FSA Afterburner Compact 386 Crankset

3.6/5

(10 Reviews)

Write a review

MSRP : $240.00

Where To Buy

Store	Price

Product Description

Hollow-forged AL6061/T6 crankarms
AL7075 100% CNC machined chainrings
AL7075 Torx T-30 alloy chainring bolts
Oversized cartridge bearings
24mm integrated CrMo spindle

Review Options: Sorted by Latest Review | Sort by Best Rating

Reviews 1 - 10 (10 Reviews Total)

User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by Tom

Date Reviewed: February 9, 2013

Strengths:    Grea solid crank... when it does not come loose..

Weaknesses:    Signed up just to post I am suffering from loose crank arms after 6 - 8 miles of riding, regardless of how much loctite and teflon tape I use on the threads.

Bottom Line:

I wonder if bikesdirect is getting all the failed quality inspection batches of this product...

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by PHILLYBIKER a All Mountain Rider

Date Reviewed: February 1, 2013

Strengths:    Work great

Weaknesses:    Left cranks arm comes loose after 12 miles???? Still figuring a fix for it. Center bolt loosens and then creates side to side play.

Bottom Line:

They work great when they are not loose

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   nocamixon

Duration Product Used:   3 wks

Purchased At:   bikes direct.com

Bike Setup:   Motobecane 29 ti flyer XTR 30spd

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by Curtis Lavoie a Cross Country Rider

Date Reviewed: July 9, 2012

Strengths:    looks

Weaknesses:    Very short BB life, left crank arm comes loose often, even with thread locker on center bolt, to much inner ring flex.

Bottom Line:

I put about a thousand miles on these cranks last year. Right from the start I set them up 1x with the 27t, I have no use for the 40t in the NE woods. This worked great because unlike the other doubles, the arms don't extend past the inner ring, so it was a clean setup. For the most part they were ok, but when in the 11t out back I could make the ring flex enough to drop the chain to the outside. it was rare but it happened. This year I found a 28t to replace the worn out 27, I was amped because I wanted just a little more gear and only 27s were in stock last year. Well the 28t makes the flex problem much worse, to the point where I ride in fear of throwing the chain with any hard effort. I'm 155lb guy, so there is really no excuse for this. if three bolts were a good idea it would have been done before now.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used: 1 year

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by moschika a Cross Country Rider from Norcal

Date Reviewed: May 16, 2011

Strengths:    Looks, price, looks, stiffness, looks

Weaknesses:    not many chainring size options. proprietary chainring bolt pattern.

Bottom Line:

one of the few reasonably priced silver cranksets i could find. they've held up really well over the course of the year without any problems. i haven't worn the chainrings down, but when it's time, it's not hard to get them direct from FSA. i wouldn't expect to find them at my LBS. the 27x41 gearing is fine for most conditions, though i think when i change my cassette, i'll get a 36 next time. i think these are a great value, but the limited chainring sizes is a bit of bummer. hopefully they'll come out with more over time.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   ones with dirt

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Purchased At:   through bike builder

Similar Products Used:   last bike had race face turbines.

Bike Setup:   29er FS, Sram x-9 derailleurs, 12x34 cassette

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by onza a Racer from Santa Clarita,CA

Date Reviewed: December 27, 2010

Strengths:    Stiff, reasonably light, looks, simple installation, one of the few 2 x 9 cranksets out there!

Weaknesses:    None yet...

Bottom Line:

Have SRAM XX 2 x 10 (Which I absolutely love!)on my S- Works Epic race bike. I had recently built up my Pivot Mach 4 using some new and some used parts (off another bike) including an '08 XT triple crankset. Soon realized I did not need a triple ring anymore (never even use the small ring) and I didn't want to spend big bucks on a 2 x 10 (would have needed to upgrade the whole drivetrain) so I went "cheap". Turns out it's pretty darn nice! I have the 27/40 with an 11-34 XO cassette and though it doesn't shift as nice as the XX, it still shifts real smooth! Never drop my chain like some other reviews I saw. Those guys need to sdjust the frt. der. and limit screws and they will be fine!
The crankset is pretty sweet looking and the cool part is I bought it for $197 and sold the included BB (which I didn't need) on ebay for almost 50 bucks! I just used the installed XTR press fit BB on my Mach 4 and it works awesome. I've been told by some you shouldn't do that and should only use the FSA BB, but it spins SUPER SMOOTH with no friction or play.
The one thing I'm not looking forward to is finding the replacement rings when it comes time, but I'll worry about that when the time comes.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   in Big Bear

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $197.00

Purchased At:   Speed Goat

Similar Products Used:   XT, XTR, Specialized carbon

Bike Setup:   Pivot Mach 4 with XO, Ritchey WCS, Thomson Elite, Fox F100, American Classic tubeless, blah blah blah...

