve on the saints other then weight. interface is perfect, bb's are great, and they're super super strong and stiff.
 

mattmatt86

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2005
5,347
10
Bleedmore, Murderland
juanbeegas,

I've seen plenty of high end road cranks do the same thing. Like HAB said, if it bottomed out against the BB it would be causing excess friction and would most likely wear out the bearings prematurely. I have the E.13 crankset on my DH bike and they use a combination of a wave washer and .5mm spacers to take up the gap which will vary from frame to frame based on tolerances and setup. I've noticed a lot of the high end road cranksets also using the wave washer technique.

Check out the install instructions for the E.13 crankset, steps 7a,7b and 8 might be applicable to the descendant.

http://www.e13components.com/setup_instructions/e13_crank_manual_web.pdf

or video if you don't like to read ;)

http://bythehive.com/crank-install-video/
 

juanbeegas

Monkey
May 6, 2008
355
2
Singapore
Thanks, Matt. I took a look at the cranks again and I'm guessing that the space that's there, is where the granny ring should usually sit.
 

yd35

Monkey
Oct 28, 2008
741
61
NY
I know some people have chimed in already, but anyone else have experience with these cranks?
 

Supa8

Monkey
May 3, 2002
493
0
Middle of MA
I know some people have chimed in already, but anyone else have experience with these cranks?
I have taken off and installed mine a few times now switching chainguides. Rather easy removal and re-fitment. There is a wavy washer and several plastic spacers on the drive side for tolerances. I am coming off of using RF Atlas FR cranks which have been great cranks just shoulder busters getting on and off... so these are a nice change. So far not much else to say.
 

yd35

Monkey
Oct 28, 2008
741
61
NY
I have taken off and installed mine a few times now switching chainguides. Rather easy removal and re-fitment. There is a wavy washer and several plastic spacers on the drive side for tolerances. I am coming off of using RF Atlas FR cranks which have been great cranks just shoulder busters getting on and off... so these are a nice change. So far not much else to say.
Did you have any problems with the press-fit interface wearing out/becoming looser after multiple removals and installs?
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
how on earth do you up the bar from a super strong pretty much indestructible crank that happens to be one of the lightest on the market, has a great and easy to install/uninstall interface, cheap and really well built BB's? As far as I can tell, the only reason to get a different crank then the saints is $ or weight. If you're looking for weight, get a set of flexy fliers that bend if you look at them sideways, otherwise saints.

Not saying the truvativ descendants are bad, just there isn't much to improve on the saints other then weight. interface is perfect, bb's are great, and they're super super strong and stiff.
Cost. MSRP is $180 on descendants.
 

aenim

Chimp
Apr 15, 2010
16
0
Poland
I have RF Atlas cranks and it's a pain in the a... when I need to remove them. Would anyone recommend replacing them with the new Descendants?
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Oh looks like it was reprices to around $200 give or take for BB type. Either way, it includes everything. BB/Crank/Chainring.

I have been running them for about 3 months now and have 2 sets. Great cranks. The only downside is the finish sucks and you will take off the anodizing and graphics in 1 muddy ride.
 

frango

Turbo Monkey
Jun 13, 2007
1,454
5
Trancsend, have you got any idea whether cranks of different lengths (165, 170) are in fact shorter/longer, or just pedal "hole" is closer/further from the edge of the crank?
 

yd35

Monkey
Oct 28, 2008
741
61
NY
Trancsend, have you got any idea whether cranks of different lengths (165, 170) are in fact shorter/longer, or just pedal "hole" is closer/further from the edge of the crank?
Have you ever seen a crank that gave lengths based on the pedal hole distance from the center?
 

leprechaun

Turbo Monkey
Apr 17, 2004
1,009
0
SLC,Ut
I got them installed on my bike and the bolt on the non drive side has been torqued down to specs and it's not moving any more, but there is still a little bit of the spindle showing on the drive side. Should the crank arm be completely flushed to the BB cup?
I hope my crude drawing explains my question better...
Truvativ cranks all have unused space on the drive side. The chainline is dictated by the LEFT cup, the spindle sandwiches the left bearing. Moving the left cup will move your chainring location.

In order to work with press fit BB's they have to use wavy washers on that drive side gap or else the left (pressed in) cup could be pushed out of it's bore from wicked scrub whips.

