A trimmed down version of our original Turbine LP, the Deus crank is the lightest all-aluminum crank we've ever made. Designed specifically for cross country racing, this crank offers impressive strength and stiffness in an incredibly light package.
The lightest aluminum crank we've ever made
Built in our BC manufacturing facility
Manufactured from 7050 aluminum
Near net forged and fully CNC machined
Aggressive I-Beam profiling for improved stiffness and strength
Built in Spacers allows the use of shorter bolts, providing an additional weight savings.
X-Type version features super light, butted, heat treated NiCrMo spindle
Also available in ISIS Drive
Built for: XC Racing
Size: 170,175, 180mm
Warranty: Lifetime
Colours:
Anodized: Bad Ass Black and Shiny Silver
Powder Coated: Shred Red and Team White (175mm only)
Submitted by
kArmaClad
a Racer
from Madison, WI, USA Date Reviewed: October 26, 2009
Favorite Trail:
HPT, CamRock, Quarry ridge, quarry park
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$280.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Lightweight! Stiff, smooth shifting, lighter and less expensive than XT.
Weaknesses:
Haven't seen any yet, I have read about the BB wearing out, but haven't seen that yet and absolutely no chainsuck at all.
Similar Products Used:
XT, XTR, kooka, etc.
Bike Setup:
09 HKEK stock plus RF cranks
Bottom Line:
Best upgrade dollars spent.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jdpowers
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix, AZ Date Reviewed: October 2, 2009
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Stiff and cheap
Weaknesses:
Chainsuck, chainsuck and more chainsuck
Similar Products Used:
XT, SLX, XTR
Bike Setup:
Hei Hei
Bottom Line:
One and done.
These cranks were on a brand new Hei Hei I purchased or else I would have gone with trusty Shimano. One ride on these and three chainsuck episodes later the back was back in the shop getting the cranks swapped out. Maybe it was the frame's fault (but Shimano cranks fixed it) but having new equipment fail like this is always disappointing. I would/will stick with Shimano cranks.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
tkehler
a Cross Country Rider
from BC, Canada Date Reviewed: December 30, 2008
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
on-line
Strengths:
Tough, stiff, good rings, no chainsuck (not once), crisp shifting every time (even after days of mud, dust, railbed gravel, rain and 40' long x 2' deep puddles)
Weaknesses:
None so far, though people say the BB is crap -- I've not had a single problem.
Similar Products Used:
Numerous
Bike Setup:
Seven Sola titanium bike, Thomson, SRAM X9
Bottom Line:
I use my bike for XC, single track, and other things like that. AND especially for long distance riding and touring. I've done many days on the Kettle Valley trail, in all kinds of conditions and I've had no trouble. (I have a nice Phil Wood external BB ready to install when I have to replace this BB, but I've done 3,000 km without any worries. And I expect to keep using the cranks for a long time.)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
adept1
a Cross Country Rider
from Singapore Date Reviewed: November 17, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Bukit Timah
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$220.00
Purchased At:
ebay seller
Strengths:
Lightweight, reasonable price, nice looking, good instructions (IF YOU READ THEM!)
Weaknesses:
Aluminum bolt is not suitable for the initial installation. It'll strip if you apply the necessary torque to get the bolt to bottom out all the way. I set my torque wrench to 50 ft/lbs and stripped it. Glad it was the bolt and not the spindle! Better to use a steel bolt for initial install, and replace with an aluminum or titanium one after if you want something lighter. I used an old steel bolt from a previous crankset and tightened it to 50 ft/lbs.
Similar Products Used:
Race Face Evolve XC
Bike Setup:
XC hardtail
Bottom Line:
I really like the cranks, and have not experienced any of the problems other people have mentioned here. You need to follow the instructions properly! I think many of the problems may be because the cranks aren't torqued down hard enough, and this could result in loosening, wobbling, and improper chainlines. I think Race Face should supply a steel bolt for the initial install, and people would not have these problems. I'm deducting 1 point for this.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Graphxxx
a Weekend Warrior
from Montreal, Quebec, Canada Date Reviewed: November 2, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$115.00
Purchased At:
Pinkbike
Strengths:
Super strong, looks great! Work flawlessly.
Weaknesses:
None that i can think of really.
Similar Products Used:
Truvativ hussefelt, blaze
Bike Setup:
04 Hucker small, 06 66 RC2x, XT M772 rear derailleur, RF diabolus cranks, s-types, RF evolve DH stem, Nokian NBX 2.3 tires, truvativ box guide, Hayes Mags and etc.
Bottom Line:
To me this cranks got installed in about 5 mins no joke. Though i had small problems with the spindle at first. I would get a small play with the drive side crank arm and the spindle but that go fixed. I do have to check the cups here and there to see if any loose.
They can take abuse to the max, will stay true, never bend and will always be solid! They look great to. Yes heavy, but i don't mind weight for strength. I got a good deal and i can't be happier to have these cranks on my bike!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
kevinchellew
a Cross Country Rider
from sudbury ontario Date Reviewed: October 16, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
great crank and BB. Light weight, durable
Bike Setup:
rocky mountain element 70 stock
Bottom Line:
this crank is just fine. I read alot of bad reviews about it. I ride in adverse conditions (rain, sand, mud, 3 ft. water holes) and after 5000 km. it still preforms like it was new. Let's all hear it for a great Canadian crankset.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dgangi
a Weekend Warrior
from Phoenix, AZ Date Reviewed: October 13, 2008
XT outboard crankset, lots of ISIS stuff, old Race Face square taper
Bike Setup:
2007 Motolite, 2005 Giant NRS
Bottom Line:
I'm not sure why so many people here give these cranks a bad review. I have these mounted on 2 bikes, and after a year of abuse I haven't had an issue with either. A number of my friends use these with success as well.
First, and most importantly, installation is key to the success or failure of an outboard bearing crankset. Outboard systems, regardless of brand, are highly susceptible to frame tolerances. Any problems in the bottom bracket shell -- poor facing or misaligned (not parallel) faces caused by sloppy bike frame manufacturing -- will kill any crankset. Poor tolerances in the bottom bracket shell is more common than you think...
I mounted the cranks on both of my bikes myself. I followed the instructions carefully (which were relativley easy to read). I greased every surface, torqued the cups down very snug, and mounted the cranksets with the cinch bolt to where it fully bottomed out. You need a proper torque wrench to do this.
After successful installation, these things look great and perform well. Race Face chainrings are the best wearing chainrings out there (XT crap wears like butter)...and after a year of beating on these I hardly notice any wear. Shifting is smooth and crisp (XT front derailleur on both bikes). I've never had any chain suck problems on either bike.
I bought the shiny silver Aluminum crank arms, and after a year of AZ rock rash, the crankset still looks really nice. Shimano stuff looks horrible after just a year of use. I have no idea how well the black Race Face color would work...but the silver has been great.
These cranks are very stiff. I pound the hell out of these on my Motolite, and I have yet to feel any flex anywhere in the system.
As far as durability goes, the Deus cranks have been great. I frequently smash the end of a crank arm on a rock, and besides some nice gashes in the ends of the crank arms...nothing else has been affected.
Anyway, as I said in the opening of this review...as long as you are careful to mount these properly, I think these are some of the best cranks out there. And when you do wear out the bearings, any Shimano cups/bearings will fit (Race Face and Shimano use the exact same cups/bearings) - so finding replacement parts is a snap.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Rapidtrax
a Cross Country Rider
from MA Date Reviewed: September 27, 2008
Favorite Trail:
They're all good
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$245.00
Purchased At:
Seasonal Outfitters
Strengths:
2008 eight Deus is redesigned, solid bolt, spline redesign
Weaknesses:
well, to early to tell. riden once so far
Similar Products Used:
earlier Deus Design
Bike Setup:
Intense
Bottom Line:
This is an update to my previous review. I was so displeased with the performance of the original Deus product I did some research. It appears the new Deus (2008 I guess) has a solid bolt design rather than the hollowed out bolt. Also the x-type spline appears to be redesigned. Gone are the large flat spline areas being replaced by more of the finer spline ridges( and grooves). I will say that this set appears to work much better so far. Installation was the same but I did notice that the setup tightened right up at 45 ft-lbs (the recommended torque). I will have to see how well this new version works. three chillis to start; I'll go up or down from here
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Yetidog2
a Cross Country Rider
from Michigan Date Reviewed: August 30, 2008
Absolute crap! I just installed my third crank in nearly 3-years. Fortunately Race Face has warrantied all. The first two cranks had to be cut off the bike because the crank halves froze together. Bearings seize around 1,000 miles. Must be very careful when servicing the BB because the dust covers easily crack requiring BB replacement. If you already have RF, don't accept a warranty replacement- just pony up for a new XT crank.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
steadite
a Weekend Warrior
from Erie, PA, USA Date Reviewed: August 21, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$260.00
Purchased At:
somewhere online
Strengths:
Light and gorgeous looking. Nice chainrings---good shifting.
Weaknesses:
Bottom bracket started creaking like crazy after ~100 miles. Tried to remove the crankarm and the extractor screw broke (with threads now stuck in the arm). Without success, tried every way possible to remove the crankarm (including a gear-puller and torch!) and ended up cutting the crankarm off with an angle grinder. One for the garbage bin.
Similar Products Used:
mid-range shimano and FSA.
Bike Setup:
Cannondale hardtail
Bottom Line:
Very bad design WRT arrachment of drive-side crank arm to the axle. The extractor screw simply does not have enough strength to pop the spline joint apart. Big waste of money for me.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Rapidtrax
a Weekend Warrior
from Date Reviewed: August 19, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Sidewinder
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
Seasonal Outfitters
Strengths:
Light, fairly well priced, flexible installation capability, ringgear ratio set
Weaknesses:
Right hand cranck arm will not stay tight causing ring gear assemble to wobble, excessive wear, safety issue
Bike Setup:
Intense
Bottom Line:
I wish to warn you about purchasing this or any Race Face crank set. The current design is flawed and causes excessive wear of the shaft splines. Excessive or frequent torqueing of the mounting bolt and cap will not correct the problem. The wobbling of the RH crank set will worsen the wear issue and ulimately cause an unsafe condition.
Though Race Face is based in British Columbia I urge you to make this safety issue known by filing with the US Product Consumer Safety Division.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Stefan Garcia
a Cross Country Rider
from Wooster, OH Date Reviewed: August 18, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Vulture's Knob
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Looks good, Light and stiff cranks arms
Weaknesses:
Chainrings don't shift well, bottom bracket is not durable
Similar Products Used:
Shimano products, Truvativ
Bike Setup:
XT front derailleur, SRAM X9 rear derailleur and shifters, SRAM cassette and chain
Bottom Line:
These cranks are not worth the money. I have used them for a year and the bottom bracket just seized up on me. It also never shifted well. I experienced chain suck from the beginning which did get a little better after break in, but kept happening way too much. I have never had that before. Shifting was loud and inexact from the start. My middle ring was a big part of the problem, I think. I could have just fixed the bracket and middle ring, but I have decided to order a Shimano XT crankset because I am not happy with this product. My LBS did contact Race Face about the chain suck and they were not very helpful. I also put a Race Face headset on this bike and even when tight it has some play, so I will not buy their products again.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Beef Curtain Packaging
a Racer
from Walled Lake Date Reviewed: August 8, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Poto
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$230.00
Purchased At:
Green Fish
Strengths:
Cheaper the others...but that's it.
Weaknesses:
Constant Tightening needed to keep the drive-side crank stable. When it loosens, the chainrings move side to side as well causing chain slips and other unneccasry crap while trying to ride. Especially when you hammer out of the saddle, the performance is a crap-shoot.
Similar Products Used:
Older XT..not as stiff, but very very reliable.
Bike Setup:
Custom Fango, All XO, Carbon-Carbon, Hand-built 4.1s with 240s, (Total Gucci) light, fast and fun. I am now joining the FSA family...time to move on.