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by h2otaco a Racer from Tulsa

Date Reviewed: October 25, 2010

Strengths:    On a 29er paired with a 11-32 gearing is perfect for nearly every type of riding. Crank arms are nice and stiff.

Weaknesses:    Cranks need to be re-torqued every few hundred miles. The cap, especially bolt will work itself loose. Chainrings wear crazy fast... 2 months of daily riding and bi-weekly racing thrashed the 27t. Replacements are VERY difficult to find.

Bottom Line:

This is a great concept... i.e. 27-40 double, perfect gearing. Execution is poor though. The chainrings are proprietary and zero vendors carry the 27t. This problem is compacted by how fast the rings wear.

I wont ever buy a crank that uses proprietary chainrings again, and I'll think twice about FSA as well.

3 for the price/value - 2 for the durability & availability/overall.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   too-many-to-choose

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $250.00

Purchased At:   Speedgoat

Similar Products Used:   Raceface Deus triple and single, Shimano, LX & XT, Truvativ Stylo.

Bike Setup:   Specialized Epic 29er 2010.

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by Jeff a Cross Country Rider from Easley, SC

Date Reviewed: September 18, 2010

Strengths:    Light weight, shifts well, stiff, with only 2 chainrings there are less duplicated gears ratios.

Weaknesses:    None noted so far

Bottom Line:

I like it a lot. I am very confident when shifting between the 27T and 40T chainrings and the bike is still running 3x9 shifters. With the lowest ratio at 27/34 it still climbs very well and I don't miss the 22T granny gear. It is one of those products that is not just worth the cost but makes you faster. I find the 40T more useful than the 44T ever was. The 27T is a nice gear to fit between the 22/32 it replaced. It was a good choice and buy. I race at the beginner/sportsman level a few times a year and think it will help me next year, a true beginner who only trail rides may miss granny gear.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $203.00

Purchased At:   online

Bike Setup:   Trek 69er with Sram shifters, Kenda tires.

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by jmk999 a Cross Country Rider from Middletown, CT

Date Reviewed: May 24, 2010

Strengths:    Shifts very well. Reasonably light. 2x9 without spending a fortune. Easy set-up.

Weaknesses:    Proprietary bolt pattern.

Bottom Line:

At the moment, the least expensive way to convert to 2x9. Installation took minutes and performance on the trail is flawless. Don't notice any difference in stiffness compared to the older (splined) XTR cranks they replace. Too soon to know if - as others have said - the BB is prone to failure, but I'll reserve one chili on the value rating for now. Even if it fails, I'll be very happy with the crankset.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Any

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $205.00

Purchased At:   LBS

Similar Products Used:   Too many to list

Bike Setup:   Cannondale Scalpel

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by neffirg a Weekend Warrior from Bellingham, WA

Date Reviewed: February 6, 2010

Strengths:    Smooth shifts, stiff, light and pretty.

Weaknesses:    Almost too pretty to ride.

Bottom Line:

The 29-40 combination paired with a Shimano SLX 12-36 cassette give riding a whole new feel, there is virtually no gear overlap. Super stiff crank arms. Similar to the new SRAM XX but way cheaper. So far so good.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   The whole mountain!!

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $190.00

Purchased At:   Universal Cycles

Similar Products Used:   Shimano LX FC-M582 and TruVativ Firex GXP (both with only two rings)

Bike Setup:   Sette Riddik with Betd long travel upgrade, Cane Creek Cloud 9 shock, Manitou Nixon Intrinsic Air fork, XT derailleurs and shifters and Avid Juicy 7 brakes

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by tennessee17 a Cross Country Rider from Asheville, NC

Date Reviewed: February 3, 2010

Strengths:    Stiff, shifts well, Blingy chainrings, Lightweight, Easy to install

Weaknesses:    Bottom Bracket bearings are terrible

Bottom Line:

These cranks are an much more affordable option than SRAM XX. The 27-40 gearing works very well with an 11-34 cassette in the rear. The shifting is spot on and quick. The crank arm finish is similar to the old XTR 960 gunmetal look.

The bottom bracket bearings failed after 6 rides. I replaced with a Shimano XT 770 unit that has made a very good product excellent. If you want to go double, this is the crank for you! The bottom bracket just plain sucks, but the rest of the unit is high quality.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Ridgeline @ DuPont

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $190.00

Purchased At:   Universal Cycles

Similar Products Used:   XTR 970, XT 960

Bike Setup:   Stumpy 29 FSR 2009

Reviews 1 - 10 (10 Reviews Total)

Review Options: Sorted by Latest Review | Sort by Best Rating

FSA Afterburner Compact 386 Crankset

Where To Buy

Product Description

User Reviews

Related Afterburner Compact 386 Forum Posts

Crank Brothers:

DMR: