[mtbman1127]

So what cranks would you choose if you had the choice between the two.

I like the Colors on the Atlas FR but i haven't been able to find many solid reviews on them.....Any help would be great.

 

[al-irl]

I just went with the atlas. Only cause theres no 83mm xts. I know the new saints have gone on a diet but when are they gonna make some lighter 83mm cranks.

 

[ZHendo]

Saints are amazing cranks, they just seem to work. The Raceface stuff seems to be on either polar edge of the spectrum, people either swear by it or hate it. I happen to be one of the people that dislike it, because while they do use high quality aluminum for the arms, the BBs still don't hold up like the Shimano ones and have more drag, and the plastic spacers almost always generate play after awhile. That's just my experience though with bikes I've worked on as a mechanic, I have not owned any Raceface cranks myself but at this point I don't think I ever will.

 

[Ithnu]

This comes up on mtbr.com about once a month.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=573648

This is the most recent one.

 

[SthFRider]

I have the 83mm atlas FR's. They are amazing. Super strong. They have taken some pretty big hits and have not bent or anything. Don't worry about them not having pedal inserts. I have some pretty big pedal hits and they are still like the day i bought them. They are solidly made and look great. I love mine to death. No complaints at all. I'd recommend them in a heart beat.

 

[Sandwich]

buy the saints and never worry about your cranks again. I had a guy comment about how stiff my cranks were. Pretty surprising on an 8" travel bike.

The general consensus is that the atlas are plenty strong and pretty, but the BB mounting system is inferior and will wear out when reinstalled. In other words, set it and forget it- no problem, fiddle constantly or switch frame, buy new cranks.

 

[al-irl]

I know when mine go on the raceface bb is going straight in the bin and a shimano or hope is being used instead. As a bike mechanic i know the raceface are bbs are junk I've used saints in the past and then switched to xts. The saints where bombproof but overkill never had a problem with the xts. The atlas are the closest to the xts i can get in 83mm. I've also been won over by the fancy colours.

 

[TWeerts]

RF drive side crank interface sucks.The saints are gonna be better cranks in the long run.

 

[leprechaun]

The plating on the Shimano spindle alone is an excellent feature. Pulling a rusty RF crank off and having the bearing pop out of the shell and being stuck to the arm with little to no way to get it off is not cool! I have 4 year old XT cranks and the spindle barely shows any wear.

The left side pinch bolt system is simply superior as well.

Anyone know how much heavier Saint cranks are over Atlas FR? I know it is some, but not much.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

i still don't see why anyone with a reasonable amount of sanity would run the race face's over the Saints...the drive interface on the race face's makes no sense...

get a pair of saints, put them on, go ride your bike, forget about them...

 

[norbar]

The only problem with saints is if you want the SRS+. They have an issue with them and it's well documented on this forum.

As for weight of atlas fr/saint don't belive the marketing as the differance is marginal.

 

[Dox]

The only problem with saints is if you want the SRS+. They have an issue with them and it's well documented on this forum.

not only the srs+

I'd like to add that ANY bashguard that does not have a step COULD have a chain jam issue. This includes any bashguard that does not have a step, so not just e*thirteen guards, ANY non-stepped guard with any bashguard type chainguide could have an issue.

 

[RMboy]

i still don't see why anyone with a reasonable amount of sanity would run the race face's over the Saints...the drive interface on the race face's makes no sense...

get a pair of saints, put them on, go ride your bike, forget about them...

TOO true

Gets saints mate, you wont be disappointed.!

 

[yetihenry]

I find atlas allot more hassle when setting up chaindevices, you have to fully install and remove them each time. Also they wear down shoes allot quicker, the inside of my riding buddys 5.10 are shredded by them.

The weight difference is neglible, however saints are allot easier to use.

 

[kootenaytallboy]

I ride Saint IIs, and I think they're the shizzle. I was all into the light is better thing for a while, and had some gravity lights on my bike. I broke the drive side IN HALF an inch from the pedal inserts. Saints have been nothing but smooth sailing.

Was riding with a buddy in Pemby who thought he'd bent his Saint II cranks on a rock. Turns out he just bent his pedal spindle. Saints are strong... like Chuck Norris would break his foot on them strong. They're also pretty light, and as has been said many a time before, can simply be installed and forgotten about.

This isn't to say that RF cranks are anything but good... I've got no experience with them, and wouldn't speculate.

 

[mtbman1127]

I already have the saints on my bike. and was thinking about switching to the Atlas mostly cause i am drawn to the colors lol. However i was going to run the SRS+ guide can someone link me to the thread about them.

What guide do ya'll running saints have?

 

[kootenaytallboy]

e13 LG1

 

[yetihenry]

What guide do ya'll running saints have?

Gamut P30

 

[Dox]

I already have the saints on my bike. and was thinking about switching to the Atlas mostly cause i am drawn to the colors lol. However i was going to run the SRS+ guide can someone link me to the thread about them.

What guide do ya'll running saints have?

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226060

 

[NY_Star]

I have been running saints on both of my DH bikes. I have also run Xts on one for a weekend. I would stick to the saints. So easy to set up and just work!. Never an issue with the newer style. Plus they are extremely light for their strength! They are all i will run from now on

 

[JCL]

RF drive side crank interface sucks.

Word.

 

[Tmeyer]

Was just faced with the same decision for my Reign X build.. Went with Saints for ease of use and strength to weight. Run an LG1 and be done with it!!!

 

[Huck Banzai]

Saints only fail is the unnecessarily thick 2mm spider tabs making all current guides that use a bash incompatible.

