Strengths: Pretty light, pretty stiff, very good looks
Weaknesses: Creaks, creaks and creaks. Also the splines are all mashed now efter some freeriding. WEAK!
Bottom Line:
If you do XC these cranks are great but they cant handle any kind of abuse. If I would still be doing XC I would go for the Deore Octalink since they are pretty much the same thing but cheaper. I paid $120 for these and I think that is too much for what you get. Dropping is so not possible with these. The splines go crazy and the bolt comes loose all the time (I have tried the toughest locktite)
I am sick of all shimano cranks now and I will get On-one retard now. Or maybe profile or ROOX FRD.
Similar Products Used: LX, Alivio, Hussefelt, old XT
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Submitted by
clay
a Weekend Warrior
from orono, me, usa
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2002
Strengths: stiff, lighter than DH cranksets
Weaknesses: bolts come loose on first few rides. Take my advice and carry an 8mm wrench or at least check it after every ride for your first few or you might bore out the crank/bb.
Bottom Line:
sweet set, but make sure to check tightness. It should stop loosening after a few re-tightenings.
Bike Setup: 2002 kona stinky dee, xt crank, raceface bashgaurd, azonic shorty stem
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Submitted by
Sante Pelot
a Racer
from Santa Cruz, CA
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2002
Strengths: Reasonbly light, splined, no crank remover required, stiff, strong, have not hade any creaking problems (a lot of people may have trouble with bb's creaking in aluminum frames)
Weaknesses: Not compatible with other bb's
Bottom Line:
Great crankset for the money. Not that I've used xtr, but I think the xt spline is designed better just by looking at it-way more surface area at the interface. I've rode these babies hard for two years and haven't had a single problem.
Weaknesses: '00 model pressed spider--huge weakness. Changed in '01 to a threaded spider.
Bottom Line:
New threaded design should make this crank bullet-proof. I had to return the '00 model because the spider separated from the crank arm. After about 1000 mi the crank developed a creak. It would come and go but no one could figure it out. Around 2000 mi I noticed the separation. Unfortunatly the warranty only provides the same pressed crank. See ya in 2000 mi. I hate to give this crankset a poor rating because the arms are stiff and I'm sure the problem has been corrected for '01.
Submitted by
Ziggy Stardust
a Cross Country Rider
from Outer Space
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2002
Strengths: Strong, light, reliable, shifts well, does not require special tool to remove, looks good
Weaknesses: Creaks when retaining bolts come loose
Bottom Line:
The Shimano XT cranks are just fine, and have worked very well for me. Of course I'm not a banzai downhiller, nor a freeriding person. For me, "big air" is when both wheels get 10 inches or more off the ground simultaneously (which doesn't happen often). So please keep this in mind when you read my critique.
What I am though is a high mileage rider who rides fairly aggressive, rugged cross country. I weigh about 185lbs and have had some gnarly crashes where the cranks have mashed into the ground. So far they have been holding up great and seem to be very light and rigid. They shift nice and smooth too.
Yes, they did creak on me and the retaining bolts DID come loose on several occasions. You really have to torque them down (as the directions indicate) and check them frequently after first installing them. I would advise using threadlock (although I havent yet) and just make sure they are tight. Don't assume (like I did) that the creak is in your frame, seatpost or bottom bracket because it is probably the cranks.
After I finally got them nice and tight and the cranks broken in, they seem just fine. Ive even been using them in a singlespeed mode (leaving the gear ration fixed in 2:1) lately which puts a lot of torque on them going up hills...they are handling it great.
Also some folks are griping about the fact that you have to use a Shimano bottom bracket due to the proprietary ISIS drive. Normally I hate proprietary stuff too (especially from Bill Gates), but its no big deal in this case. The Shimano bottom bracket (XT) is very reasonably priced, is lightweight (relatively speaking), and so far has proven durable (after a year of mashing it into logs). So I dont think thats much of an issue personally, but hey you decide.
Overall I give 'm 4 fecal flambes. The only reason they dont get 5 is because of the creak issue (even though it has resolved itself).