These are great budget cranks that are light and (should be) strong. I wouldn't put them on par with Saint's hollow arms and pinch bolt mounting.

Saint spam
http://www.go-ride.com/SPD/shimano-saint-815-1-crankset-w-ring--80003B26-1295990259.jsp

Still more than Descendants though. Don't shoot me- i advertise here...
 

yd35

Monkey
Oct 28, 2008
741
61
NY
almost all forged cranks have the same length blank. They just move the hole to "size" them. YD35's question is valid.
I always assumed that crank lengths represented the length of the crank arm. It never even occurred to me that it could represent the placement of the pedal hole. Very interesting!
 

aj-monkey

Monkey
Oct 11, 2007
225
0
Squampton, BC
Sorry to reignite an old, old thread, but I have an issue. I am buying a 'second hand' pair of these and both sellers that i have talked with don't know the bb width? The box doesn't appear to have it on there either.

Surely someone in Ridemonkey land has some way of knowing which width the bb of the crank is? Is it written on the BB? Any suggestions or help would be great!

Thanks.
 
Jun 12, 2008
25
0
chula vista, ca
Sorry to reignite an old, old thread, but I have an issue. I am buying a 'second hand' pair of these and both sellers that i have talked with don't know the bb width? The box doesn't appear to have it on there either.

Surely someone in Ridemonkey land has some way of knowing which width the bb of the crank is? Is it written on the BB? Any suggestions or help would be great!

Thanks.
It's dependent on the bottom bracket you use. If you have the bottom bracket, it'll have a stamp on it saying 83mm or 73mm, etc. If it's only the crank arms, you're good to go and just buy the correct bottom bracket size.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
It's dependent on the bottom bracket you use. If you have the bottom bracket, it'll have a stamp on it saying 83mm or 73mm, etc. If it's only the crank arms, you're good to go and just buy the correct bottom bracket size.
Wrong. The spindle length is different for 73/83, and since the spindle's build into one of the crank arms they're different too.
 

1soulrider

Monkey
Apr 16, 2002
436
10
nor cal
Sorry to reignite an old, old thread, but I have an issue. I am buying a 'second hand' pair of these and both sellers that i have talked with don't know the bb width? The box doesn't appear to have it on there either.

Surely someone in Ridemonkey land has some way of knowing which width the bb of the crank is? Is it written on the BB? Any suggestions or help would be great!

Thanks.
Just measure the spindle length...
 

gurterno

Chimp
May 8, 2010
32
0
So what's the update on Descendants? Are they holding up? Has anyone bent theirs? Any problems with flex? They just seem to be an unbeatable deal. Cheap and much lighter than Saint M815 and M825
 

EVIL JN

Monkey
Jul 24, 2009
491
24
I've zero problems with the two pair I've had these last two seasons. Strong, light and cheap sums them up in my opinion.
 

yd35

Monkey
Oct 28, 2008
741
61
NY
Knock on wood, but they've held up just fine for about 1 season of DH use.
 

bullit398

Chimp
Oct 21, 2007
69
1
Neptune, NJ
No problems no noticeable flex. I'm totally happy with them with about a season on them. Light, strong, and cheap. It's rare you get all 3.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,871
6,170
Yakistan
Recently installed a set of 175mm Descendants w/ 73mm shell. I'm having trouble with play in the crankset. I can pull everything, clean, grease and re-attach. It eliminates the play - but it comes back after a couple rides. The BB is a 68/73 and the shell is 73mm so the cups go in without any spacers. I think the problem is on the DS. Cup goes in, then the sleeve washer thing which sits in the cup, then the spindle - thats it. After everything is tightened down a small gap exists between the sleeve washer and the crank. After a few rides the sleeve washer works itself out to the crank, leaving a gap between the bearings and the sleeve washer. I think this is where the play is coming from and a buddy says I'm missing a wave washer between the sleeve and crank. I don't think my cranks came with a wave washer. I am contemplating putting one or two 1mm washers between the sleeve and crank to keep the sleeve in place.

Anyone have any ideas?
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,871
6,170
Yakistan
Yea I've been looking for a diagram and have struck out so far. From what I've been reading some people say the washer is needed while others say it's not. The crankset didn't include one - neither did the BB.

The issue is definitely that plastic sleeve washer (part of the BB on the drive side) working its way out to the end of the spindle.