Bottom Line:
It was a nice fix originally, but after 20 hours of riding, the problems began. We Jimmy-Rigged it a bit, but it still loves to just loosen, especially after a hard ride. This is just unacceptable. I will never purchase a race-face product again. You do get what you pat for. I have found the FSA products (cranks) way more reliable, even stiffer and smoother spins, even when covered in muck!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jason Hodges
a Weekend Warrior
from Anybiketownusa Date Reviewed: July 22, 2008
Favorite Trail:
K3 Goat
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$275.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Please are you kidding? These cranks are junk, trust me.
Weaknesses:
Cranks continue to become loose. Customer Service blows!
Similar Products Used:
Shimano! Do not skimp or stray from Shimano you will be sorry.
Bike Setup:
Ibis Mojo full SRAM and Shimano, Notubes Olympics with WTB hubs, Hayes Disc
Bottom Line:
The cranks have been a huge disappointment. Any comparison to XTR is false advertisement. These cranks have been nothing but trouble and if you think you will get any satisfaction out of Race Face, forget it. They are in Canada and might as well not exist. Avoid unless you want to constantly tighten and make do with a piss poor sorry crank.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
nolan Schuetz
a Weekend Warrior
from Bainbridge IS Date Reviewed: March 22, 2008
Favorite Trail:
blakdiamond area
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$280.00
Purchased At:
cambriabike.com
Strengths:
very strong!! I having been doing hard tail free riding and these have held up to some large drops with no issues.
I have heard all of these complaints about these and how hard they are to put on. Get tools!!! Thats all you need and the instructions. had my lead mech, at the shop I work at show me how to pt them on and if you use the wright tools and follow the included iknstructions then they will work perfectly. I any very content with the out come of these and they have no flex as others do!!! IF you do a lot of heavy riding then buy it and have a well know mech install them, don't try it your self with out proper tools.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Josh M
a Downhiller
from San Diego Date Reviewed: February 18, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Teddy
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
I havent riden these cranks, but I think they must be VERY strong. I guess if you get them installed correctly then they will probably NEVER have problems.
Weaknesses:
There is one HUGH glairing problem with these cranks. Instalation. If you are going to have a shop install them and they can do it right, then you are pretty much good. But, if you are going to do it, or your shop is incompitent, then you are going to have a REALLY hard time. You have to put SO much torque into the cranks it is insane. I had to install 6 pairs of them last night. If you dont have 2 large breaker bars then you are really going to beat up your hands. Also, the quality is very suspect. Why when you install the crank on three of the same bike, do you need to use different spacers for the spindle? If every part is the same, the spacers should never change.
Similar Products Used:
Saint, XTR, XT. ALL these products are FAR better.
Bike Setup:
Haro thread 1 w/ saint crank.
Bottom Line:
Bottom line is this. If they somehow get installed right, they should be fine. If you have to install them, or take them off for some reason, I feel very sorry for you. I would NEVER put these on my bike. EVER!!! Not even for free. Worst install EVER!!! I will give them 2 chilis to be fair because they seem indistructable, but that is it. They need a maintanance rating. they would get a negative 5 chilis.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Old Not Dead
a Weekend Warrior
from Johnson City TN USA Date Reviewed: February 8, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Dupont State Forest
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
Price Point
Strengths:
Reliability, Looks, Design,Durability, stiffness
Weaknesses:
Chainring bolts need periodic attention, at least the aluminum ones.
Similar Products Used:
Race Face Ride
Bike Setup:
Giant Reign, Fox 140RLC Pushed,Mavic Enduro, Hayes HFX-9, Kenda Nevegals w/Stans
Bottom Line:
First, BB's are different from cranksets, this is a rating on the crankset. My BB lasted about a year and I replaced it with the Diablo BB. For my use if a BB lasts a year I'm happy, geez it's a mountain bike.
As for the crankset I had reservations about going with Race Face due to the reviews here, but after a year plus, I can report NO problems. I have taken the crank apart several times for various reasons, fully expecting the crank to come loose, but it never has. I have hammered, and banged, and driven mine into rocks, creeks, etc, fully expecting to come out with a broken twisted, or bent crank arm and have yet to have the first issue. I wouldn't even try to guess the cause of the other guys problems, but I can say I have not had ANY trouble with mine. The chainring bolts worked loose once, my bad for not keeping up with them.
Four chilis, because perfection is sooooo hard to attain
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sam Franczyk
a Cross Country Rider
from Oceanside Date Reviewed: February 5, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Everything
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
Universal Cycles - Online
Strengths:
Semi-light, stiff cranks. Cool black color and chainring/bash guard. Not much else.
Weaknesses:
BB bearing wore out in less than a year and I didn't even get it dirty. Tried to follow up on warranty and Raceface would not even reply (x2). Universal cycles said they contacted them but since the seal was was probably compromised, there is probably nothing they can do (no reply from 2nd email). Removing the cranks seems to begin a stripping process on the crank bolt as I saw metal shavings. Garbage.
Similar Products Used:
Bontrager SS Race Lite
Bike Setup:
Fisher Rig, Bontrager XXX carbon stem, bar and post. Brooks Ti swift saddle. Rest is stock.
Bottom Line:
I will never buy from Raceface again. Cheesy product. Very poor customer service. No help, no dice. Universal Cycles was no advocate either. I ended up buying another BB ($50+) from a local store so I could continue to use the cranks. VERY dissappointed.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Bay Area, CA Date Reviewed: January 25, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Porcupine Rim
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Shifting, Looks good, Stiff
Weaknesses:
BB Bearing
Similar Products Used:
XTR (Octalink), XT (Octalink), Coda
Bike Setup:
Turner Flux set up for XC and trail riding
Bottom Line:
The Deus crankset is a very good crankset. It is just as stiff as the Octalink XTR and shifts just as well. This crankset is also one of the sharpest looking cranksets out there.
I chose the Deus because I wanted to build a bike that did not have any Shimano parts. I came up short because I used an XTR front deraileur.
I did have a problem with the drive side bearing seizing after about 6 months of riding. I replaced it with an Enduro brand bearing and I must have installed it incorrectly. While riding around at the Sea Otter Classic, the crankset began to wobble. I rode over to the Raceface booth and the mechanic installed a new Raceface bottom bracket and adjusted my front deraileur in about 10 minutes! When I offered to pay for the parts and service he told me there was no Charge! I was very happy and gave the mechanic a gratuity.
A very good crankset from a great company that provided me with first class service.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Marc
a Cross Country Rider
from Davis, CA USA Date Reviewed: January 2, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Northern CA
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$260.00
Strengths:
Looked great in the Box. Supercool holograpghic etchings on chainrings. The quality of the chainrings is superb.
Weaknesses:
Raceface made a basic design blunder when they placed the spline for the Bottom bracket spindle on the drive side instead of the non drive side as all other cranksets utilizing outboard bearings currently employ. Consequently, the spline cannot be secured circumferentially. The 8 MM bolt holds it in laterally. Over time the splines develop increasing wear and slop. In my case about 3 years or 3 lives of the small chainring. I have also had all the above mentioned bearing problems and have recently had Phil Wood bearings placed in the raceface casings. I have emailed raceface to urge a redesign of the spindle spline to the non-drive side and can only hope they take heed. I am moving to the Shimano 770 while I wait for warranty replacement from Raceface. Until they rethink their product, I strongly advise all to avoid all X type Raceface cranksets.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano
Bike Setup:
Ventana El Saltamontes with 5" rockers, Fox talus, Crossmax wheels,Gravity Dropper seatpost, Shimanodrivestrain other than crankset and chain.
Bottom Line:
Avoid
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jason Evans
a Cross Country Rider
from Anybiketown USA Date Reviewed: December 9, 2007
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$280.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Not Applicable because they suck!
Weaknesses:
You name it they excel.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano - The best by far! Do not stray away unless you are stupid
Bike Setup:
Ellsworth Epiphany, Full SRAM, Mavic Crossmax SL's. High End bike with piss poor SORRY RACE FACE CRANKS
Bottom Line:
This is a follow up post to a few earlier ones. After over a year of attempting to get these RF turds to perform properly, I have given up. I sent in the cranks for warranty replacement because mine had a design flaw. Look at all the other posts here and you decide or you can take my word for it, these are junk. It would not be so bad, but RF took 4 MONTHS to replace these turds. I went ahead and bought some Shimano XTR 960's because I got sick of waiting. Like others I have used, Shimano rules! These cranks will be going onto Ebay in hopes someone else will have better luck with them. One Flaming Turd for value and overall rating!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sean Davidson
a Racer
from Richmond, ME Date Reviewed: November 23, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Downieville
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$189.00
Purchased At:
Online somewhere
Strengths:
Stong design, no noise.
Weaknesses:
no real issues to speak of
Similar Products Used:
Truvativ Shimano
Bike Setup:
Santa Cruz Superlight
Bottom Line:
I'd taken these cranks through a lot of crap, mud, water, 35 miles of tough downhill (in one day), 12 races, and total about 1200 miles on them without a squeek. Awesome cranks; if installed correctly. The sprocket are holding up pretty well which some considered weak but no issues yet.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jason Evans
a Weekend Warrior
from Anybiketown USA Date Reviewed: October 7, 2007
Favorite Trail:
The non work trail
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$280.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
So bad there are none
Weaknesses:
Well lets see, they won't stay tight, they have chain suck, the chainring bolts loosen up, slop in the BB, bearings wear quickly, name a bad quality and they excel at the bad quality. Junk
Similar Products Used:
Shimano, Truvativ
Bike Setup:
Ellworth Epiphany, Full SRAM with NEW SHIMANO XTR CRANKS!
Bottom Line:
This is a follow up to a previous post. Race Face has had my DEFECTIVE cranks for over 2 months now. I guess I will never get them back. Don't know what is going on with them. I guess they have taken my money and don't intend to warranty the sorry cranks or offer any sort of resolution. I have since installed Shimano XTR and could not be happier. The best cranks I have ever used. I installed them myself with the tool that came with the cranks (it took around 15 minutes). It was VERY easy and they work flawlessly. Did not have to go to any extreme measures or anything out of the ordinary (locktite, facing, torque wrench, praying) to install them properly and have them function like a $275 pair of cranks should. I wish I would have NEVER WASTED my time and money on Race Face. Do yourself a favor and buy Shimano and avoid Race Face unless you are a an idiot and a glutton for punishment!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
ej
a Cross Country Rider
from felton, CA, USA Date Reviewed: October 4, 2007
Favorite Trail:
TNT
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Purchased At:
$215.00 @ fullcycle.com
Strengths:
gorgeous finish, light, shifts well
Weaknesses:
setup takes some time...drive side can come loose
Similar Products Used:
most all
Bike Setup:
hunter w/fox x80
Bottom Line:
Ok whiners, here's the low-down for fixing the loose drive side issue: 1st (once BB is installed, and shell is FACED) assemble the cranks dry to get the driveline/bearing load issues resolved. Next, make sure all threaded surfaces are CLEAN. Carefully grease the spline/spindle, not getting any on the treads. Next, apply a coat of blue (removable) Loctite to the fixing bolt treads, then torque down. Now, apply Loctite to the threads on the cap nut and torque this (LH thread) realy tight. Mine haven't loosened up since (6+ mos...750mi). The cap nut is what keeps the crank from rocking on the spline...kinda dumb, but it works.
I've been running these almost 2yrs now and other than the loose drive issue have been fairly pleased. The bearings don't come loaded with enough grease...easy enough to handle, the chainrings lasted 1 1/2 yrs (great!)...I weigh in around 225# and ride the hell out of this bike...5 value chilis 'cause the price I paid, 4 overall due to having to experiment alot in order to get the right setup.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Anthony Dale
a Downhiller
from London Date Reviewed: September 25, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Too many to list....
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At:
UK Bike Store
Strengths:
Strong, Stiff, looks good (does what it says on the tin)
Weaknesses:
BB not so strong because you cannot grease it.
