[rigidhack]

Putting together a new do everything bike...yada yada...
I want to keep the weight down (a bit) and I have a history of going through cranksets (BB, arms and rings). I'm thinking X-type this time, but can't afford Saint/Diabolus (probably a bit overkill for me anyway). Anybody have any experience with the Rafe Face Evolve DH's or the Shimano LX/Hone? Would it be worth it to step it up to the Race Face Atlas?

LX/Hone is lighter than the Evolve, but how do they hold up?
Atlas is light(ish) and reportedly strong - but I only know what I have read (which is not too much). They strike me as a decent balance in the strength/weight debate, but would push my budget a bit ($220 vs. $160 for the others.)

 

[descender]

Atlas or XTs are both strong and light. XT are proven.

 

[Tyman]

xt are best unless u get xtr

 

[rigidhack]

Has anybody had any experience with the FSA Gravity cranks? I think FSA is now doing an external bearing ISIS BB as well that might be worth looking into. Maybe I should just run a set of V-Drives with that new BB?

 

[sbabuser]

I have RF Evolve dh (isis) on my big bike, and Hone on my hardtail. Not enough time to really give the Hone a review (altho they do install very easily, and have given me no trouble so far), but they are a lot lighter than just the Evolve cranks arms (not including the Isis bb). If you are concerned about weight and aren't a parts destoyer, I'd say you'll be ok to go w/ the Hone. I'm 190, and rode a set of '00 LX cranks for everything from dh to sk8pk on a variety of bikes w/o a whimper from them, so I have some faith in Shimano cranks.

 

[dexter]

havin been a religios weight weenie over the past 4 years let me tell you this, i have always run holzfellers and this year got hooked up with deity. i was bending and breaking crank arms and bb's constantly on my street and dh bike hell i even ran ti bb's and stylos cranks for lots of races. deity with a ti profile bb weight about the same as a set of hones. i ran xt outboards last season on my dh bike and loved the stiffness but man the deity set up blows everyuthing away, no crank bolts comming loose or falling off. plus you can micro adjust the chainline for a perfect match.

 

[rigidhack]

Sorry for my complete ignorance, but can you run the Deity cranks with a dual ring/bashguard setup? Every pair I have ever seen runs a single ring only. They are pretty nice though (especially the white ones).

I'm almost 200 with all my gear, and I have reasonably strong legs - (they are long enough to put a lot of torque on the cranks anyway). The bike is going to be used for trail/FR riding and will take a reasonable amount of abuse. I am smooth enough to not shred through parts though. I like the weight (and price) of the Hones, and I like the beefiness (and replaceable pedal inserts) of the Diabolus, so I'm caught in the middle.

 

[dexter]

yea you can run them with multy rings, just get the right spider (profile for 5 bolt/ fsa for 4 bolt)