Mountain bike Q

[R.Sendout]

Can any of you mountain bikers out there recomend a decent crank manufacturer (and supplier) please. I managed to kill mine (Deore) last night and would like something a bit better :nod:

Thanks :)

[Rob-S13]

What sort of riding do you do?

[Jonny]

For suppliers:

www.chainreactioncycles.com
www.ukbikestore.com
www.wiggle.co.uk
www.merlincycles.co.uk

:thumbs:

If you go with aftermarket ones, you may need to change BB as well, as a lot of them are splined rather than tapered now...

Jon

[R.Sendout]

Mainly used for jumping but mess around doing trials every now again :D

[Rob-S13]

Raceface a pritty tough,

i'd spend the cash on a set with a splined Bottom Bracket,

they are stronger and don't round off like the usual square ones

[Rob-S13]

Also depends how many chain ring you have,

if just one, then the BMX style like the azonic are good,

Middleburn do nice splined cranks with a choice of chainrings

the trials chank is :smitten:

that
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ looks to have some good ones

[R.Sendout]

Cheers guys will check them out :thumbs:
Have heard of Race Face and how they are meant to be the best. Just a bit out of touch with this sort of thing now :(

[Rob-S13]

raceface are good, thats what came to my mind first,

i'm a bit out of touch to.

i used to ride in the British trials championships back in 99'

but i started driving and swapped my bike for a 205gti :nod:

and i haven't ridden since then

[seb]

The only cranks I would ever recommend on my experiences are Middleburn and XTR. Middleburn are considerably cheaper, and I know the guys who make them (I did their site and product photos a couple of years ago). Their warranty and customer service is excellent, can't recommend them enough.

Raceface seem to be made of cheese, and as a US company you'll never get the level of service from them if you do break them. The Middleburn RS7 arms are warrantied for anything you do - trails, jumping, DH racing, the lot!!

http://www.middleburn.co.uk/images/photos/large/two_cranks_redblue.jpg

[Clong]

Race face are good, but the lower end tend to be a bit "flimsy", especially the BB's. The high spec BB can be rebuilt so they tend to last as you can replace teh bearings, they use ISIS BB's. Square tapers getting harder to find, Race Face still do square taper cranks. Shimano use Octalink, but i am sure you can get square taper still. There is also the Hollowtech II which is on XT and XTR at the moment, LX version in 2005.

It will depend on budget, Race face will set you back ~£170, Hollowtech II £119 (XT version, XTR = if you have to ask you can't afford) but you will need it to be fitted (BB shell needs facing). Shimano also do a Saint groupset, which is as hard as nails, not sure of cost though.

FSA (ISIS), Truvativ (ISIS), Roox (Octalink) and Middleburn (?) all do decent cranks, a load of review can be found on www.mtbr.com , although it is a american site, some of the reviews are bit OTT.

[ferretca18]

i got race face prodigy's :) well nice but the race face bottom brackets are pants unless they are the expensive jobbies :wack: If ya let me know what youre after i could possibly get you some for cheap, as a mate of mine is sponsored by silverfish :thumbs: (importers and official distributors of race face)

[Chavbo]

for mainly jumping i'd go down the line of bmx style cranks and BB. a few of my mates run 24/7 cranks and they seem very solid, also the likes of profile if your budget will stretch that far. i'm still running FSA Powerpro's (the Daewoo Matiz of cranks) and haven't managed to break them yet, which is surprising seeing as they've taken many a heavy and/or awkward landing over the last couple of years.

Should probably point out that i haven't been paying attention to the MTB world for a wee while so these suggestions may very well be invalid nowadays...

[seb]

Regarding bottom brackets, if you want to go ISIS (the spline you can see on the blue crank I pictured, as opposed to square-taper) or need to replace a currently knackered ISIS bottom bracket then FSA platinum bottom brackets are the best - avoid race face ISIS BBs at all costs! :)

www.fullspeedahead.com

[R.Sendout]

Thanks again :thumbs:

Had a good look and read, and have decided I am going to go for the Middleburn RS7s :nod:

The more I found about Face Race the more they seem to be over praised in a typical American style. (Sorry if that offends anyone)

Also decided to order from chainreactioncycles. Havn't done so yet, so if you know of anywhere with better deals please let me know :thumbs:

[alexjj]

One of the cheapest mail order sites is a small English company called Dave ***** cycles. He is remarkably cheap, but ridiculously slagged off for ripping off customers, and poor service. If your research turns him up, dont go there.