Similar Products Used:
Shimiano Saints/Hone
Bike Setup:
Intense M3 DH bike
Bottom Line:
These cranks are uber strong, you will not break them, Raceface have machined them from billet aluminium to make them last for a life time. They also use a steel pedal thread insert (I-lock) brilliant idea! The only downside is the BB do not last as long as the cranks, they cannot be greased because they are closed cups!! I would recommend these to any freerider/Downhiller who destroys the trails! - Fit and forget parts, awesome -
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Richard Hodges
a Weekend Warrior
from Atlanta Date Reviewed: September 21, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Chickopee
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Look great
Weaknesses:
The worst crank I have ever used
Similar Products Used:
shimano
Bike Setup:
Ibis Carbon, Full Sram, Mavic SLR wheelset, Hayes Disc
Bottom Line:
I always use high end components. I strayed from Shimano this time around to try something different. Big Mistake! Like many of the other reviewers have mentioned, my cranks come loose after a couple of good rides. I have tried everything but they continue to come loose. I have never been so dissatisfied with such an expensive, over hyped product. I am so frustrated with this product I am going to throw them in the garbage and go back to Shimano. Race Face should re-design this crank and alleviate all of the problems if they want to continue producing cranks for the cross country market. Do yourself a favor and avoid Race Face Cranks at all costs!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Rich Leonardo
a Cross Country Rider
from Durango, CO Date Reviewed: September 13, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Flat Crack
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
online
Strengths:
looks good. light weight
Weaknesses:
They don't work worth a damn
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XT, XTR.
Bike Setup:
Ellworth Truth, Full XTR except for the sorry Race Face Cranks.
Bottom Line:
Avoid these cranks at all costs unless you love to try and fix the impossible, you want chain suck and sorry shifting, you like slop in the BB or you want to change out the BB bracket bearings often or if you just want to look at your bike and not ride it. Not to mention the manufacturer will not take the time to try and remedy the problem within an acceptable amount of time. I will be going back to Shimano. Don't know why I did not spend the extra dollars and just get the standard for all cranks XTR.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jason Evans
a Cross Country Rider
from Anybiketown USA Date Reviewed: September 11, 2007
Favorite Trail:
The non work trail
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$280.00
Purchased At:
Local Bike Shop
Strengths:
Look good. Lightweight.
Weaknesses:
Don't stay tight. Come loose often. Don't perform like a $280 pair of cranks should. Chainring bolts come loose. Play in the bearrings. You name it. Complete JUNK!
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XT, Truvativ
Bike Setup:
Ellsworth Epiphany, Full SRAM, Mavic Crossmax SL's. High End bike with piss poor SORRY RACE FACE CRANKS
Bottom Line:
Avoid these cranks at all costs! I have had them installed three times now from a Professional bike shop and they have never worked properly. They loosen up all the time. The bearings do not last anytime either. Contacted Race Face, reviewed the video, read the instructions, talked to customer service, etc. They have loosened up and have developed so much play they have had to be sent back to Race Face which brings up a completely other annoying dilemma. RF is in Canada. Customer Service is piss poor and takes forever. They will not allow direct contact with them but you have to make contract through your bike shop. RF will not return emails, will not give an update, nothing! Only will email you to tell you to go through your local shop. You think your local shop is going to stay on top of this? If you are without your bike for 2 to 3 months you think RF cares? Screw you is their attitude. I have never been so dissatisfied with such an expensive piece of crap product! I wanted so bad to find something other than Shimano. But at this point I must say just buy Shimano and be done with it. Everything Shimano I have ever had works flawlessly. I will never use another crank other than Shimano. Everything I have used other than Shimano has been a huge disappointment. Buy Shimano and be done with it man! For the price of this piece of crap RF crank you can buy the XTR 960 crankset. For that matter the new XT or XTR would be a much better choice. The amount of money saved buying the RF turd will more than be negated in frustration!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
cK
a Downhiller
from State College, PA. / North Jersey Date Reviewed: September 2, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Tempest @ Diablo
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
Came with bike
Strengths:
Bombproof.
These things are built like a tank. I've smashed em' off of rocks, boulders, curbs... geez - I need to get smoother... anyway, point being - they're still straight as an arrow. No bending or twisting. (Lots of scratches though)
Zero Flex. The stiffest cranks I've ever had.
Weaknesses:
Weight. For a set of 165mm cranks they are about 1085g with the Diabolus BB and no chainrings.
A similar set of SAINTS are about 1007g (only with BB and no chainrings)
Due to the over-engineered design of these cranks to take maximum abuse, they're practically boat anchors in the world of MTB cranks, but - they'll never give out on you.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XT, Truvativ Holzfeller
Bike Setup:
165mm cranks w/ 83mm BB shell on an 06' Iron Horse Sunday Factory... too much stuff to list, but it's definitely been pimped out.
Bottom Line:
Thought I'd mention - I'm about 5'10" and probably weigh about 175lbs. with helmet and armor...
These cranks are bombproof. The norse god Thor could use one of these things as his mighty Hammer - it's completely ridiculous the amount of abuse they can take. If you can bend these things you're either dead or have bailed before letting your bike ghost-ride off a cliff.
But to get this kind of strength you also get the weight to go with it. But to me, it's one less thing to worry about - I know these cranks will never bend, break, or twist. Race Face has done some great work on these with their CNC machines - they look pretty sweet. Think of these as the American counterpart to SAINT cranks.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jason Pepper
a Downhiller
from canada Date Reviewed: August 27, 2007
Favorite Trail:
northshore, vancover
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Awsome looking, pretty strong, its a raceface...
Weaknesses:
turned purple, a couple of bent teeth, crack on the bush gard, and I completely destroyed the chain tensor.
Similar Products Used:
hussefelt, evolve.. etc
Bike Setup:
My brand new aline, marzocchi drop off triple, manitou metel, race face, mag 30s etc etc etc
Bottom Line:
Sweet crank, well for riders that dont beat up there bikes like me, but like all things expect it to break, for some sooner than others.. buy it!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ahren
a Downhiller
from USA Date Reviewed: August 17, 2007
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Strong and sexy looking
Weaknesses:
Won't stay tight for very long, Turned purple after 1 season. Have developed "Play" at the top of each pedal stroke.
Similar Products Used:
Saint, Truvativ stuff, DMR
Bottom Line:
This is a pretty darn good crankset. They very strong and I haven't had any major failures yet. However, I am only able to keem them tight for a while, but they always seem to work their way loose after some time. I just put new threadlock on every 2 rides and carry plenty of tools to keep them happy. On a side note, since they come loose every so often the teeth in the crankarm that mesh with the ones on the spindle are starting to wear. This has created a slightly annoying movement at the top of every pedal stroke. Oh yeah, they are no longer black but a funky looking purple. Overall I am relatively happy, but I just wish they would stay tight, not turn puple, and stop clicking every pedal stroke. Not bad fot almost 3 seasons of use, but I don't think I will buy another set to replace my existing ones.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Brian Brereton
a Cross Country Rider
from Oro Valley, AZ Date Reviewed: July 21, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Tortolita Mountains
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Price Point
Strengths:
None
Weaknesses:
This crankset and bottom bracket is the worst product I have ever purchased for my mountain bike. Despite following the directions, which as a previous bike mechanic is something that I am qualified to do, these cranks never rotated smoothly. I used them for a few weeks but when I attempted to remove them with the tool provided the bolt stripped and the crankset had to be forceably removed. What type of company would make a crankset and bottom bracket that can be installed once and then never removed???
Similar Products Used:
XT/XTR crankset and bottom brackets. I am still a big fan of ISIS and self-removing crank bolts!
Bike Setup:
Titus FS and Scandium HT
Bottom Line:
If I could do it all over I would have purchased a new pair of XT/XTR cranks and bottom bracket over this piece of junk. If installed correctly these cranks and BB might work for a season or so but when it comes time to replace these fast-wearing parts it is nearly impossible to do so. Stay away from this Race Face product!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Big T
a Downhiller
from Canada Date Reviewed: July 10, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
This is by far the best crank I have ever owned. It is solid as a rock and runs very smooth. In 3 months takin' a beating and I have had no issues whatsoever.
Weaknesses:
Difficult to setup right if you don't know what you are doing...Heavy but I like that.
Similar Products Used:
Raceface Evolve......Hussefelts...
Bike Setup:
Banshee Scream....Diabolus......etc etc etc
Bottom Line:
Just what james james says below....what more can be said.
I do not understand all the complaints about this product. I weight 235lbs and abuse equipment and it is just fine so far.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
james james
a Downhiller
from north vancouver Date Reviewed: July 9, 2007
Favorite Trail:
your mom
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Stiff,strong,looks
Weaknesses:
bearings
Similar Products Used:
Saint,Race Face Turbine,XTR hollow II
Bike Setup:
Santa Cruz V10, Boxxer WC,
Bottom Line:
If you know how to set up a bike or have worked in a shop then you will have no problem with these cranks. You need to use the correct amount, and type of spacers which are provided. You can't "back off" the drive side fix bolt to adjust bearing preload, if you do, the crank will fall off, it's not rocket science. If you are a hack like some people sound like on this site, take it to a shop, don't badmouth products just cause you don't know what you are doing. If you want a warranty, then pay full price at a dealer and quit whining.
These are stiff and strong cranks, they are a bit on the heavy side. They are not as simple to set up as saints and the bearing quality is not as good as shimano and some guys have had problems with that.
I would by them again no questions asked.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Dayton, OH Date Reviewed: June 27, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Caesar's Creek
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$235.00
Purchased At:
BeyondBikes
Strengths:
Weight, Stiffness, SHIFTING
Weaknesses:
Bottom Bracket bearings
Similar Products Used:
Shimano - entry level, Bontrager Graphite Series
Bike Setup:
Trek STP300, Cane Creek wheels, SID Race fork
Bottom Line:
Bottom Bracket stunk - see reviews of that. Crankset is very good. Stiffness is high, weight is low. Shifting is great. This set is allowing me to develop very bad shifting habits because it will shift no matter what you do to it - uphill, under load, in mud - doesn't matter. Your chain just ends up on the chainring you want. Price compared to similar weight products is very competitive - lowest I could find. I will always use RaceFace rings from now on.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Neil
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO Date Reviewed: June 18, 2007
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Lightness, stiffness, durability (on the crank arm itself)
Weaknesses:
Bottom Bracket, Middle Chainring(???)
Bike Setup:
BMC Fourstroke
Bottom Line:
I have had these since I got my bike a year ago. I am on my third set of bearings now, one of which was some Enduro ceramics (which lasted all of 3 months, Enduro is looking at warrantying them, but doubt they will). I do put ALOT of mile on these, but there is seriously some problem. Looks like I might have to break down and buy a shimano BB. shucks
Another thing I am experiencing that I haven't read anyone else having problems with is my middle chain ring. Twice now in the last 5 months I have bent/elongated my middle chain ring! It seems to be on a downhill, and I'll start to pedal and something isn't right, I look down and each time, two adjacent chainring bolts are gone, and the middle ring is bent and elliptical (like biopace, but worse). I would like to think it is due to my power, who knows, maybe it is. I am runnin 180s and am about 6'5" so I do have some levarge on out there, but like I said, it is never when I am truly cranking, it is somewhere on the DH. Anyone eles running into this?
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Lothar of the Hill People
a Racer
from Ocomukowonowaukesha, WI Date Reviewed: June 9, 2007
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Strengths:
Stiffness. Driveside can be removed without pulling spindle. Weight.
Weaknesses:
Lots of friction/resistance. Lots of noise. Chainring mounts aren't true.
Similar Products Used:
XT, LX, Turbine LP.
Bike Setup:
Niner RIP 9
Bottom Line:
I've installed & reinstalled these things and the crank action is still stiff even on my faced BB shell(if I spin the cranks I only get a few revolutions). That might not sound like a big deal, but multiply 80rpm x 60 min x 6hr or 12hr or 24hr endurance race and I'm convinced this friction puts me at a definite disadvantage My entire drivetrain is new but I get a ton of drivetrain noise..mainly from the cranks. And finally, the chainring mounts are out of true. I've tried several different middle chainrings and they all wobble ~2mm inside to outside per revolution..which I bet adds to my drivetrain noise. So far I'm not impressed with this whole system. Not on par with my good 'ol Turbine LP with RF square taper BB. I should have bought the new XTs but wanted to save a few grams. I'll probably replace these with XTs and send these to the swap meet bin.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
caudex333
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado Date Reviewed: May 28, 2007
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Super light, looks, no flex, PRICE!
