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Submitted by
Leo Shotridge
a Cross Country Rider
from Albuquerque
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | everything in the northwest | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$139.00 | | Purchased At: | Two wheel drive | | Strengths: | atractive, competes with shimano in durability, bought for on sale for a steal, I'm the only one on my block that has middleburn cranks on my mountain bike on our block. Life time warrenty. | | Weaknesses: | none yet | | Similar Products Used: | XT, Suntour xc(still used on another bike!) LX(no comparasine) | | Bike Setup: | Voodoo hard tail(made of steel) Manitou 2001 Xvert Air, RS seatpost, Flite saddle, xt drivetrain. | | Bottom Line: | I've had these cranks for over 3 years. No problems with them (RS3 model). I don't do 5 foot drops but still hop and pop over trees up in the NW. Here in Abluquerque though, theres a lot of small to large bolders to jump and manuver around. Great cranks. I still haven't come across anyone else here that has a set but me. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Larry
a Cross Country Rider
from Dallas, Texas
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Hot Springs, Arkansas | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | A&H Elmy Cycles, Ipswich, UK | | Strengths: | Strength, light weight and overall durability - just incredible! | | Weaknesses: | The 4mm spider bolts. | | Similar Products Used: | Ritchey WCS, Sugino, Shimano... | | Bike Setup: | ( a real mutt ) Built with taking a REAL beating over the ruthlessly hard Texas ground. | | Bottom Line: | I weigh 230 lbs. and have ridden these things into the ground since 1996. I've noticed that they need more lubing to prevent sticking to the B&B shaft than most cranks, but until recently - an awesome set of cranks.
Last weekend I was riding and noticed a creaking sound in the B&B area. Not unusual for bikes in spring. As I was lifting my bike up onto it's rack I noticed a large crack in the crank bolt housing! I removed the crank and I was amazed to see that the spider bolts are made of a low grade steel!!! One of the bolts had broken (mid-shaft) and lodged itself nicely into the teeth of my B&B, and gouged the spider a while before catching on the hole from where it came where it decided to grab and start tearing out a few B&B teeth. If you have these cranks-REPLACE THESE BOLTS WITH STAINLESS TODAY! If you're thinking of getting a set of these-DO IT-just remember to swap the bolts! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
George Richmond
a
from Denver, CO USA
Date Reviewed: January 16, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Good looking | | Weaknesses: | No advantage over Shimano products, expensive | | Similar Products Used: | 1994-98 Shimano LX, XT, XTR 5-bolt cranksets | | Bottom Line: | Those who think these cranks look familiar are not imagining things. They're basically an exact copy of the 1994 Shimano XT/XTR crank. In strength terms all of the LX/XT cranks from 1994-97 are about the same with the Middleburn in overall strength/weight, certainly not enough difference to pay more money for. The XTR 1997 crankset is actually considerably stronger, we've tested them all at the shop in a bending machine and recorded breaking strength pressure.
Numerous claims have been made about Middleburn strength. But the fact is that both cranks use similar aluminum alloys and forging methods. You're just paying for aftermarket cachet. 'Flex' is a very subjective subject, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that there physically CANNOT be much flex difference between cranks using the exact same shape, design and alloy/forging methods.
Finally, Middleburn rings do NOT shift as well as Shimano's computer designed tooth profile and ramps, which were developed after years and years of research testing every conceivable variation in ramp and tooth profile. Sometimes bigger IS better. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ulrich Hansen
a Weekend Warrior
from Odense, Denmark
Date Reviewed: November 16, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | Esports Jorma, Andorra | | Strengths: | Very light, very stiff, doesn't creak, beautiful finish, not Shimano | | Weaknesses: | Hmmm.... | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT, L&M, Specialized Strongarm | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Chameleon, Judy Race, Magura disc, MIDDLEBURN RS3 | | Bottom Line: | These cranks are so strong, light and beautiful that I will recommend them to all riders seeking the best crank for their bike. I've had absolutely NO problems what so ever! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rounders
a Cross-Country Rider
from lancashire, England
Date Reviewed: September 27, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
howgill fells | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
beautifully engineered, strong as an oak, seriously nice finish and top precision taper. | | Weaknesses: |
none really, apart from I had to starve for a month to save up for them | | Similar Products Used: |
Shimano rubbish | | Bike Setup: |
Bontrager racelite, hope ti BB, Judy XCs | | Bottom Line: | Absolutoley top cranks, probably better than some more pricey ones, which are just Jewelry for your bike rather than pure functional beasts like these.
Flawless | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Larry
a Cross-Country Rider
from Dallas
Date Reviewed: May 21, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Cedar Hill | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
Just THAT - Strength! | | Weaknesses: |
What? | | Similar Products Used: |
Shimano, Sugino, Sakae | | Bike Setup: |
Fuquay - Ultima ultra strong (Custom-rigid) | | Bottom Line: | I weigh 225 lbs. and increase THAT by pulling up on the bars like a madman on climbs (not easy lifting that much weight UP hill). These cranks seem to have as much/or less flex as anything else I've tried/owned !HOWEVER! Considering these things have the entire inner section carved away and weigh less than shoe laces makes them so frickin' awesome its unreal. After 3 years of abuse I've only recently got them to where they creaked slightly - that was remedied (for now) with a little more torque on the crank bolts.
