What's The Deal w/55mm Cranks?
- Thread starter Lelandjt
- Start date
How will you do an unboxing video for the 'Gram and a new bike photoshoot for your followers? Fuck mate - its like you don't even influence broor skip the middle man and just leave modern Xp£n$iV $h1T in the shop where it belongs
But 4.99 was the correct answer.
Aluminum, so weight.
Nahhh, the spindle might be a tiny bit lighter, then you need larger bearings and larger housing in the frame... not sure what you gain at the end?
I am also questioning the 30mm spindle. The main pivot for suspension is rarely bigger than 15mm but cranks need 30mm? Wtf?
Do people find 24mm spindles too flexy? I doubt that.
Still, the 24mil used sleeves that the spindle ran on and the bearings and cups were the same size as 30, the same 6806 bearings.
With some of these wider cranks, a larger spindle makes a lot of sense IMO. Otherwise to get the same stiffness you got to be making the smaller one much heavier to compare.
Wut?
Dura ACE light n stuff enough for TDF climb and 2000w+ winning sprint efforts
XTR WC XC
Saint for Rampage and WC DH
How much lighter does a 30mm axle allow other brands to make their chainsets?
And in these days of 40lb+ Derp bikes does it even matter?
I don't feel like googling exact weights but Shimano cranks lost popularity partly because Raceface & Sram are lighter. (owner of a 30lb derp bike). I have only seen new generation XTR on sponsored riders bikes. Literally never seen someone buy it. On the road people like "complete group sets" so Shimano cranks have lived on, but many custom builds use an otherwise Shimano drivetrain with a previous gen Sram Red or some other carbon arm/aluminum spindle crank.
I have 30mm just because that's what eeWings came in and I got a bro-deal on them for forever cranks. I would have bought them still if they were 24, 28.99, or whatever. They're indestructible for my level of riding, as light as/lighter than carbon, and require zero maintenance or protection. Unnecessary? Absolutely. Do I regret buying them? Never.
I'm glad I switched back to a Shimano crank this season. I don't care about the few grams I might have gained, vs running the Race Face Turbine crank.
Bottom brackets for 24mm spindles are 1/3 or 1/2 the cost of any 30mm variant.
I no longer have to deal with the stupid single bolt interface. Now I just need the girlfriend to either get new cranks or a new bike, because every time I need to remove the Sram dub crankset on that bike I need to find the biggest lever to snap the bolt loose. Its only a matter of time before my wrists slide across the chainring and I'm being evaluated at the hospital for self harm.
Bottom brackets for 24mm spindles are 1/3 or 1/2 the cost of any 30mm variant.
I no longer have to deal with the stupid single bolt interface. Now I just need the girlfriend to either get new cranks or a new bike, because every time I need to remove the Sram dub crankset on that bike I need to find the biggest lever to snap the bolt loose. Its only a matter of time before my wrists slide across the chainring and I'm being evaluated at the hospital for self harm.
I have a simple method. Put it on w/breaker bar. Take if off with pvc pipe extension. Smaller lever on, bigger lever for off.
see XTR cranks on plenty regional level XC racers bikes here but that's about it. I'd have thought it was rarely seen more due to price and the perception that your money is better spent on carbon. (when it really isn't).
I tend to see FSA more than any other cranks on mid range roadbikes with otherwise shimano groupsets. Clearly just chosen for cost saving by the manufacturers.
Custom road builds (over a certain price point) here tend to have power meter cranks chosen for price or reliability/reputation rather than a gram saving exercise
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Earlier this week a mate came round to use our workshop to replace his dub BB. He must weigh about 8stone and I could see he was struggling like fuck to break the crank bolt loose so I came over to help. Now normally if I have a super tight DUB crank bolt my process is to lean the bike against the wall. Use a toe strap around the L/H crank arm and chainstay to hold the arms level and add a little security. Stand on the R/H pedal leant towards the wall with the rear brake on and forcefully shock the Allen key sheathed in a 1" crown setter for extra leverage. But since I had a "helper" I simply asked him to hold the rear brake while standing on the pedal so I could slam down on the Allen key with my foot. The poor little fucker flew straight in the air like something from barnum and baileys and nearly hit the workshop ceiling. Funny AF to see. But I did get a shinner from the Allen key for my trouble.
Ended up doing it myself my usual way. It rarely ever fails.
Ended up doing it myself my usual way. It rarely ever fails.
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$700 for XTR cranks here. No wonder.
And they no longer have the easy to use and service pinch bolts. No wonder.
pffftt... an Allen key? What a hassle. Shimano's Ebike crank arms are tool free removal mid ride.
Boring (moany faced) explanation : As the inner face isn't actually preloaded to anything. in extreme use (kidding. Normal repeated sideways forces) can cause the cranks splined interface to "walk" along the spindle where eventually the plastic cap threads just let go and before you know it the crank is thrown onto the trail. The easy fix is to simply fit Alu caps.
Buddy of mine kinda had that happen. He hit a drop, sent it a bit long and went to flat.
Totally blew his NDS side XTR crank clear off the spindle. We all stood around asking how the fuck did that happen. Now I know. Cheers!
I bought a set of new XTR arms off a closing LBS for $140 but had to find all the small bits. No Hollowtech II interface anymore is lame but I eventually figured it out. So far its working fine.
Shimano 24mm arms and 73mm bb haven't let me down in over a decade with many different set ups. I've been using Kogel bottom brackets with no complaints.