Weaknesses:
Q Factor is a tad much but not unbarable
Similar Products Used:
Shimano
Bottom Line:
Great crankset. No issues with setup, creaking, etc. Just a great XC crankset at a killer price.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Evan
a Weekend Warrior
from Edmonton, Alberta Date Reviewed: May 26, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Revolution Cycle
Strengths:
- Stiffest crank set ive ever used - looks cool - lifetime warrenty
Weaknesses:
- dont look as nice as new when their dirty....thats it...i have no clue what all these other people are talking about with the backing out and turning purple
Similar Products Used:
race face evolve dh isis, truvativ holzefeller (very flexy)
Bike Setup:
06 switch 3.0 with all stock except e-13 srs uide and .243 seat.
Bottom Line:
the best and stiffest crankset ive ever used, and im a big guy so thats nice for a change. i have had absolutely no problems with these so far. bit expensive to buy if they dont come on youre bike already.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Charles
a Cross Country Rider
from Windsor, Ca. Date Reviewed: May 24, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Stiff, light, good looking
Weaknesses:
set up
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XTR, Cook Bros.
Bike Setup:
Ibis Mojo (steel) SID Team, Thomson, XTR
Bottom Line:
I will have to agree with some of the other reviews, initial set up was a royal pain. I followed the directions to a tee and they were completely off line. So after some trial and error, I got everything where it was supposed to be. Since then they have been flawless. They're light, stiff, and look great. The shifting is excellent. Overall a great crankset for the money. If your not mechanically inclined though have your LBS install them for you. Other than that I'd buy another set if I need 'em. I'm only gonna give it four chili's cause of how much time set up took.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dan
a Weekend Warrior
from AZ Date Reviewed: May 12, 2007
Favorite Trail:
National
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Really Stiff, Relatively light for what it is intended for, I like the looks of it. You don't need a puller to get this crank off. It's not shimano.
Weaknesses:
expensive
Similar Products Used:
just shimano xt
Bike Setup:
heckler with a lot of free ride parts
Bottom Line:
I bought this off ebay used and put it on myself. At first I was disappointed in the amount of drag when I tried to rotate them. I ignored it and just rode it for 7 or 8 months. Then I took everything apart and cleaned it really good just to help prevent any problems. When I lubed everything and put it back together, it spun great and I still haven't had any problems with the bearings coming loose. I like this crank and would buy it again for any freeride bike that I built up.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
daver
a Racer
from nova scotia canada Date Reviewed: May 10, 2007
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
strong, quiet, reliable
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
northshores, evolve dh, hussefelts.....
Bike Setup:
06 faith-1, 07 66 rc2x, 729's, hadley hubs, ck headset, xo drivetrain, thomson seatpost and stem, juicy carbon brakes....
Bottom Line:
I do almost all my bike maintenance, but I had the shop install these and they have been flawless. they've taken a full year of abuse: big hucks, aggressive trails and DH.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Eric
a Weekend Warrior
from Gallup, New Mexico Date Reviewed: April 9, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Any singletrack in the Four Corners
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$240.00
Purchased At:
Scoreboard (may it rest in peace)
Strengths:
Looks, weight, stiffness, durability, shifts PERFECTLY (even when I suck)
Weaknesses:
Nobody agrees on how to pronounce the name (e.g., is it "DAY-oos" as in 'deus ex machina', or is it "deuce"?)
Similar Products Used:
Truvativ Stylo and Firex; Shimano LX; Bontrager Race
Bike Setup:
2006 Stumpy Pro (frame) with custom build (with the Deus XC crankset mated to a SRAM 990 II 11-34 cassette)
Bottom Line:
Most top end cranksets are pricey in the aftermarket (and the Deus XC is no exception) but this is the stiffest, lightest crankset that I have ever had. Matched with the top-end SRAM PG 990 II cassette (the one with the red spider), the shifting has been problem free for the 12 months (700+ miles) I've ridden them on two different bikes (my old GF Sugar and now my '06 Stumpy Pro). Plus, unless you're fetishistic about carbon, which I'm not, the silver version of the Deus is easily the best looking crankset ever. And it doesn't show any evidence of the (ahem) 'pilot errors' from my riding misadventures. THM: Super light AND durable, consistent, stiff, gorgeous, expensive, and completely worth every penny. Buy them.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jeff
a Racer
from Vancouver Date Reviewed: March 4, 2007
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Light Weight, Looks, Stiffness
Weaknesses:
Q Factor and poor bearing quality
Similar Products Used:
Shimano, RF Turbine
Bike Setup:
RMB Vertex with single speed set up
Bottom Line:
For anyone who has seized bearing issues I offer the following solution that I have been running for over a year. Shimano XTR and XT BB is compatible with RF cranks, even RF webpage says so. This makes a set of light and stiff cranks with no BB issues. Riding all winter in Vancouver with tons of rain and mud this is a perfect system. Do not throw away your cranks. Ratings are based on my current system, not out of the box crankset.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
DJ
a Cross Country Rider
from Phillips Ranch, CA Date Reviewed: February 15, 2007
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$220.00
Purchased At:
Jenson USA
Strengths:
Looks. Light Weight. Good Shifting Chain Rings.
Weaknesses:
Bottom Bracket Issues.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XT M760
Bike Setup:
Turner Flux with nice ingredients.
Bottom Line:
Like many other reviews: I have experienced a number of issues with the BB. A lot of creaking under high pedal loads. Followed simple installation instructions, torque to proper settings, properly maintained the cranks, proper set up, installed and uninstalled - but same creaking BB. I finally gave it up. Uninstalled Race Face Deus cranks and replaced w/ my Shimano XT M760, which I have had no Probs with through two other MTN bikes. Maybe there is some reliability, quality issues w/ the Race Face Bottom Bracket and / or the design of the Cranks itself. For those of you who have no Problems or Issues w/ Race Face Deus: Good for You! Maybe your Special or Maybe Just Lucky.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Evan Price
a Cross Country Rider
from Cape Town,WC,South Africa Date Reviewed: February 5, 2007
Favorite Trail:
evan.price@tensionstructures.co.za
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$277.00
Purchased At:
South African LBS
Strengths:
Lightweight, Look good (if you keep them shined up),Stiff (i suppose, can anyone really feel flex in other cranks)
Weaknesses:
DURABILITY!! BB useless, crank bolts back out often. Tricky installation
Similar Products Used:
Shimano LX, ISIS splined
Bike Setup:
Santa Cruz Blur, Fox terralogic and RP3, SRAM groupset
Bottom Line:
The BB has gone 4 times in two years (the bearings literally seized up completely), am now using another brand of BB. The installation can be tricky resulting in very high fiction between cranks and seals. The crank bolt keeps backing out even though it's been checked over numerous times by my lbs and myself. Then last week it started coming loose again, i tried to tighten it up and the bolt just seemed to spin. I gingerly tried to get home therafter and 5min later the whole crank fell off! the crank bolt had sheared off at the head leaving the threaded part seperate from the shoulder that presses the crank on...Not Impressed!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Joseph
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle, WA, USA Date Reviewed: February 2, 2007
Favorite Trail:
BBTC Collonade
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Stiff crankarms, attractive bearing cups
Weaknesses:
drive side refuses to stay tight friction
Similar Products Used:
Truvativ, Shimano, you name it
Bike Setup:
Ellsworth Id, my favorite custom gruppo
Bottom Line:
Sorry, Race Face, this crank system just don't work.
Following installation instructions EXACTLY results in a ridiculously high friction setup. But don't bother backing off on the torque, because the drive side will automatically fall off on its own! I have been dinking with this crankset for the better part of 1 year, and i am convinced that the Race Face drive side master bolt is just a flawed design. The drive side comes loose after 1-3 rides no matter what i've tried.
Time to bite the bullet and buy good set of Stronglight cranks or XTR. I have no more patience for this Race Face sh!t.
Value: rings and cranks are great, BB locking is unacceptable Overall: don't even bother to buy them unless you need replacement rings and the store has a blowout sale.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Newcastle Australia Date Reviewed: January 23, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Killingworth
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Looks, stiffness and weight
Weaknesses:
Everything else. This is an update from previous review. Maintenance is constant, seals and washers are throw away items.
Similar Products Used:
None that have been this bad
Bike Setup:
Trance 3 with updgrades
Bottom Line:
I reckon in 6 months i have had these cranks off 20 times, replaced power washers and seals 3 times and they are still coming loose. It is now at my LBS where it looks like they are going to say the splines are flogged out. I ride alot and am really dissapointed with these cranks, nothing but problems so far and looks like they are useless within 6 months, crappy system. Only people who like to look at their bike should buy these as they just dont last. If you like to ride get something else.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
grrr
a Cross Country Rider
from Sactown Date Reviewed: January 22, 2007
Favorite Trail:
down
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$220.00
Purchased At:
mail
Strengths:
Shiny and light, not Shizmano. Really rigid!
Weaknesses:
Bearing filled with margarine. Seals made of brittle plastic. Setup is reliant on a cheaply made washer- with high friction.
Similar Products Used:
Shizmano last 4 generations.
Bike Setup:
HT XC
Bottom Line:
The crank would be great if they spent 10 usd on bearings and a new washer. I got 1 season before they ground up with NO stream crossings. I tried to get the enduro, but guess what??? They were all sold out because the factory bearings are such garbage.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jim
a Cross Country Rider
from middletown, ct Date Reviewed: December 20, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint
Strengths:
Light, stiff
Weaknesses:
difficult to set up. bites ankles
Similar Products Used:
Truvativ Stylo, FSA, XT
Bottom Line:
I read the reviews and just couldn't believe the instructions are as bad as many reviewers say they are. Well, it turns out they are. Did my best to follow the miserable manual and may or may not have installed them correctly (I've installed 3 other brands of external bearing cranks with no problems). After the first ride, the main bolt loosened quite a bit but the crank seemed to be firmly afixed to the splines (no apparent play). The bolt also loosened on the 2nd and 3rd ride, but to a lesser degree. Also after the first ride, I added a couple of thin washers between the pedal threads and the crank arms to prevent my shoes and ankles from contacting the sharp edges of the arms. On the up side, they are very light, at least as stiff as any other crank I've ever used, shift well and can be had at a bargain price. If the intitial problems don't portend their early demise, I'll be surprised and probably feel like a got a big bargain. Not really counting on that.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tom
a Cross Country Rider
from Antioch Date Reviewed: December 17, 2006
Bike parts budget still cramped six months later...
Similar Products Used:
OEM RF, XC Ride
The BB would've lasted longer if I hadn't washed my bike so much, aaand, the splines were so badly stuck together, it took three cuts to get the crankarm off.
Bike Setup:
Same
Bottom Line:
I'd picked up some sticky clay, then small gravel - when the gravel slung all over, one got between the small chainring and the X-type cup, unscrewing the cup several turns.
Well, that's what I figger' happened, because there's a big scratch in the external boss of the cup, and it was fine for almost six months until that day.
Once home, removal of drive side, disassembly, cleaning, reassemble, now o.k.!
It's something to watch out for - a pebble in the "right" place will unscrew your drive side BB cup - ya hafta stop and backpedal immediately to clear the rock.
It happened to me, it will happen to "someone" again some day.
The crank suffered no ill effects.
Expen$ive
but GREAT
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Brian Mansfield
a Weekend Warrior
from Prescott, Arizona, USA Date Reviewed: October 24, 2006
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$215.00
Purchased At:
Price Point
Strengths:
Looks Great, good price, seems strong and shifts good
Weaknesses:
no weekness so far
Similar Products Used:
Shimano LX with outboard bearings
Bike Setup:
Giant Trance with all up grades
Bottom Line:
I have been using these crank for about six months and have not had a single issue with them. I had my LBS install them incase any problems did come up. They shift and turn great and the chainrings look cool. Not a lot of water to ride through here is Arizona so I cannot comment on some of the problems other reviews have mentioned. I would have no problem buying another set.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Kent, Wa, USA Date Reviewed: October 14, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Preston RR/Tiger Mtn
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$270.00
Purchased At:
Colorado Cyclist
Strengths:
Light, stiff, and nice looking.