Worth the money!! Especially for heavy dudes still trying to save weight on something. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike b
a Weekend Warrior
from Newport gwent U.k
Date Reviewed: May 6, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Breacon | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Light strong really well engineered | | Weaknesses: |
none | | Similar Products Used: |
Shimano xtr
Cook bros | | Bike Setup: |
Orange pace MXCD | | Bottom Line: | as cranks go you won't find anything stronger stiffer or lighter all rolled into one package which look this damn good. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a weekend warrior
from Birmingham. England
Date Reviewed: February 8, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I've had my RS-DH cranks for over a year now and absolutely no complaints. The RS-DH is the RS-3 on Weightgain 2000 (Beeeefcake!) and is stiff and nigh-on indestructible (tempting fate). They look fantastic and, well, attach the pedals to the BB. Own a piece of art, for a bargain basement price, I got mine for £100! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Christian
a cross-country rider
from germany
Date Reviewed: January 17, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
best cranks ever ridden they are very stiff and the first crank set the holds together for more then 6 months and they are very very good looking these cranks are the best buy you can do | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stinky
a cross-country rider
from MI
Date Reviewed: November 16, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Here are all these great reviews for this crankset, and along come joe and Tim Salt, who post these nonchalantly bad reviews! Come on you guys, pull your heads out of of the sand and give us some meat. I read these reviews with serious intent, as that is what they are here for, and when it comes to the pros and cons of a critical part suuch as cranks, merely smearing a product without backup ois stupid. Tim, why do you say these were weak? What credibility did you establish for making such a statement? None, that's what! You didn't say what kind of riding you do, what the circumstances of the failure were, etc. I personally feel ready to believe that you weigh 375 pounds and tried to moonsault over a speeding locomotive while approaching at acute angles at 100 miles per hour, and that instead of pedaling, you had hooked the cranks up to a Jaguar V-12 engine with a vacuum cleaner belt. Same goes for you joe. Tell us why they suck, you lungfish! Just for your asinine comments, I am giving this crank 5 hot turds even though I've never even seen them, much less rode them. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ian Bailey
a cross-country rider
from England
Date Reviewed: September 30, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I have had a pair of Middleburn RS2 cranks for 7 months and have been very happy with them only snag the rather wide bottom bracket that is required however they have just developed a stress crack my local shop Ralphie's at Taunton contacted Middleburn and sorted out a replacement have decided to go for the RS3 this time I'm sure that I will be more than happy with them. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
PETER DOOLEY
a cross-country rider
from LIMERICK,IRELAND
Date Reviewed: July 13, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I have had a set of MIDDLEBURN RS3 cranks for two years now,I got them from my local bike shop with 22,32,46 HARDCOTE RINGS,They are brillant ,I have had absolutely no problems with them and their after sales service is second to none,but make the mistake of getting the wrong size bottom bracket for them...... | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul Woolfenden
a weekend warrior
from England
Date Reviewed: May 14, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Top Cranks. Nice colours and best of all they are British!
Strong as a bulldog on steriods and as stiff as Dirk Diggler.
Buy some and fly the flag for Britain, whilst you are at it buy an Xlite Ti frame to put them on, two pieces of equipment that are built to last!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul Woolfenden
a
from England
Date Reviewed: May 12, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I have had the RS3`s for a couple of years now and I have never had any problems with them. The spider I have fitted will only fit standard rings but that does not bother me as I like the meaty look of Pace chainrings and the supposed difference that a 48 toother gives me down hills.
The only slight worry is that they loose their shine very quickly if your heels scuff them as you pedal, still all the others do too.
I like them so much I will give them ...... | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark Harris
a weekend warrior
from Isle of Man
Date Reviewed: May 10, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I've had my RS3 cranksince they came out. Never a problem, never a creek from them -royce BB also. I use XTR cranks and pulling a 48 causes no flex whatsoever- Great! I wish they'd do some with XTR spline fit though- Now that would blow the world away! After 2 years of my shoes the anodising is still perfect! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Uncle Kevin
a cross-country rider
from Sayreville NJ USA
Date Reviewed: April 23, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
On the advice of Marc from Piscataway NJ ( see his review below ) I purchased the Middleburn RS3 cranks from his shop. OK so they don't come in a bunch of colors or have cool laser etched logos of any sort, but they are light and strong. Almost everyone I ride with has these cranks or wants to purchase them in the future. I beat the hell out of these and they come back for more. Super stiff and no flex. Also I weigh about 185 lbs which isn't particularly light in MTB terms. I've ridden them for about 6 months and reccomend them highly.
