[Jeff M.]

Hey,
What are everyone's thought's on XTR cranks? I can get a wicked deal on a new set, any problems with them? They come with a 112 4-arm spider and a 50 tooth chainring but I want something more normal (they'll be going on my hard tail), but to my knowledge no rings under 46 tooth are available for this bolt pattern. Where can I get a conventional 5-arm spider? If it makes a difference they're the older 950 model, not the newer 951 or 952 model. Also what the difference between bottom brackets, is the more expensive one worth it?

Thanks in advance
-Jeff

 

[shocktower]

You can buy an spider from bike nash bar for 4.95 US ,the only thing is you wil have to machine or file it so it clears the arm ( the DH arms are thicker ) what is great about this is you can buy a compact (so if you are wimpy like me) you can buy some 20 -32-42 race face chain rings and the BB is the same I just hope it is the right size for your bike BTW you can buy brand new ones from cambria bike for $129 US with the 50t chain ring BTW I have machined a spider to fit the DH cranks on my bike Good Luck

 

[Banga]

Thats alot of Q's in one go my friend.But here goes.
The cranks themselves are very light, very strong and very stiff, I used to ride them on my DH bike and like them a lot,if i had the monye thats what would be going on my current bike.You should be able to get a 110bcd spider ordered from your LBS they cost around $150nz here so could set you back $50 -$70 at a guess.I'm not 100% sure about the model designation but I THINK that 950 is DH 951 is 8spd and 952 is 9 spd, im sure someone will correct me if im wrong.I was running the second most expensive BB with the steel or alloy axle in stead of the Ti one, but it wasn't the sealed unit that you can get now.The BB I had could be quite a hassle to adjust if you didn't know what you were doing but other than that was fine,worth the extra money?debatable.They usually last longer tho.

 

[oldfart]

I'm not absolutely positive but I think all XTR cranks are the same. Only the rings and spiders differ.

 

[shocktower]

The DH cranks are just a little fatter and you will need to modifiy your avitar spider $ 4.95 USD at bike nash bar

 

[Jeff M.]

Thanks for the help everyone. I should hopefully be picking them up today. Thanks for suggesting Cambria shocktower, but I'm getting a better deal than that.

-Jeff

BTW, would I need the 112.5 or the 116 BB for putting them on a SC Chameleon.

 

[vitox]

i think oldfart is right in that all are the same, they weigh the same so i cant understand how they can be different, what really changes is the bottom bracket,
you want the old 950 bb which is a lot better suited for dh than the cartridge 952, the 950 is a huge hollow axle and has adjustable chainline and is much easier to use with a bb mounted chainguide, at since the chainline is adjustable you can get around the strange chainlines dh bikes oftentimes have, even without bb mount guide.
plus the cartridge 952 has a much smaller diameter axle (it gets slimmer in the middle to clear the bearings) so it isnt as stiff as te 950, its some 60g heavier too but i guess thats not too important

cranks are great for dh, stiff as hell and can take a beating, not the toughest out there but still real good, great clearance for weird frame shapes too


you can try cambria and see if they have any AC spiders, those are made specifically for the xtr crank and exist in 94mm bcd and 110mm, 5-arm so that should allow you to use almost any ring you might want to run.