Weaknesses:
Race Face customer service, or lack of it. Installation, durability
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XTR, XT, Cooks Bro, Race Face Evolve XC
Bike Setup:
Santa Cruz Blur, XTR, Hope disc, Marzocchi
Bottom Line:
The crank worked fine before it loosened up and deformed the spline. During a ride thru a very technical section of trail, the crank loosened up. I didn't realize it until it was too late. I tried to tighten it, but it was already ruined. I sent it back to Colorado Cyclist, who then sent it to Race Face. I haven't heard a work from either of them for approx 8 months now. I have read other reviews, regarding the time it takes Race Face to respond, but this is ridiculous.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Michael Gough
a Cross Country Rider
from Brookfield, WI. Date Reviewed: August 24, 2006
Favorite Trail:
John Muir - Emma Carlin
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$230.00
Purchased At:
with Giant Trance 1
Strengths:
Seems like an OK crank from a basic use perspective.
Weaknesses:
The fact that it is a Race Face. No replacement parts and a critical extractor bolt ring that is impossible to find !
Recently I tried to replace my chainrings and discovered that the special extractor bolt was missing the ring that self extracts - never came with the bike. This means that you are screwed being able to replace anything, like the chainrings since you can't get the crank off.
I found that virtually no one in the US stocks Race Face parts, not REI, not any Bike stores in Wisconsin, even the ones listed on their website. So getting replacement rings will be a challenge and only a few Internet dealers carry anything but the default size chainrings. So internet ordering only is your only option so if you break something, you will be in a mechanical outage for a few days. Imagine this days before a big ride... SOL
I emailed Race Face about the missing extractor ring cup and they never replied, I called them and they were basically "Sorry - order one". Great PR help there for a $1 part that renders your ride 100% worthless... and thus this crappy review and I will be putting my crank on eBay soon. They permanently lost a user of Race Face over this $1 part.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XTR
Bike Setup:
Giant Trance 1 with Race Face Deus cranks.
Bottom Line:
Since few if any bike shops stock any Race Face stuff in the US, you will be hard pressed to find chainrings or repair your ride anytime fast. I had a race the upcoming weekend and had to borrow the bolt off another riders bike from another bike shop just to extract my crank so I could replace chainrings.
AVOID Race Face cranks at all costs just for the lack of, or availability of replacement parts alone and the poor response from Race Face does not make it any better. Not to mention the critical extractor bolt ring that you must have and nothing else will fit - so you are hosed if you lose it or don't get one as in my case!!!
Buy Shimano for ease of finding replacement parts. Chainrings need replacing on Mtn Bikes fairly regularly, steel chains on aluminum will do damage and worn out chains pop off teeth like some of the other reviews list.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
alex pflueger
a Downhiller
from trinity califorina Date Reviewed: August 5, 2006
Favorite Trail:
my own
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
beyond bikes
Strengths:
stiff,unbreakable
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
deore
Bike Setup:
heckler freeride set up
Bottom Line:
bad ass product!!! don't be a pennie pincher go have a bike shop install it for you and you won't have these problems that every one seems to be having. I have had no problems at all!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Newcastle Australia Date Reviewed: August 1, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Killingworth
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Everything about it, Style, Lightweight, Finish quality.
Weaknesses:
Bit tricky to set up right i.e spacers. Once done though absolutely beautiful
Similar Products Used:
None compare but shimano was my last
Bike Setup:
Giant Trance 3 with other upgrades
Bottom Line:
Looks very very smart, strong, lightweight and more durable finish than the XTR stuff. Do your shopping though, that $200 was AU and i shopped for ages. They are very expensive here, i got lucky with ebay and so so happy.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Josh
a Weekend Warrior
from Cleveland Ohio Date Reviewed: July 27, 2006
Favorite Trail:
something that flows
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Stiff arms, really welll built crank arms, no flex
Weaknesses:
I'm having the same issue as everyone else, driveside continually comes loose, and it won't tighten up all the way to where I can get it to not rock on me.
Similar Products Used:
Truvativ, other RF Stuff, Shimano
Bike Setup:
Giant Faith 1
Bottom Line:
Great cranks, sh!tty bb connection, if you get a good batch, your golden, if not, well...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tom
a Racer
from Philly Date Reviewed: July 24, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Wiss
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Stiff and light. Race face Chainrings shift very good. Easy to remove for cleaning. Chainline adjustment is a big plus. Not shimano.
Weaknesses:
The bearing grease washes away very easily, causing bearings to wear out very fast. You can ruin your bearings if you don't use the right spacers, and set up is kinda tedious. If you ride a lot, the bearing cups will only last one season.
Bike Setup:
I have these on my SS and my XC
Bottom Line:
Stiffness to weight ratio is exceptional. X-type is way better than ISIS. I don't like the way the crankbolt has to bottom out on the bearings to hold the crank on. Seems like it puts extra pressure on the sides of the bearings.
Don't go through any deep water cause the grease will wash away leaving metal to metal friction in your bearings.
Still, even with the negatives stuff I still think it's a great crankset when set up correctly. Looses a couple of chilis cause of the crappy grease and the high price.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Trevor
a Downhiller
from Boise, ID USA Date Reviewed: July 20, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Zorro at Brundage Mountain
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
OEM off a Scott Voltage
Strengths:
Strong as hell, slick looking, and nice pedal interface.
Weaknesses:
Anodizing turns purple almost immediately. It's not just a tint of purple, but nasty blotchy coloration. Serious spline issues too. See below.
Similar Products Used:
Nothing really.
Bike Setup:
KHS FR1500 with a 5" Marzocchi DJII, and nice DH component setup.
Bottom Line:
As said before, defective drive side crank to spindle splie interface. They were properly installed. Since I bought these off a buddy brand new, I can't file a true warranty claim with them. I'm still trying to get in contact with them about replacing them anyways. I don't have a problem with them or their products, but they did something wrong with these cranks. Idea was great with these cranks, but it looks like the splines were out of specifications...
If there wasn't the spline problems, then they would have earned 5 chilli's from me, but it kinda ruins it for me when I can hardly ride them.
Also, the spline problems did not develop until owning them for about 3 months, so keep an eye on them if you do buy them, or already own them. Don't lose your reciept.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ted
a Downhiller
from Maine Date Reviewed: July 17, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
Jenson USA
Strengths:
strong, attractive
Weaknesses:
very messy installation
Similar Products Used:
RF Evolve, XTs, Profiles
Bike Setup:
06 ASX, Diabolus cranks with E13 sts guide
Bottom Line:
I've had these cranks for about a year now, and enjoy them a lot. I've ridden them hard and taken them on and off several bikes without complaint; they continue to feel as solid and trustworthy as they were the day I bought them. However, these cranks can be hell to install, especially if you're using a chain guide. During muddy/sandy rides, grit also tends to get in between the bottom bracket cups and cranks, making a pretty ugly noise. I'm not sure if this noise affects anything, but it's not pleasant.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Giancarlo Pelosi
a Weekend Warrior
from Miramar, FL, USA Date Reviewed: July 13, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Markham Park
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
Bell's Bikes
Strengths:
Great lookin crank. Excellent BB. Stiff and light. Performs well in adverse conditions and hold up to us heavier riders. Keeps its finish well.
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Truvativ Stylo
Bike Setup:
Giant Trance 1, XTR, XT, Shimano, Race Face, WTB, ODI, Kenda, Chris King, SRAM, Mavic, and FOX.
Bottom Line:
Great deal and so don't miss out.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tom
a Cross Country Rider
from Antioch, CA Date Reviewed: July 8, 2006
Favorite Trail:
to Gran'ma's house... duh!
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
SF Performance
Strengths:
Looks nice - it's slimmer, way lighter, stiffer, more responsive that OEM RF it replaced; was able to use my near new RF rings, ratholing the new ones for later!
Weaknesses:
Lotsa money.
I ride "pigeon toed," so my ankles will never get bit.
Similar Products Used:
RF OEM that came with
Bike Setup:
Giant VT3 with some upgrades&additions
Bottom Line:
In addition to strengths, above, it's also "deader;" it doesn't transmit the shock and vibration like the cheaper one.
It doesn't flex like the OEM. Took me awhile to figure out what why cutting corners so sharp - don't hafta compensate for flex!
The Deus is soooo much more responsive! I get a gear or more - some, no doubt, due to the fact that previous BB was failing, but this thing does put more suds to the dirt, bottom line. Like that reviewer down there a bit, I may not ride fast or well, but I do ride hard, and as fast as I can.
No problems so far. Read the directions the night before, and let them soak in.
Check your "chainline" beforehand, so you set up ONE time. For me, .5 mm difference was easy to compensate for, tweak front der.
Measure shell carefully. Grease everything, including the orings, spacers, where the spindle meets the bearings, etc. with quality moly and/or graphite grease (not cheap white $||it).
On a warm day, or outside in the sun, a warm room, do the work, but put the spindle in the freezer for a few minutes, so it slips into the BB with just a tap or two (yeah, I worked as a machinist - loong time ago).
Watch that the drive side seats firmly - it's up against the boss there, 'k?
Lookit the picture - see that the whole thing rotates as a unit. The "elastomeric" ring on the nondrive side gives you your "crush," or give. That ring hasta be partially compressed, so the unit is tight. It can't be totally flattened such that you're compressing the bearings.
Be sure all parts are in the box. Get the BB tool, so you can snug up the bearings.
It's too expensive - sigh, but I like it! So far, so good.
Was going to replace with OEM that lbs offered, but they'd damaged the pedal threads and didn't have the new bolts or washers. The final straw was the BB they were going to give me didn't have the second spacer for 68 mm shell, and they didn't have the BB tool. The drive to SF Performance store from Antioch was worth it (uhm does that mean I didn't go to WC store? because I mad at them?).
Grrr! Always check for all parts, and read online pdf files before driving to pick up the parts. Heh, reputable online outfits don't pull that crap...
The Dues was e$pensive, but it works GREAT! Hope it lasts for ten years...
Uhm, I'm planning on keeping water away from BB as much as possible... my old isis BB may have gone longer if ah'd done dat...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Oni
a
from honolulu Date Reviewed: July 8, 2006
Favorite Trail:
the ones with dirt
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Not Shimano. Black. Normal chain ring size. Nice bearing cups. Reasonably light. Nice crank extractor, harkens back to the old days.
Weaknesses:
More difficult to adjust then Shimano offerings.
Similar Products Used:
RF Diablous, Saint, XTR
Bike Setup:
the usual
Bottom Line:
I really want to like these cranks. I was running the 960 XTRs and I got fed up with the finish that came off if you looked at it, the middle ring that was so soft, and the silly rubber washers. So I tried the Deus cranks. I have them on two bikes, and once they are installed properly, they're fine. Have to have the frame faced. My frames have been out of spec and all have required facing of the BB shell. I think this is why a lot of people have problems with the cranks.
It's the setting up that's a pain. Just switched out the stock RF bearings for some Enduro bearings (nice upgrade!) and that changed the amount of spacers I needed, so that's been a matter of trial and error, trying to get the right thickness of spacers to not be too snug, nor be too loose. Everything settled in and loosed up a smidgen, so went back at to get the right number. Recently installed the Saints on a bike and I was so amazed how easy it was. Had forgotten how easy it was to do, in comparison to the RF.