PS the Middleburn chainrings shift extremely smooth | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ANDY ROBSON
a racer
from Warwickshire, England
Date Reviewed: April 3, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I’ve got some Middleburn RS2s which, initially, I was worried that I’d trash them, having snapped a couple of Shimano offerings, but after 6 months of serious abuse don’t creak, haven’t come loose or offended in any way that affects their performance. The only (minor) criticisms are that they use a 122.5 mm bottom bracket axle -(a tad wide), and the XTR grey anodising is beginning to wear off in places, but then it would, seeing that my shoes hit it every pedal revolution! That’s enough waffle, - here’s the rating…. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Marc
a racer
from Piscatawy, NJ
Date Reviewed: January 20, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I have beaten the crap out of the MIDDLEBURN RS3's for nearly 2 years now, and they are still straight as an arrow!!! I have sold probably close to 40 sets of the RS3's ( I RETAIL them at $225) and only one pair has bent so far, not bad when virtually every KOOKA, TOPLINE and WHITE INDUSTRIES crankset that I have sold over the past 4 years had to be sent back for one reason or another!!! These RS3's can be used for anything, they are SUPER STRONG and STIFF, My whole TEAM raced on them last year and not one failed, which beleive me is a first!!!!
If you want further Information on these great cranks, just EMAIL me, i'd be happy to help!!!!
Regards Marc | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Richard Steels
a weekend warrior
from England
Date Reviewed: December 14, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Well I had a pair of the limited editions, they looked real trick untill a few months ago when I was mearly riding down a hill and just about to jump a log when a loun crack sound was made. Once reacing the bottomt I noticed that the drive arm had cracked, arse!!!. But all in all they gave me no problems, strong, stiff but do snap, I wouldn't buy them agian. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim Salt
a downhiller
from England
Date Reviewed: November 24, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Never buy an RS2 crank, they`re W##k. Mine snapped. Middleburn are no help, I`ve been waiting 8 weeks for a replacement despite much pestering. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
joe
a downhiller
from altoona
Date Reviewed: November 23, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
these cranks suck.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shane Carroll
a downhiller
from Dublin, Ireland
Date Reviewed: March 20, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I Was considering getting these but changed my mind to LX 97 Cranks because they're £65 and the actual crank looks better than the Middleburn cranks that Ive seen. The picture above has a nice pair of crank arms but the pair that I saw had horrible circular arms. What are they? are they the RSII's? email me if anyone knows | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Adam Gent
a weekend warrior
from Pembrokeshire, Wales
Date Reviewed: January 31, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Hello, Middleburn RSIII's are indeed a cracking good set of cranks, I previously had a STX which was floppy, not good. I then moved on to bigger and better things and got a Sugino Fuse 500, it had to be replaced after about a month so I got another (suspecting the first one to be dodgy) and that was finaly replaced by my beautiful RSIII a month after, 'cause that went into the consistency of Playdoh. Mmmm Tasty. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hellclimber
a cross-country rider
from Portugal
Date Reviewed: January 25, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Who needs XTRs? Middleburn cranks are killer. Perfect combination: stiffness, light weight, killer look. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Russ Tebay
a cross-country rider
from West Yorkshire England
Date Reviewed: August 27, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I have used a set of RS-3 cranks for over 14 months now and am still amazed
at how stiff, light and durable they have proven to be. I live on the edge of a wood
and ride over 150 miles a week of tough single-track with lung busting ascents
and the RS-3's have performed flawlessly. I have ridden '94 XT's (bottom bracket taper wore out)
and bent a set of Rock Mountain turbines within 4 months of purchase but the middleburns go on and on.
They must have done around 3 500 - 4 000 miles and gone through two bottom bracket bearings.
They are the epitomy of quiet well engineered service unbeatable for 435 gms! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a racer
from Leeds West Yorks
Date Reviewed: August 27, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I have had a set of these cranks for 8 months now and am very impressed with
the quality of finish and excellent performance they have given. After reading
some of the other reviews I am gob-smacked at the trouble people have had.
They are almost as I got them out of the box and this is after 8 months of
english trails, rocks and weather.
After one month of treating them with great care and attension I have given them 7 months of abuse and
ignorance and they just come back for more.
Excellent performance, great looks, superb finishing (threads and taper are a
joy to behold). I really do not think you can buy better.
Quality stuff. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tim.o
a cross-country rider
from Cardiff - Wales
Date Reviewed: June 15, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Middleburns RS3 are the stiffest, most hard wearing and undestroyable cranks
that i have ever ridden. I've been riding them for seven months, and they are
showing no sign of ware. The tubular construction makes them extremely light
weight and the CNC look is amazing. They have been bashed into rocks and
crashed numerous times and there are no scrapes evident. They are the stiffest
cranks i'v ridden (previous - one pair of stx se (destroyed) and one pair of lx -
bent), there is no flex when powering up massive climbs in too higher a gear.
These really are the best cranks in the world.
| | Overall Rating: |
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