Why? Shimano is good at pushing crap that fails (rapid rise, dual control, and so on..)
but this is full on foolish!

otherwise, there is no contest -- so if u use an LG1 or MRP G2, then w/e!!!!!!!

 

[Sandwich]

LG1+ here. I was told at one point that the big issue is with the chainring, and you could run an SRS+ with the saints, but you need a different chainring than stock and there would be some gap. I'll see if I can find it, too lazy now.

 

[WBC]

I don't remember having any problem

 

[crohnsy]

Why can't you run a saint basguard on a gamut or srs?

 

[Huck Banzai]

I don't remember having any problem

You dont have a problem, until you have a problem!

With regards to e13, the assessment comes 'straight from the horses mouth' - you may notice DW quoted a few messages above.

Its not that it wont bolt together, its the excess space between the chain ring and the bash, regardless of what chain ring you use. I may wind up doing it anyway, but it is less than ideal.

Bah. If Vandersnoogans can rock it without deadly consequence, mere mortals can survive the unidealocity!

 

[Sandwich]

From Phil at e13 several months ago
The SRS+ is designed to be run with the Turbocharger. Since the sliders aren't adjustable, running any other bash that is too large or too small might result in very poor performance. It is possible to run the SRS+ with the new Saints, as long as you use a standard step DH chainring along with the Turbocharger. The stock Saint setup uses a 2mm indent in the bashguard (so that it sits over the chainring tabs) and a 2mm step in the chainring (to space it out from the bashguard). As long as you use a standard chainring, you should be all set.

To keep things simple, all of our pro racers who run 09 Saints are now on the LG1+. This removes the funky spacing caused by the oversized 5mm chainring tabs on the cranks.

To the e13 guys, if this is bad info, I will remove. I don't see any reason not to run the LG1+, as it's plenty capable, but you can probably finagle a bagel to work on the SRS+. The e13 guys seem to be perfectionists, and "good enough" is rarely an option, but it might be for you or I!

 

[Ithnu]

Turns out he just bent his pedal spindle. Saints are strong... like Chuck Norris would break his foot on them strong.

They would only survive if Chuck Norris felt sorry for them.

Really, I only know guy who's bent a Saint crank arm. He's about 200 pounds and cased a 20' out, 6' down gap hard. He could still pedal though. For those of you who've been to Sol Vista its the Stiletto gap at the top under the lift.

And if the tabs are too thick why not put them an a bench grinder? Every good bike garage should have...

1) saws-all
2) sever different types of rubber mallets
3) table vise
4) bench grinder
5) stereo
6) beer fridge

 

[kOlsen]

Can't go wrong with Shimano cranks. I love them!

I have Saints on the DH bike, XTs on the 4X bike, and DXRs on the BMX bike.

 

[PhilipW]

The e13 guys seem to be perfectionists, and "good enough" is rarely an option, but it might be for you or I!

In this day and age, there isn't an excuse for a dropped chain on a DH rig. Thats how I roll, thats how DW rolls, and everyone else here. The Saints are an awesome crankset, both to work on and strength/weight.

If you insist on running Saints with a crank mounted bash, you should minimize the gap as much as possible. The stock Saint ring has a 2mm indent from the tabs, so running a ring with a 0.5mm indent or less is ideal (our Guidering is 0.5mm).

Cheers,
philip @ e*thirteen

 

[Biffff]

I ran Atlas FR's on my DH bike for 2009. Great Crank.period. The arms are bullet proof, I don't find the setup too difficult either. The BB is still in good shape too. I swapped my 09's on to my freeride bike with no problem and bought a set of 2010 165mm Atlas FR's for the DH bike.........in gold.
I ran Diabolus's on my freeride bike for 4 years on the original BB....... no play ever developed and the bearings are still smooth. They were on the bike for cleaning and chain ring swap over a dozen times in the 4 years. Those cranks were as "set and forget" as you get.

 

[yetihenry]

Why can't you run a saint basguard on a gamut or srs?

I found that the OD of my saint 32-36t bashguard was too large to fit in a 36t specific p30, I had to mill down it down (I took 6mm total off) and I still had to file the top guard of the p30 slightly. This has significantly weakened the bashguard (3days of uplift, and 2push up I have got a major bump on the bottom) but it was a free solution at the time, and is no doubt stronger than a Gamut Bash. Old style bashs wouldnt be weakened, but because I am not close to the honeycomb it might pose a problem in the longterm.

I can get a photo of the modification if you don't understand.

 

[Sandwich]

In this day and age, there isn't an excuse for a dropped chain on a DH rig. Thats how I roll, thats how DW rolls, and everyone else here. The Saints are an awesome crankset, both to work on and strength/weight.

If you insist on running Saints with a crank mounted bash, you should minimize the gap as much as possible. The stock Saint ring has a 2mm indent from the tabs, so running a ring with a 0.5mm indent or less is ideal (our Guidering is 0.5mm).

Cheers,
philip @ e*thirteen

not a criticism at all...just saying you guys like to make things perfect (case in point the pedals) rather than recommending something that should work most of the time.

Have you considering making a saint specific turbocharger+ for these cranks? Just curious.

 

[TKCastle]

I ran Shimano for years and recently purchased the Atlas cranks cause they were red and caught my eye. Yes the cranks are time consuming coming from Shimano's quick removal. Setting up a LG1 with the RF cranks took a while, especially figuring out how many spacers to use to get the CG lined up. The first time you tighten the Drive side of the RF's it's crazy tight. When you self-extract them your just picturing the crank bolt blasting thru the cap screw.

But when you got everything figured out it's a great system. Is it stiffer than saints? I cant tell.

Lighter?who cares.

Does it look bad ass and will it pull birds? F@ck yeah!