Once they are set up, they're fine. Flexier then the Diablous and Saints, but what isn't? The chainrings work well, have dumped the large ring for a rock ring. I don't think I'd buy another set of this style of crank, Shimano has done a better job.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
joe therider
a Cross Country Rider
from mid atlantic Date Reviewed: June 23, 2006
Favorite Trail:
several
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
lbs
Strengths:
lite, looks good, outboard bearings are stiffer than isis, shift very well
Weaknesses:
bearings roll and sound rough at 4 month mark, my chainrings are wearing quickly (middle ring is already beginning to hook) CREEK HORRIBLY, READ BELOW
Similar Products Used:
first outboard bottom bracket system
Bike Setup:
yes but currently not with these cranks(becouse they were sent back to raceface
Bottom Line:
I have had no set up problems with this product, i thought the directions were easy to follow , no problems with play, spacers, crankbolts, nothing(I know how to use a torq wrench) The one real problem i have is the interface between the cromo spindle and the left(nondrive) crank arm, this is obviously pressfitted at a machine shop, and can't be greased, Its creaking....horribly! It took me a while to figure it out but after rebuilding the entire bike greasing every moving part and replacing the bottom bracket i come to realize that the nondrive interface is the culprit, I contacted raceface and they returned my call within an hour, asked a few questions about my procedures and together we deduced that the cranks should be sent back to B.C. to be replaced. thats it for now, will post again in another year if this goes flawlessly.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
rick
a Racer
from reseda ca Date Reviewed: May 29, 2006
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$230.00
Purchased At:
coloradocyclist
Strengths:
light reasonalbe price can change chainrings for diferent sizes ie 24/26 34 so on
Weaknesses:
bearing packed with white litemun grease.
Similar Products Used:
raceface next lp shimano xt xtr octalink
Bike Setup:
titus racrx xtr white inds manitou skreb 24lbs medium size
Bottom Line:
raceface uses a weak grease easliy foul by water mine rusted after 2 deep water crossing at local race.would recommend pulling plastic sleeve and repacking the front side of bearing with something better or you could buy phil wood bearing . they carring the right size
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from New Jersey USA Date Reviewed: May 20, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Hartshorne Woods NJ
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$219.00
Purchased At:
www.bobs-bicycles.com
Strengths:
Light, durable, high end crank for low end price compared to XTR
Weaknesses:
none so far
Similar Products Used:
Shimano,Race Face Evolve XC, Middleburn
Bottom Line:
I bought these cranks on the strength of my experience with my Race Face Evolve cranks I have on my hardtail. 3 seasons and no problems.Cranks are something I feel you should be able to install and just forget about.I read all the reviews here and made sure I had a shop install my cranks even though I have installed cranks and BB's in the past. The Race Face website has a streaming video of one of their technicians installing the cranks on a bike if you still want to do it yourself. I haven't had any of the problems mentioned here. So far so good. I may not ride fast, I may not ride well, but I do ride hard.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
A Rider
a Cross Country Rider
from British Columbia Date Reviewed: May 9, 2006
Favorite Trail:
The ones that go up, and then down.
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Stiff, Strong, Light, Local tech & warranty support, Truly fantastic rings, "relatively" simple installation & disassembly for cleaning, maintenance, etc.
Weaknesses:
Oh we've heard all about those; Crank bolts coming loose, poor bearing life, It seems the LBS are in a position of learn as you go with regard to installation and trouble-shooting so it did take several trips to more than one shop to sort out some of the problems such as the crankset loosening, etc.
Similar Products Used:
Sure
Bike Setup:
Fluid 1
Bottom Line:
Well, yes some teething problems and I certainly believe the bearings should last more than a few months, and yeah it would have been nice if the product hadn't been simply tossed onto the marketplace, but despite any issues I still rate this very highly ( oh, those rings!) and would gladly buy again.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tony
a Weekend Warrior
from Boulder, CO, USA Date Reviewed: April 27, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
Online
Strengths:
Light Much cheaper than XTR Looks sweet Nice shifting rings Durable Stiffer than I expected Did I mention that it is light?
Weaknesses:
Harder to install than Shimano Apparently very difficult to install correctly (for some people) Self-extraction is tricky to use in practice and it's too easy to strip the outer piece.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano Hone (basically the same crank as LX and XT)
I've had zero problems with this crankset. I installed it according to the directions and was very careful to install all the pieces correctly. I've not had a problem at all.
Shimano's hollow-forging process is more sophisticated than the RF CNC process and as a result Shimano's cranks probably have better fatigue resistance per weight due to stress-risers in the RF design.
I suspect that the people who are having troubles either did not install the cranks correctly or did not have their BB shell faced prior to installation.
I like this crankset a lot and I think has an undeserved bad rep. Take a gander at the Atlas reviews. The Atlas crank uses the same bearings, washers, spacers, axle and spline arrangement yet people don't have nearly the same trouble with it.
Don't be afraid to buy the Dues, but make sure you install it correctly!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Patty B
a Racer
from Bend, OR 97702 Date Reviewed: April 25, 2006
Favorite Trail:
it's a secret
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
QBP
Strengths:
Light. Looks hot. Price.
Weaknesses:
Crank bolt.
Similar Products Used:
XTR crankset external BB
Bike Setup:
NRS 1
Bottom Line:
I was in need of a shorter crankarm length so I purchased the Race Face Deus because of the Race Face, price, and weight. After two rides the right arm had play. I assumed I didn't torque it down enough but the past 3 rides same thing. Locktight seems to have fixed the issue at the moment but not sweet.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from USA Date Reviewed: April 19, 2006
This crank set is junk, the worst of it Race Race wont help you out and basically says you are SOL. I have never had any problem with any MTB product like this one out of my 10 year of racing. I would stay way from this one. Their LP cranks were good, but they have a big looser in their line up with their employees
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tim Dasher
a Cross Country Rider
from Emerson GA Date Reviewed: April 17, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Bull Mountain
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$245.00
Purchased At:
Pricepoint
Strengths:
Looks cool in the box - which is where they are now on the way back to Pricepoint.
Weaknesses:
Aluminum parts don't match up - stripped out the crankbolt on the install
Similar Products Used:
XT
Bike Setup:
Salsa Alacarte - crossland wheels - XT derailers.
Bottom Line:
Light and not worth the money - if you have all the money in the world to replace them all the time maybe they would work - install was ok till I tried to get the non-drive side crank bolt - I took the assembly apart and gently tried to get the bolt to go in - stripped it out. Took it off and sent it back. I like the simplicity of the Isis design - maybe its just me. For the money not worth the trouble.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jon
a Weekend Warrior
from Grand Rapids, MI Date Reviewed: April 11, 2006
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$197.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Same strengths as any outboard bearing system. Best looking cranks. Lightweight. Low price compared to XT or XTR. Shifts extremely well.
Weaknesses:
Crank bolt requires way too much torque to sit crank arm properly and the crank bolts are too fragile to take that much torque.
Titus Racer X100 with Dues crankset, XT FD, SRAM chain, Eggbeater pedals
Bottom Line:
So far this crankset has been working extremely well for me. Its lightweight, shifts amazingly well, and looks amazing. I found the chainrings to be extremely tough, Ive done some bad shifts while cranking uphill that I thought would break some teeth for sure, but has not happened. My only concern is the amount of torque reguired to pressfit the crankarm on using a flimsy crank bolt. I hope Race Face can fix this problem, then they would have a five chili winner. I dread the time I have to do any maintenance on the bottom bracket. I hope the bearings last as long as they're suppose to.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
NW Mtn Biker
a Cross Country Rider
from Kent, Wa Date Reviewed: April 2, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$230.00
Purchased At:
Colorado Cyclist
Strengths:
Looks Nice, Light and strong, Less expensive than the Shimano XT and XTR.
Weaknesses:
Bottom bracket siezed up after only 4 months. Splined got deformed, when the crank came loose. Ruined the crank.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XT, XTR
Bike Setup:
Santa Cruz Blur, XTR drivetrain, except for crank, Hope disc, ect...
Bottom Line:
Set-up isn't the best, bearing in BB don't last in wet riding conditions. The cranks shouldn't come loose that easy, and ruin the crank arm. I'll probably go back to Shimano XT Cranks.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin Mihalik
a Weekend Warrior
from Edmond OK Date Reviewed: March 23, 2006
Favorite Trail:
?
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$219.98
Purchased At:
Price Point
Strengths:
looks cool, light
Weaknesses:
OK, I bought these from pricepoint and the spindle to arm where the splines mesh to come together was not right! the highest torque value is 60 ft lbs, I put 80, no luck. PricePoint told me to mallet the arm and slowly tighten, back off, repeat. OK, no real luck and I thought this was a bad idea to keep going. I used an old mechanic trick of heating one side and freezing the other. I got it on. Remember to use all 4 spacers and 3 (three) seals or you will get side to side movement with the arms across with the BB bottomed out (regardless what the directions say)!!!Here was the real fun part. After stripping my arm remover tool I had to put my bike on my 20 ton shop press to remove them, the press popped off the spindle once and drove the arm into the BB damaging the bearing and seal. (I came real close to cutting the arm off not to damage my $2G Frame). Well I got them off and I sent them back to PricePoint, they didn't seem to interested in exchanging them since I had installed them? I guess if there is a defect you have to know before installation of the product. They said, without seeing the product, it was instalation error????? I am a ASE certified Mechanic of 6 years, I think I can follow directions on intalling a crank. Seeing the review before this one makes me think it is from a bad batch, I called Race Face with no avail on admitance to ever being able to put out a product with a .001 inch of a machining tolerance defect, and they also said they could do nothing for me, I had to find a dealer to warranty them. I'll keep you posted on how PricePoint takes care of me as well as how the cranks work out. For now I am forced to leave the lowest amount of chilies.
Similar Products Used:
bent shimanos
Bike Setup:
wall-mart speacial
Bottom Line:
I guess take them to a machine shop and have them measured to ensure they will press together and not have side to side movement before you try assembly so race face, pricepoint, or your LBS will not automatically shout installation error!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dave
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto/Truro Date Reviewed: March 16, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At:
cyclesolutions
Strengths:
Looks/finish,Ease of maitinence, making RACEFACE rich!
Weaknesses:
Drive side arms are defective...driveside spline interface!..bolt bottoms out on axle before crank can get tight and causes fore and aft play in the arms which rapidly detiorates the fit betweem the arm and the axle! they should be recalled asap! Mine were also installed on a properly faced BB and cups/bolt torqe was exactly to recomended specifacations. This has become worse over time as expected. This occoured within 6 weeks of purchase and started with a quiet creek...if yours are doing the same file a warenty claim and request that they pay the shipping!This happend while using my freeride-hardtail for daily commuting to work on smooth paved streets in downtown Toronto..before they even hit drops/dirt!theese cranks are way too much money to crap out like that..WTF! It seems like this is not at all randomly occouring and accually is happening frequently..but still has high rating this review bored but read the reviews...its like 20% have failed or are showing the above mentioned symptoms IF YOU WORK FOR OR REPRESENT RACEFACE AND SEE THIS EMAIL ME!...SOLVE MY PROBLEM and I'l stop trashing your product! they claim that theese cranks have a liftime warenty, but in all truth all they have to do is fail to aknowledge that this is a defective product and deny u warrenty coverage, and claim it was because miss-use/improper istallaton and you'd still have to pay shipping!...by the way my finish is still mint, no major wear on the ano and just a couple scratches here and there but have still failed me horribly..oh yea the extractor caps fall out(they should come with locktite if they need it!)
Similar Products Used:
old LP's, Turbines, Husselfelts, various shimano,rhyno,sugino
Save your hard earned $money$....RACEFACE thinks your a sucker!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
rich
a Downhiller
from sandwich mass Date Reviewed: March 9, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$220.00
Purchased At:
bike shope inploye
Strengths:
looks sick beef stiff as hell nice botum bracket ezey in stall
Weaknesses:
i dont understand the queshon
Similar Products Used:
holefisers suck
Bike Setup:
spechalized hared rock pro. pike front fork xt caset and deraler azonic hadel bars singal track whells you know all the good stuf for a free ride bike.
Bottom Line:
the botum line is that i had a set of holefisers given to me by a frend and they sanaped with in 24 hours of puting them on the bike they where good about the worenty but they broke agen. so just by race face no problums they are made like a tank. the things that will servive a nucler desaster are deablos crankes a twinky and a cokroch. and may be mikel jakson bekus he is a alen from another planit. they are ausom!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Fred
a Cross Country Rider
from La Canada Date Reviewed: February 24, 2006
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$199.00
Purchased At:
speedgoat
Strengths:
Let be honest... it looks cool. Integrated BB design at less than XTR price
Weaknesses:
Very, very, difficult install... very. The seating in process is dicey... better bring a torque wrench along with you when you first set out on these puppies - you'll need em!