For more links and stuff, check out www.bikemagic.com which has links to loads of shops.

I had a square taper Middleburn chainset. Very soft aluminIUm which I gouged repeatedly on rocks - and flexy too - although this were back in the day (1994 cough ermmm mutter) when I was racing in the scottish series.

They never broke though. They are also well light, still today.

Not sure what they are like these days. Mind you, amazing customer service, and a British company. So I say - sod it, go for em!

Only thing is, I wouldnt put their own chainrings on if your doing jumps and stuff - maybe go for TA or PACE or something. The Middleburn decent ones are well expensive.

To be honest, I have Deore Hollowtech ones on my town rat, with Purple alu bolts. It has all steel chainrings, which dont flex and the whole thing is well stiff. It is heavy ish at about 700 grams (XT is 615 ish) but they are half the price!

As for the other manufacturers, FSA are rated, as are Truvativ top end ones and DMR's (also brit I think?)

Anyways... if you were going Middleburn (hear, hear!!) then it would cost the same as XTR complete chainset if you were adding up the bottom bracket, chainrings etc....

XTR - you know it makes sense ;) :thumbs: :nod:

[alexjj]

wiggle.co.uk are good, I use them as much as I use chain reaction.

These are also good though...

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/p.php?products=Transmission&header=Mtb&make=CHAINSET

Enjoy m8y

[seb]

One thing I've learnt by knowing the guys at middleburn is there's a good way to get good service form pretty much anyone: when you send the broken item back include a pack of Jaffa cakes :D :D

[dobergoose]

I'd also recommend 24/7 sold a good few sets of them and never had a pair back, XTR stuff is overpriced IMHO but the new Saint stuff looks like being real tough. :thumbs:

[alexjj]

I completely agree. Bugger!

XTR is overpriced. But i think it is the best out there - the new one with the integral bottom bracket and bearings is well stiff and strong. It also doesnt weigh even half of a 24/7 built up with rings and bottom bracket (nor does it come with the sexy tshirt in the pizza box either :( ) or a DMR. You would never see warranty claims for these though tis true - a lot of my hooligan m8s up waaaay north used these for trials and general freeride insanity in the highlands (the clan...) and remember this is all well strong 4130 cromo or other bits of industrial pipe welded together...

Fine for jumps and stuff but naff for day to day general riding slick shimano style shifting and light weight. XTR and middleburn are more what I think this fine SX manny is looking for. The XTR stuff will be much stiffer and shift better than anything else on the market - although it would be on a par with Middleburn in terms of sexiness and quality and weight.

Yes I agree it pains me it is so expensive, but it is unlikely you will ever want or need another pair of cranks again... My old XTR shifters are like new - even though they have been crashed and submerged in lochs (jumping into them) and left in desert heat and stuff. Cartridge bearing smoothness... and 100% shifting, time after time. I find the same with the cranks - but a note to newbies:

Check your chainline carefully - its not just a case of just boshing them on onto the right length bottom bracket - its a bit more fiddly to do it properly. If in doubt, get your LBS to do it for a minimal fee and as Seb says.... Jaffa cakes always work - food of champions and bike mechanics all over this fair isle!

Check out www.merlincycles.co.uk for cheap older style XTR cranks as well as other cheap cranks too. :Plug: Sorry - I dont work for any of these companies - just trying to get cheap deals for y'all :thumbs:

[mattpayne]

Middleburn and XTR are the way forward... and as everyone says... middleburns customer support was (probably still is) good :)

but saying that, I run a Syncros Hardcore Ti BB with XT cranks and Speciaities TA machined rings :thumbs: pushed around with XTR STi levers, XTR mechs and flight deck ;)

[mr-mac]

Pace....

[R.Sendout]

Poped into my local bike shop on the way home and they can supply Middleburn within a couple of days :)

Am going to pop back in tomorrow and run through some bits with them.

They had a few Race Face bits and where really talking them up but I think I have built my opinion of them partly due to the fact they use stick on carbon :ghey:

[mr-mac]

Scratch that.....

They don't do them anymore. Damn fine cranks and chainrings as well

[ferretca18]

ive got middleburns on me revell jump bike, well good, just went for the race face ones for me DH rig as i ran out of money :nod: Plus middleburns come with a lifetime warranty :thumbs: