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saints or diabolous cranks?

corey_rideDC

Turbo Monkey
Sep 1, 2004
1,368
0
DCmetro
just what the title suggests, i'm building up my new r9 and at a loss for cranks. i prefer bombproof stuff and i'm not much of a gram counter. anyone have a preference 'tween the saints or the RF diabolous? looking to spend ~$180 max, but i really just want something i can forget about.

thanks!
 

jcook90

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2006
1,211
1
Connecticut
dude im' getting an r9 next week w/ diablous cranks on it. i have some on my bighit right now and havnt had problems with it. the only thing i've had to fix regarding the cranks/bb was tighten up the BB shell because my chainguide was moving, but the r9 has ISCG mounts so that shouldnt be a problem. i like my diablous's though but i havnt ridden saints so i cant really say between them, but i'm happy w/ them
 

Sir_Crackien

Turbo Monkey
Feb 7, 2004
2,051
0
alex. va. usa.
i have had both. the saints in my opinion are better. the interface it more secure. they are also lighter then the raceface one by a far amount. i would also go to say that the arm it self is also stronger in the end.

here you go some bmx racers use the saint but i have never seen them use the raceface.

btw this is coming from a person that is currently using the raceface one.
 

Discostu

Monkey
Nov 15, 2003
524
0
I prefer the interface of the shimanos. You use the little plastic bolt to preload the bearings and then tighten down the arms, as opposed to rf where you just tighten the hell out of em until you can do no more. I run the saints right now and I've had no problems. I've never used the raceface myself though, I've only set them up on other people's bikes.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
I heard rumors of bad RF BB's, and now I know that to be somewhat true.

Two hard riding friends toasted Evolve BB's within 3 months. I cannot say about Diabolus, but in that time I rode a XT BB for a year and half...
 

Bearmntpicnic

Monkey
Oct 23, 2005
838
0
charlottesville
yeah I just toasted a race face bottom bracket in about half a season. I still really like the cranks. I would also check out the truvantiv stuff. Lighter and stonger.
 

marra

Chimp
Apr 22, 2005
46
0
what's the weight difference? are the saints in 165?
i have a sunday elite and i would like to change the RF for shimano, do i have to change the BB too?

thanks guys
 

davep

Turbo Monkey
Jan 7, 2005
3,276
0
seattle
I heard rumors of bad RF BB's, and now I know that to be somewhat true.

Two hard riding friends toasted Evolve BB's within 3 months. I cannot say about Diabolus, but in that time I rode a XT BB for a year and half...
I have posted this before and I will say it again as i think it is an overlooked aspect with RF.

The R.F. cranks adjust bearings via spacers in 1mm increments (with an o-ring for a little give). It takes lots of installing and re-installing of the R.F.'s to get the bearings without drag, but not sloppy. Think of a cup and cone hub that you could ONLY adjust in complete revolutions of the cone. It would be too loose or too tight!

The bearing pre load on the shimano outboard bearings is infinately adjustable and I think this a huge advantage to their system. I have heard issues with spiders creaking on the currrent shimano cranks, but mostly from Kanter FWIW. Both my XT's are fine.. If you do not want at plastic adjuster, get one from durace or ultegra, they are brushed aluminum.:cheers:

Oh yea..You should be able to find saints on sale somewhere this time of year.
 

aggrorider

Monkey
Sep 20, 2005
209
0
I really like my saint cranks. Really strong and I have not had a problem with them at all in a year of riding.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
I have posted this before and I will say it again as i think it is an overlooked aspect with RF.

The R.F. cranks adjust bearings via spacers in 1mm increments (with an o-ring for a little give). It takes lots of installing and re-installing of the R.F.'s to get the bearings without drag, but not sloppy. Think of a cup and cone hub that you could ONLY adjust in complete revolutions of the cone. It would be too loose or too tight!

The bearing pre load on the shimano outboard bearings is infinately adjustable and I think this a huge advantage to their system. I have heard issues with spiders creaking on the currrent shimano cranks, but mostly from Kanter FWIW. Both my XT's are fine.. If you do not want at plastic adjuster, get one from durace or ultegra, they are brushed aluminum.:cheers:

Oh yea..You should be able to find saints on sale somewhere this time of year.
The other problem my friends had some kind of weird ovalization of the axle.

I can believe it was related to incorrect BB install, but I didn't look it over. Actually, I was ducking that abortion...
 

VSBJake

Chimp
Jul 21, 2006
63
0
NoVa
I've had the same set of SAINT cranks since they came out in 04'. Mine are a double(22,36) with a DRS. No issues whatsoever. 3 seasons of DH riding and racing and some 800 or more days DJing. Been on 2 frames only replaced cups, bearings and chainrings this spring.
 

Discostu

Monkey
Nov 15, 2003
524
0
I've had the same set of SAINT cranks since they came out in 04'. Mine are a double(22,36) with a DRS. No issues whatsoever. 3 seasons of DH riding and racing and some 800 or more days DJing. Been on 2 frames only replaced cups, bearings and chainrings this spring.
Damn dude, 800 days of dirt jumpin in under 3 years eh?
 