Similar Products Used:
Turbine LP, XTR, blah blah blah
Bike Setup:
Custom Sworks Epic - it's nice - nuff said
Bottom Line:
Followed the instructions in detail during install.
After less than 100 miles right hand side came loose, no problem - just tighten it up again. next 20 or so miles came loose again. Took to LBS and they retightened it... so far so good. Another 20 miles go by and it's loose again right... NOOOOOO. This time the right hand crank developed some play. I inspected crank fearing the interface has ovalled but after inspection I cant tell.
Called RF was advised to contact a local dealer. Hmmm, strike one. Stopped by LBS and the mech took right hand crank apart told me that RF would need the entire set up in order to warranty and that it may take a while until I get it back, strike two.
Asked him if he can fix it... asked me to hold on to the bike real tight, he set up the crank for install took out a wrench and stood on top it as he pushed all his weight down on it. Problem solved... at least for now.
Hopefully strike three doesn't happen but if and when it does I'm buying a Middleburn RS and off to ebay these RF's go.
Sorry RF, I hate to bash you guys... and I love your Turbine LP's... maybe it's time to bring them back?
2 flares for price, for the money set up shold be properly and explicitly explained. 2 flares for rating, for a company well regarded for indestructible products installing their stuff shouldn't break the damn part.
Cheers!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Bainbridge Island WA Date Reviewed: February 17, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$275.00
Purchased At:
Mtn High
Strengths:
Looks nice. Shifts well.
Weaknesses:
BB, splines on crank side, bearings, aluminum chainring bolts, support from Race Face.
Similar Products Used:
Race Face Turbine LP, XTR, New XT
Bike Setup:
Ventana El Salt.
Bottom Line:
This is a truly horrible product. I have bought tons of bike stuff over the last 20 years and this is the worst, by far.
I installed them according to instructions. They dragged horribly. (my frame was faced and absolutely within spec) RF said they will loosen up. The didn't. Then the started squeaking. I saw a post here that suggested removing one of the spacers. I did that and they got better. Next I had to replace the chain-ring bolts because the aluminum ones would not stay tight and they creaked horribly under power. Now things seemed OK but shortly I started experiencing some interference with the front derailer. When I checked things out I discovered that the drive side crank arm was rocking about 5mm in/out towards the frame. The fixing bolts were tight/bottomed per installation instructions. All of this happened within 5 month.
I emailed RF and they said send them back via your dealer. I sent them off and immediatly installed XT cranks. Good thing I got new cranks because it was 6 months later that I got the RF back. They did the absolute minimum possible to address the warrantee issue, only replacing the drive side crank arm, even though I complained that the bearing were dragging horribly when installed per their instructions.
Needless to say there is not a single RF component on my bike and there never will be again. To think I used to rate this company higher than most others. Sheesh.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
DJ
a Cross Country Rider
from PHILLIPS RANCH, CA Date Reviewed: February 12, 2006
Favorite Trail:
TOP OF THE WORLD
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$219.00
Purchased At:
JENSON USA
Strengths:
LOOKS, STIFF, ADEQUATE SHIFTING.
Weaknesses:
INSTALLATION - YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU STRETCH OR WARM UP YOUR UPPER BODY BEFORE HEX WRENCHING THE DRIVE SIDE BOLT ON AND HOPING IT BOTTOMS OUT CORRECTLY.
Similar Products Used:
NOT IS AS GENIUS AS THE SHIMANO XT DESIGN IN TERMS OF PRECISION AND EASE OF INSTALLATION, PRODUCT DURABILITY, AND CAN'T REALLY SAY IF THE PERFORMANCE IS MUCH BETTER THAN XT.
Bottom Line:
INSTALLATION - I DONT LIKE THE IDEA ABOUT USING A MALLET TO BANG OR AS THE INSTALLATIONS INSTRUCTIONS READ, "... WITH A FEW LIGHT TAPS WITH A PLASTIC MALLET MAYBE REQUIRED TO FORCE THE BB SPINDLE THROUGH...(THE BOTTOM BRACKET CUPS)". AS I ALIGNED THE SPINDLE THROUGH THE NONDRIVE SIDE BB CUPS AND LIGHTLY TAPPED WITH A MALLET THE SPINDLE THROUGH THE CUPS, THE SPLINED END OF THE SPINDLE CHIPED 2 SMALL PEICES OF THE INNER FACE OF THE DRIVESIDE BEARING CUP. THE INSTURCTION MANUAL HAS A FEW INSTALLATION WARNINGS PROBABLY B/C OF THE MANY CONSUMER C/O ABOUT ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS - EVEN IF THE CRANKS WERE INSTALLED PROPERLY AND USED UNDER NORMAL RIDING CONDITIONS. THE ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING, RELIABILITY, DURABILITY, AND PERFORMANCE OF THESE CRANKS AND BB ARE QUITE QUESTIONABLE.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Giuseppe
a Weekend Warrior
from Alberta Date Reviewed: February 11, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$215.00
Strengths:
Race Face really improved the rings... they are lighter and the shifting is very crisp.
Weaknesses:
None that I have found...
Similar Products Used:
ISIS XTR, ISIS XT, Race Face Next...
Bike Setup:
Chris King, MaxM, Selle Italia, SRAM X.O....
Bottom Line:
I went with these s after my 3rd ISIS BB in 18 months. I have been impressed with the stiffness, but what I really noticed is the rings shift very crisply. I will stick with the extrernal bearings / 2 piece s from now on as they work way better than ISIS s.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Andrew Douglas
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson, AZ Date Reviewed: February 2, 2006
Favorite Trail:
any
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$215.00
Purchased At:
E-bay
Strengths:
Bling Bling
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
XT, XTR
Bike Setup:
2006 Motolite all goodies and sram XO drivetrain
Bottom Line:
After reading the reviews I went ahead and bought the cranks but I took my time and followed the directions exactly and what do you know they have been perfect since then. They are harder to install than XT but worth it for the loss of weight and the fact that they feel just as stiff. Don't worry about the lame reviews they have gotten just make sure you put them on your bike the right way.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dirtdirt223
a Cross Country Rider
from dallas, tx, US Date Reviewed: January 30, 2006
Favorite Trail:
any
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At:
speedgoat
Strengths:
none, 0, nada!
Weaknesses:
none, 0, nada!
Similar Products Used:
xtr bb cup
Bike Setup:
rigid steel ss
Bottom Line:
purchased the cranks and bb as a set. after less that 200 miles, the cranks developed some play in them. took the cranks off of the bike and discovered that the plastic dust and water cover on the non-driveside cup broken in several pieces. the plastic piece, which looks as if it costs about a nickle, cannot be purchased separetly. purchased an xtr cup as a replacement. tried on several ocassions to contact raceface via their website without success. will never purchase another raceface product. had a buddy who's raceface bb cups went bad on his bike after about the same length of time. did i mention that raceface customer service, if it exists, suxs?
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dirtdirt223
a Cross Country Rider
from dallas, tx, US Date Reviewed: January 30, 2006
Favorite Trail:
any
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At:
speedgoat
Strengths:
none, 0, nada!
Weaknesses:
none, 0, nada!
Similar Products Used:
xtr bb cup
Bike Setup:
rigid steel ss
Bottom Line:
purchased the cranks and bb as a set. after less that 200 miles, the cranks developed some play in them. took the cranks off of the bike and discovered that the plastic dust and water cover on the non-driveside cup broken in several pieces. the plastic piece, which looks as if it costs about a nickle, cannot be purchased separetly. purchased an xtr cup as a replacement. tried on several ocassions to contact raceface via their website without success. will never purchase another raceface product. had a buddy who's raceface bb cups went bad on his bike after about the same length of time. did i mention that raceface customer service, if it exists, suxs?
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mike smiley
a Cross Country Rider
from grapevine Date Reviewed: January 29, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Porcupine Rim Moab, Utah
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$260.00
Strengths:
These cranks are quite stiff for the weight class they fall into. THey look absolutly killer. Shifting is quite good considering the offset caused by the external bearings.
Weaknesses:
I havent seen anyone else with this kind of complaint, but during some more aggresive riding where i am manipulating my body around the bike, i have hit my ankles on the cranks sharp edges causing some nasty cuts on the ball of my ankle. This has only happened twice since owning the cranks for about 8 months, but i thought it ws worth mentioning cuz it freaking hurt! And yes, they dont shift as well as some other cranks, but thats been covered in many other reviews so i wont go on about that.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano octalink XT, Older XTR
Bike Setup:
Santa cruz blur. sram drivetrain with shimano XT chain. Egg beaters. umm, thats all thats important i think
Bottom Line:
Fantastic for the price. I wouldnt have spent my money on anything else. No regrets. Bling ring!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Paul
a
from San Diego, CA Date Reviewed: December 31, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Nobel Cannon
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$199.00
Purchased At:
Can not remember
Strengths:
Stiffness and looks.
Weaknesses:
Really.......NONE!!!!
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XT
Bike Setup:
K2 Proflex with all the bells and whistles!!!!
Bottom Line:
I wanted to purchase the XTR with the external bottom bracket but did not want to spend the money so I purchased these. I have no complaints. I was running the older splinned XT's and did not like the flex. I am no mechanic so I had a friend install them it took about 3 or 4 rides before we got the shifting dialed in. With the external bearings it takes some patiences and time. I have had no problems with the chainring bolts backing out and the rings are awsome. No real complaints!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
eric
a Racer
from fall city washington Date Reviewed: December 22, 2005
Favorite Trail:
fall city trails
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
with kona kula deluxe
Strengths:
super shiny always in the bling ring superlight and stiff pimpin
Weaknesses:
external bottom bracket pushes chainline out 2.5 mm, throws shifting off a little bit
2005 kona kula deluxe with fsa orbit xtreme headset, crank bros ti eggbeaters, ritchey pro stem
Bottom Line:
While you may see all these people whining about their shifting and bolts coming loose, these cranks are awesome. all these whiners are talking about all this terrible shifting, when in reality shimano created an external bottom bracket and didn't really pay too much attention to the front derailleur shifting. Its not that the cranks and rings shift horribly, the shifting pins and ramps are awesome, its the bottom bracket that shoves everything out 2.5 mm and if that does not seem like much, it really is. Second, I have not had major trouble with the rings coming loose(only once months ago) and if you can't feel and fix that movement, you should really learn how to do elementary wrenching. I have owned this bike for over 8 months now(and beat it like and dh bike)and now I finally have to buy a new bottom bracket.
so if you don't want a pair of cranks that shines like the sun, is stiffer than a right winger,buy these awsome cranks.
shift into the bling ring the money is worth it! yeeeaaaah!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Heatstrroke
a Weekend Warrior
from houston Date Reviewed: November 29, 2005
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$199.00
Purchased At:
jenson
Strengths:
Light and cheap reasonably stiff
Weaknesses:
Weak Chain ring bolts Tricky install
Similar Products Used:
XT/XTR square and splined (not outboard)
Bike Setup:
Motolite & racerX
Bottom Line:
A pretty decent crankset for the price, I replaced all the chain ring bolts with shimano due to the reviews and have not had a problem at all.
Installation is a bit tricky as I needed to grease and install multiple times to get the arm to bottom out. Measure the BB shell to make sure it is within spec.
I have used locktite on the main bolts to avoid any potential problems.
It has done well, bearings have held up. They spin freely.
Bottom line, good value if you have a set of replacement chain ring bolts and your BB shell is within spec.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jim
a Cross Country Rider
from Jefferson City, Mo Date Reviewed: November 28, 2005
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$195.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Light, stiff, looks, quiet
Weaknesses:
Installation of spacers was a little confusing
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XT
Bike Setup:
Moots MootoX, Reba Race fork, Race Face Deus crank, Race Face Next bar, XT front der, Sram X.0 rear der, Moots laid back seatpost, Salsa Delgado Wheelset, IRC Mythos II tires
Bottom Line:
Very pleased with the Race Face Deus crank. Very close to XTR weight for half the price (on ebay). I needed to set the chainline spacing to 50mm on my Mooto-X otherwise recieved chain suck. Installation was easy once i figured the spacing out. It did require a lot of torque to seat the main bolt. The external bearing setup is great for installation compared to the old, internal BB setups. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 chilis on the overall is the confusion in the installation instructions, but that could be user error!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dom
a
from M0ntreal Date Reviewed: November 14, 2005
Favorite Trail:
the street
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$275.00
Strengths:
strong stiff bb seems well sealed big stainless pedal bosses
Weaknesses:
i had a creak develop in the spline, a bit of polylub-100 seesm to have cured that though. And the cap for the selfextracting system likes to back out, i almost lost it once. I tried a bit of red loctite, but i wasn't willing to use very much, i'll live. the machining on the arms leaves sharp edges, i've got the scars on my ankle to prove it. I hate loud graphics.
