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No one replied to tell me whether Rotor Kapic cranks were all they're cranked up to be.
Got the option of Kapic Alu crankset including ring and axle for 403€.
XT with ring and new BB for 180€. I know the anodizing will wear quickly. Not sure how the Rotor cranks hold up.
Anything else I should be looking at. Find the whole Sram DUB thing a bit of a piss take, but several mechanics have told me they make good, reliable cranks.
I have a shimano xt crank on one bike, deore on the hardtail. Aside from a few grams, they both do the exact same thing.
All my drivetrain is being replaced with deore as the more expensive stuff wears out. Cheap to replace, works the same. Depends how much you care!
I guess the xt shifter has double down shift. Thought I would miss it with a deore shifter. Turns out I was wrong!
from memory, 12 speed deore is significantly heavier than slx (might not be hollowtech?) - but from there up its all pretty much the same.
I've still got deore anyway
Had some Deore cranks in my hands. Man they're heavy!
Admittedly I had the Race Face Next SL in the other hand as a comparison, but as I've established, they're crap.
Have to wait a few hours as I'm in Spain and everyone shuts up shop for three hours for lunch.
SLX or XT cranks.
Shimano to match your budget.
The only other cranks I'd be prepared to pay more for are EEwings, as they're the only metal cranks substantially lighter than XTR and the only ones that won't look battered to crap after a few rides. However cost (even at mates rates they're point and laugh spendy) and the fact they only come in 30mm axle format means I'm oot.
(I'm not having an external type BB on an offroad bike that doesn't have the inside faces of the bearings sealed with a tube between them, like 24mm ones do. If your frame has a T47 BB, or PF46 and you use a screw together Hope-style BB, then game on. My bikes don't)
they’re the only metal cranks substantially lighter than XTR
They aren’t, but the others are more spendy still.
Is there a limit on the budget?
cane creek EEWings
Is there a limit on the budget?
Yes and no..... But essentially yes.... 200€ is currently four weeks for budget.
On sram Dub I’m not fully convinced in the longevity of the cranks. Every time I take mine out to check bearings etc the cranks looks like it’s getting a bit worn where it contacts the bearings.
I’ve already junked the standard sram dub bb and am running a wheels manufacturing one which seems to be lasting much better so far (but then it cost a lot more).
The carbon cranks themselves are nice though - truvative descendant (so equivalent to the GX carbon cranks). X01 and XX1 are lighter.
I've got a few nice cranks on various bikes (XTR, X01, Dura Ace etc) but can't really fault the SLX7100s I've got on my cross bike. That's where I'll go now when possible.
these days shimano cranks have stickers on to stop the paint wearing off.
i’m of the opinion that unless you have a special requirement, shimano cranks are the best. just check the model, the 8120 (i think) has a 55mm chainline
Ask for some era cranks to replace your Next SL, then add a Maxhit BB (OK its spendy) and you have a lifetime no quibbles warranty set up thats light and pretty.
What length? Getting 165s from Shimano can be a pain sometimes
As others have said, Shimano SLX or XT. Both have hollow centres and sitin the middle the golden triangle of cost, weight, performance.
Deore's have a scalloped inner on the crank arms. My son recently replaced his Deore's with SLX's and the weight difference, just holding each is significant, in the favour of SLX's is clear. Also bonus of cheap(ish) BB's that last reasonably well.
Over the years I've tried offerings from RaceFace, SRAM and Shimano. There's a very good reason why Shimano SLX & XT are my go to.
these days shimano cranks have stickers on to stop the paint wearing off.
Do they, my M9100 XTR certainly didn't have, they do however have a set of Cyclestik skins fitted.
I've got a mixture of all sorts from Ultegra to XTR to GX to Quarq Carbon and they're all pretty much the same, with the exception of weight, just buy the ones you like.
Hope Evo? Gorgeous looking, don't know how long they stay like that though.
Hard to see past SLX, really
My RF Turbines have been rock solid, especially when I replaced the BB with a Hope unit.
However, I recently got some of those £35 Deore cranks from CRC (Inc BB) and fitted to another bike. May be a bit heavier than SLX, but they look nice, do exactly what they need to.
Second turbines. Not that heavy, strong and your parts from the broken next will serve as spares.
I've had a set of RF Turbines for 4 years and apart from the preload adjuster needing a tweak every now and then, they've been really good with a Hope BB. They do look pretty battered now though. They were a warranty replacement after the fifth set of Next cranks broke!
Crank boots and a bit of helitape keep them looking tidy.
Just to buck the trend, I've a set of Truativ Descendent that came as stock on a Spesh Enduro that is 4 and bit years old and has 9000miles on it and 1 BB change* and it's solid as a rock.
* just about to change it again as the Nukeproof one that's currently in there (Bought in lockdown when you couldn't get OE) is starting to click.
SLX crankset in 165mm length is in stock here https://www.biketart.com/products/shimano-slx-fc-m7120-12-speed-mtb-crankset
the bird ebay store had them in 170mm for £45!
You can't beat Shimano for simplicity, everything else seems overthought or overtorqued, it's a shame Middleburn haven't been revamped with a more common direct mount though, the RS7's were lovely looking in silver.
But I always end up sticking with XT.
SLX are all you need, and the arms seem comparable in weight to some much more spendy options (with worse attachment).
Buy a tarty anodised chainring if you want a bit of bling and to maybe save a bit of weight over the Shimano ring.
Cheers guys.... Decision is made and the bike is now in the shop.
XT cranks. 180€ including new ring and BB and it'll be ready this evening.
Can't complain at that. Got the same offer for 285€ five minutes down the road.
Actually prefer the look of the SLX cranks over the XT, only 10g more weight, but they're not available now. Don't want to be waiting around.... Want to get a move on and get to the Pyrenees, although there is some very good riding around Zaragoza.
Turbine cranks would mean I can keep the current BB and rings, but costs lots more for just the crank arms and saves no weight.
The ridiculous amounts of torque needed when fitting many of these cranks is crazy and a good point. Was enough of a struggle to remove the RF Next cranks. At least with the Shimano system I know what I'm doing and have the necessary tools with me in the van. I have a torque wrench, but it only goes to 25nm....