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looking at different cranks there isnt that much weight difference between the mid range and really expensive options.
so what else do the expensive options offer?
Apparently that Merlincycles link is incorrect. I emailed earlier this week asking which version of the Stylo it is they have for sale, and they confirmed it was the 2011 version which is hollow formed and lighter. I had pushed the button on a RaceFace Deus XC in he meantime otherwise I would have had one myself.
Shininess and/or UD carbon. Both only to be purhased if you're pigeon toed - otherwise they look crap after a couple of wet rides and you end up wishing you'd bought the cheap ones.
When you say expensive cranks 😯
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=51611
With XTR, an awful lot of the weight loss is in the rings anyway compared to XT.
are they harder wearing then?
XTR for me the rings are pretty hard wearing got a fair few miles out of them and raced them as well in that time expensive to replace so went for middleburn which weight a bit more
m970's on two of my bikes , one running dual and bash, i love them, light, efficient , extremely stiff, nicely made, who cares if they look a bit naff after the XTR logo has started getting rubbed off, Don't buy them because they are xtr buy them because you want the performance you get when you buy xtr,
If scuffing the logo is a problem, then a bit of helitape is your friend.
My pimp, expensive cranks 🙂
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shimano saints are worth a look, really like mine which i have on my dh bike
double post
My pimp, expensive cranks
Nice!
Love the 'one different coloured bolt' for extra blinginess! 😀
Love the 'one different coloured bolt' for extra blinginess!
1. Struggle to fit four red bolts, because stupid design makes use of chainring bolt tool impossible;
2. 3 out of 4 bolts work loose over two rides;
3. Replace loose bolts with proper bolts;
4. Struggle to remove last red bolt, because stupid design makes use of chainring bolt tool impossible;
5. Assume that the bolt won't come loose if I can't shift it.
XTR M970 for me, can be bought used for reasonable money now, very stiff and light.
There is quite a difference in how stiff they are and also ring quality. I believe that the M970's are by far the best you can buy and I've never scuffed my arms on the 3 sets I've had or any other cranks I've owned. Compared to the M960's the 970's are in another world - the rings last far far longer, they're not made from cheese and super super stiff. I'd also recommend RaceFace Deus XC as they too are stiff - not quite 970 though. The rings are also very very good but the RF BB's are atrocious compared to Shimano stuff.
I remember one of the rare informative tests in bike mags a few years ago.
Even the Saints weren't [i]that[/i] stiffer than decent square taper.
It's all in the mind/marketing
I got some xtr's because they are very pretty, light and fit into the tried, tested and reliable category!
Which ones to get? Old 2nd hand ones, the're much cheeper and just as light as they were when they were new!
I've some old RF deus on one bike, XTR's on another, XT's on another, none are deal breakingly better than each other, the RF's are probably the weakest and least stiff for not much weight saving, the XTR's slightly stiffer and lighter than the (even older) XT's, but I'd be happy running most of them on most of my bikes.