Similar Products Used:
it seems everyone who's hussefelts bugged out on them is trying these things, me included.
Bike Setup:
tight street hardtail (peyto), rear disc, front end off a 2001 norco 1hun.
Bottom Line:
good, but too flashy and a little rough around the edges in execution.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Rolf Sindoe
a Cross Country Rider
from Kolding, Denmark Date Reviewed: October 29, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Skamlingsbanken
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
Cambridge Bicycles, Boston
Strengths:
Cool looks, weight, stiffness
Weaknesses:
bearings and threading, quality of chain rings
Similar Products Used:
Shi. LX, XT (Hollowtech I)
Bike Setup:
Scott Genius RC30, Bontrager RaceLite UST, SRAM X.O and more
Bottom Line:
The chain rings are not as good as they look. They wear out soon in the Danish climate (lots of rain). Besides, and worse, there's something wrong with the bearing and threading on this crankset. I had it properly installed by a pro but after 4 months of steady training the crankset suddenly went loose. Ever since, I've tried to get it tight again, Loctite and what have you of tips-of-the-trade. But once alu threading breaks loose, the center bolt, threading and splines detoriate. At this point the crank flexes so much I can't have the chain running on the big chain ring. I just decided to dump the crankset and buy something else as I have no temper and time for warranty issues in the US.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Gary Klingler
a Racer
from Granite Bay, Ca. USA Date Reviewed: October 25, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Upper Divide
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At:
Sunnyside Sports
Strengths:
Light and strong, perfect mesh with Sram XO, sweet look
Weaknesses:
Installation of spacers was different from instuctions, crank bolt takes alot of pressure to seat fully
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XTR
Bike Setup:
Blur XC, Fox 100RLT, Fox RP3, Sram XO shifters and deralliuer, XTR front deralliuer, Mavic CrossMax, Continental Explorer Pro
Bottom Line:
Once you figure out the spacer placement on drive and non drive side, installation was very easy although it took alot of pressure to seat the crank bolt. 3 months of hard riding and they are quiet,stiff and smooth with flawless shifting. Very happy with the switch from XTR and the perfect operation with the Sram XO drivetrain
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Racer
from NJ Date Reviewed: October 12, 2005
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Easy to set up, Stiff Crank Arms
Weaknesses:
After 20 rides BB Bearings seized in left cup. Had to buy a whole new X-Type BB. Dealer told me that I had to buy a whole new bb. Race Face won’t even give me a new bearing. They don’t even want to talk to their customers, will only deal with shops. The worst customer support I have ever seen. I have tried just about every high end BB and crank set and this is far the worst product out there. They need to use higher end bearing, especially if this is going to be their top of the line BB. Also 1st week having Deus cranks tried to tighten the crank ring bolts and broke 2. Again no help from Race Face. Allot of chain suck when new.
Bike Setup:
Intense Spider, Fox F100X Sram XO
Bottom Line:
Would be a easy thing to fix if Race Face stood behind their products. Need more R&D before releasing products. This is their top of the line cranks and BB, they should use top of the line parts.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ob1Hoagie
a Weekend Warrior
from Fountain Hills, AZ USA Date Reviewed: October 10, 2005
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
SuperHo
Strengths:
Lightweight and relatively stiff.
Weaknesses:
I have tried EVERY setup in the problem solving instructions that came with this crankset. I have finally discovered that the interface between the bottom bracket spline and the crank does not fit correctly. I.E. the machining tolerances are not correct. The cranks were put on correctly w/the correct spacers and the cranks were torqued to the appropriate specifications.
Similar Products Used:
RaceFace I-beams (good cranks), Shimano XT's, some Bontrager O.E.M.
Bike Setup:
Turner Burner w/all the goodies.
Bottom Line:
I'm VERY disappointed in Race Face's lack of quality control in the manufacture of their X-Type cranks. Like I said above I tried EVERY problem solving setup suggested in the instructions that came with the crank and there was still play between the drive side crank arm spline interface and the bottom bracket interface. I will be heading back to SuperHo with my purchase receipt in hand to see what they can do.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Robert Stevenson
a Cross Country Rider
from Claremont, Ca., Date Reviewed: September 26, 2005
Favorite Trail:
potatoe mtn.
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$230.00
Purchased At:
Incycle
Strengths:
Cool looks. Seem stiff. Shift well.
Weaknesses:
Chain ring bolts. Creaks - only if that annoyance bothers you at every stroke.
Similar Products Used:
RaceFace Turbo. Cook Bros.
Bike Setup:
Blurr. SRAM. Fox. Other good stuff.
Bottom Line:
These cranks worked for 9 months. Now they insisently creak. No matter what. Chain ring bolt replacement a must. I have changed bearing cups, checked and redone installation, greased and lubed and loctited to no avail. 1/2 a ride later I am the loudest on the trail.
I finally started measuring. The spindle shaft at bearing locations is .952" dia. The original bearings were .956 to .958". The new bearings were .955" dia. NOT ONE bearing maker reccomends .003 slop in shaft to bearing fit. COME ON Race Face --- Fix this. This is elementary engineering and a failure on your part.
Drive crank fit is O.K. if installation instructions are followed. Bearing cup install works, but is crude at best with their motley spacers and little engaged thread on the drive side. If your cranks drag when free spun then the spacing is wrong or too thick of rubber covered washers are installed.
These cranks could be 4 to 5 chili's with the proper corrections by Race Face.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Pete Hall
a Racer
from Caledonia Mi Date Reviewed: September 25, 2005
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Lightweight, Strong shifting perfomance in anyconditions, stiff chainrings (lends to the great shifting), much better bb seals it seems so far than xtr outboard bearings (those are crap), very shiny (get the silver ones), pretty easy to set up
Weaknesses:
none that i can think of
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XTR 960 (outboard bearing type)
Bike Setup:
hardtail
Bottom Line:
I'm not sure where all these people are getting these negative reviews from. Spacer set up and all are complaints, well its not rf fault if you guessed what size your bb shell is our didnt measure chain line at all. As for the chainring bolts they are certianly lightweight and anything that is reallylight weight will break easier, soo, just replace them. Anyways, shifting performance is right on par with shimano xtrs (and im going to say better in the long run because the xtr rings wear out super quick, like 4 months) and they are just as stiff w/o shimanos expensive hollowtech crank technology. The bb spins wonderfully and has quality seals so yearly replacement is not required like an shimano outboard bearing. A highly recomended crank, great job RaceFace! (oh and for the naysayers out there, I'm not a featherweight, 175lbs.)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
huckster
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta, GA Date Reviewed: September 23, 2005
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$225.00
Strengths:
lightweight, stiff, good rings
Weaknesses:
bearing cups, chain ring bolts, crank bolts
Similar Products Used:
xt
Bottom Line:
I really want to like this cranks,I like RF stuff. When everything is tight these cranks are wonderful, very stiff and powerful. The problem is they keep finding ways to disappoint me. The chain ring bolts are made of cheese. I snapped the crank fixing bolt and the crank arm fell to the ground( 5 miles from my truck) Two weeks to get a replacement. Spacer set up is hit or miss, get it wrong and the bearings are so stiff they wont turn, or so loose that the arm doesn't seat properly. My riding buddies use these too and they also have had various problems. Good luck if you own these.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Curtis
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, TX, USA Date Reviewed: September 23, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Womble
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
speedgoat.com
Strengths:
lightweight, stiff
Weaknesses:
junk granny, creaky
Similar Products Used:
Connondale comp, XT
Bike Setup:
Asylum 29er XL
Bottom Line:
First ride. New. Level street. No load. The granny sucked chain EVERY DOWNSHIFT.
Contacted Speedgoat. Chris immediately suggested a "blueprint" operation, and said he would replace immediately if that didn't work. I removed it and found that the edges were very sharp, a kerf left from manufacture? I assume so. BUT i noticed that the sides of the sproket teeth were "pooched out" where they contact the chain rollers...the teeth had yielded!...now, i'm a big guy, but have NEVER had this type problem with XT, or Cannondale! (that's gotta hurt, RaceFace!) It creaks a little, but i'm used to that...no worse than others. I also had a problem on the womble with the middle ring...it folded a tooth inward but that was my fault, waiting too late to downshift, so it was under load :(...but never had that problem in 5 years of similar punishment with my Cannondale Race. I like the stiffness and weight.
I contacted speedgoat again and chris immediately sent out a replacement steel granny. Thanks Chris for speedgoat's great customer support.
I bought it on sale; I would be much more disappointed if I had paid full price.
If you're a Clyd., buy a steel or Ti granny at the same time.
Probably ideal if you're a lightweight.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
t lambert
a Cross Country Rider
from dover, nh Date Reviewed: September 11, 2005
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$150.00
Purchased At:
spec'd on kona kula deluxe
Strengths:
well, they work.
Weaknesses:
creaking is driving me nutts.
Bike Setup:
all xt w fox
Bottom Line:
i can't get the creaking to stop. after one ride in the rain, they started creaking a few days later. about a week after it started creaking i dissassembled and found a rust ring around the axle. not cool. reassembled with grease on EVERYTHING and the creaking didn't go away. greased all of the chainring bolts, checked the pedals, and no solution. race face's answer was to return it to the shop for a *possible* warranty. f that. just need to decide on a new set of cranks. looked at reviews for xt but they get a lot of creaking comments too. where to turn?
2 chillies but only cause they look nice and aren't that expensive
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Neil
a Cross Country Rider
from UK Date Reviewed: September 11, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Afan
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Looks good - Chainrings last well
Weaknesses:
I had creaking coming from the BB area, I checked the crankset and found the main screw was loose, the main screw had been correctly torqued when fitted as well as the outer cap
Two chainring bolts broke, on inspection you can see what lightweight crappy efforts they are
Similar Products Used:
XT HTII on other bike (5 Spot)
Bike Setup:
RM Blizzard Marzocchi Marathon S Coil forks Deus bars, crankset, post, stem Hope mini's CK hubs + XC717 rims SRAM X9 shifters and mechs Nokon cables
Bottom Line:
I really like the look of these cranks and the machining of them and the rings looks spot on
Compared to the XT HTII they were harder to fit, but not to difficult once I had read the instructions a few times
As I said above the main screw came loose, I have applied some Loctite 243 screw-lock to remedy this. My mate had the same on his Evolve X Type cranks as well so it's not a one off in my book
Also please change the chainring bolts as the ones that come with it are real lightweight crap, replace them with the chrome steel ones that Race face sell
No real extra stiffness over XT, but obviously RF rings much much better
Would I buy again - Yes, but only for pimpyness XT are a better design and nearly half the prices in the UK
If you do buy these cranks make sure you screw-lock the main screw and replace the chainring bolts
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Gene
a Cross Country Rider
from Goshen, IN USA Date Reviewed: September 11, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Fort Custer
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
Family Bike
Strengths:
stiffness, looks, reliablilty, efficiency
Weaknesses:
sluggish shifting
Similar Products Used:
shimano
Bike Setup:
hardtail
Bottom Line:
The cranks are super stiff. Since the first time I tried them out I seem to spin faster with less effort. Everytime I ride now, I wish I had more gears. Kudos to RaceFace and a seriously stiff and efficient crank.
However, since I replaced my Shimanos, the shifting up front seems slow. The cranks were professionaly installed and the bike was tuned up, but still lacks the snappy shifting that I seemed to get with the Shimanos. I use XTs front and rear, so I don't believe that it is a derailler issue.
I'm still very happy with my decision to by the Deuce cranks.
$
Overall Rating:
Overall Rating:
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