VSBJake

Chimp
Jul 21, 2006
63
0
NoVa
Dj's right behind the shop I work at. Ride there every day that It's not too wet or at some other spot. Some days I count that are only 15-30 minutes or an 10 minutes at lunch in the winter.
 

gwat

Chimp
Sep 10, 2001
69
0
Fernie, BC, Canada
I beleive Race Face BBs use MAX bearings and Saints use better sealed bearings (correct me if I'm wrong). I've seen a few Race Face BBS that are shot after only a couple months. I personally ride Saints and they;re great although the BB has developed a weird clicking. It's not sloppy and spins smooth so I'm not too worried about it.
 

davep

Turbo Monkey
Jan 7, 2005
3,276
0
seattle
race face dosnt use waterproof grease
Nice, highly intelligent post.

So what kind of thickener is used in the grease? Lithium or calcium? Is it a soap or a complex, or urea?

Synthetic or mineral oil based?



Kind of odd that my R.F bb has lasted over two years or riding in the northwest wet muck including 50 days at whistler in sun, rain, and snow.
 

Discostu

Monkey
Nov 15, 2003
524
0
Dj's right behind the shop I work at. Ride there every day that It's not too wet or at some other spot. Some days I count that are only 15-30 minutes or an 10 minutes at lunch in the winter.
Ah, gotcha. I wish I had DJ's at work. 10 minutes is better than nothing.
 

corey_rideDC

Turbo Monkey
Sep 1, 2004
1,368
0
DCmetro
thanks for all the advice guys, just put the cash in for a set of saint cranks!

VSBJake... you work near the capitol trails?
 

seismic

Turbo Monkey
Dec 22, 2003
3,254
0
South East Asia
I switched from a pair of steel cranks ( I like dropping) to a pair of Saints.....they actually feel stiffer and even though they have been abused a lot they keep on working flawlessly.
 

bpatterson6

Turbo Monkey
Jul 1, 2004
1,049
0
Colorado
I just got my Saint Cranks last week and have spent one full weekend of Dh on them at Keystone for the race and they are solid. I like them better than any ISIS cranks I have owned. Definately go with the Saints. I have many friends with the Diabolus cranks and they all complain of maintenance issues.
Some have switched to Saints and are very happy.
I guess it really depends on who you ask...:bonk:
 

sbabuser

Turbo Monkey
Dec 22, 2004
1,114
55
Golden, CO
I have 2 pair of Diabolus cranks, no issues whatsoever. It is more of a pain to set them up compared to Shimano's x-type cranks, but they are bombproof. I'm running one set with a shimano bb b/c I didn't feel like changing it out when I swapped out my bent Hones. The other set is all Raceface and has been perfect all season, which was really wet for CO. Still spins like new.
 

SuspectDevice

Turbo Monkey
Aug 23, 2002
4,155
355
Roanoke, VA
I picked up a set of Saints a few weeks ago and couldn't be happier. Finally a crankset that is as attractive, durable and well designed as the R9 I hang it from. At whiteface this weekend I was driving the entire crankarm/pedal and bb assembly into large rocks at high speed, and the only result is a few scuffs. Also, the new Atomlab pedal spindles are really impressive, they were taking hits that easily would have bent wellgos and older atomlabs, and after I replaced the preload washers out of the box they are still spinning smooth and play-free. It is awesome to finally have a crank setup that I just don't have to worry about! The diabolus cranks are significantly heavier, and I have personally witnessed 3 pairs of bent chain ring tabs on them. The diabolus are more prevalent around here, so that may lead to that observation however....
 

Dirtbike

Monkey
Mar 21, 2005
593
2
eastbay
With all this new external BB hooplah, facing of the BB shell is a critical factor in bearing life. Facing ensures that the bearings are square and that they dont prematurely wear because of unnatural loads.
 

VSBJake

Chimp
Jul 21, 2006
63
0
NoVa
Yeah Saints are dirt cheap through QBP now.
Corey: Yeah, Capital trails long ago..... same spot plowed over many times. Been goin and growing well for the last 4 years or so. Many names to this place; I just call it Village
 

davep

Turbo Monkey
Jan 7, 2005
3,276
0
seattle
PROFILES w/ a Ti spindle. a lot lighter
How did you figure that? No weights on the profile site. Tubular cro-mo vs tubular aluminum... Every cro-mo crank weight that i have seen has not included bb, or spider, or chainring, and been similar to saints with all above.
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
Has anyone had the spider start creaking on the Saints after only a few rides? About 4 out of 5 started creaking within a month or less out of the guys I ride with. Everyone runs the RF around here now and no problems.

I like the Saints too but I hate the creaking sound they make. Is there a way to fix this or was this just a problem with the first few batches. Shimano warrantied them for my buddies.
 

Dogboy

Turbo Monkey
Apr 12, 2004
3,208
581
Durham, NC
Has anyone had the spider start creaking on the Saints after only a few rides? About 4 out of 5 started creaking within a month or less out of the guys I ride with. Everyone runs the RF around here now and no problems.

I like the Saints too but I hate the creaking sound they make. Is there a way to fix this or was this just a problem with the first few batches. Shimano warrantied them for my buddies.
I have 2 pairs of Saint cranks. One pair is from the first shipment in the US. Neither creak.
 

jungle

Monkey
Jan 11, 2006
357
0
Anyone having troubles with the preload cap coming loose
and the left hand crank coming loose on their Saints ?

I've noticed the new Saint cranks have a small hole in the axle
and on the left crank arm in the gap there is a small
plastic tab with a steel pin that drops into the hole in the axle
once the crank is installed to stop the left crank arm falling off
if the bolts come loose.