Submitted by
TienShan
a Weekend Warrior
from Woodsied, CA
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2002
Strengths: cheaper and lighter than XTR
Weaknesses: a piece of crap
Bottom Line:
I have this XT 9 speed for less than one year. I used to have 1993 XTR 8-speed groupo and I replaced it last year with this new XT 9-speed groupo. I upgraded it mainly because the 8-speed XTR shifter is dying. I did the same type of riding as I have done with my XTR for the past 8 years. Recently I found out one of the tooth in the middle chainring is broken. Incredible. I will go back to XTR if possible even the 8-speed XTR. I think Shimano sacrifices the quality when it makes 9-speed components. Everything is thinner. Anyway, it's a major disappointment. I just can't believe the tooth can be broken with normal riding and pedalling. I even lubricate more often than I used to.
Bike Setup: Dean TI everyting, Mars Elite with 2001 XT groupo.
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Submitted by
Mike Davis
a Cross Country Rider
from Coral Springs, FL
Date Reviewed: August 25, 2002
Strengths: Great shifting and they stay tight
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
I went to this crankset to go from a double Cannondale 29/44. The Cannondale crank needed to be tightened after the first 7 rides to finally stay tight. The XT required one retightening and stayed tight. Shifts well and looks good on my Scalpel 2000. I weigh 195 and this is plenty stiff. A great value and no creaking. I'd but them again.
Submitted by
Anton
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA, USA
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2002
Strengths: price, stiffness
Weaknesses: CREAK, PPING, CREAK...
Bottom Line:
I bought these thinking that shimano had finally come out with a resonably priced alternative to XTR cranks. What a joke! You get what you pay for. I'm embarassed to ride my bike cuz my crank makes so much noise. I've taken them off and retightened everything, cleaned everything. If I got payed a dollar for everytime I tried to make these cranks stop creaking I coulda bought a new set of XTRs. Other than that they are ok.
Submitted by
Jin Man
a Weekend Warrior
from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2002
Strengths: Light, stiff and nice design, it really looks cool. And of course, it's XT.
Weaknesses: None until now.
Bottom Line:
In my opinion, XT products are great, they really asimilate to the XTR quality, and have a competitive price for the quality and performance of the products.
Before I changed to XT for the Bontrager Select that came originally when I bought the bike, it was Ok for road riding but when I really went to the dirt it was a junk product, the chain sucks and sucks and sucks. Now that I've changed for the XT, WOW, I think my bike is even faster than before.
Aside, I have few friends with this crankset and everybody loves this one.
The only thing that I had to accomplain is the octalink BB, I'd like to use other than this because the size availablity in Mexico.
Similar Products Used: Coda, Specialized-Both had chainrings as soft as lead.
Bike Setup: SC Superlight with all the good stuff
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Submitted by
Manuel Ang
a Cross Country Rider
from Bothell, WA USA
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2002
Strengths: "Shimano compatability", looks, hollow tech tech. Gram for $ probably the best crank out there.
Weaknesses: Not XTR, not the lightest crank.
Bottom Line:
I don't know what everyones big deal with cranks are but the cranks on my old rock hopper and the SA II that came with this rig were fine. I would only swap or change out cranks if I was fat and bent them, was rich and wanted the best stuff, was weight concious, or needed a special app like DH. I got them for the weight and uniformity aspect of the drive train. The cranks are ok I guess, I would recommend a splined type of BB over a square one, but I wouldn't change cranks on a crappy bike. The XT cranks give me a sort of mental confidence when it comes to my drive train and my flight deck computer. Although they have nothing to do with the computer's operation the cranks make me "feel" as if the whole unit "should" work. Nothing more than that. Other than that the only other thing I can say is that they work and look a little cooler than the SA's that came with the Stumpy.
Strengths: Stiffness, value, good overall design, the BB
Weaknesses: Need to re-torque during break in period, too wide for sharp cornering
Bottom Line:
I've put on 20,000 kms of hard urban riding on this crankset and I must say, the XT Hollowtech is a huge leap ahead for this price compared to the old square taper models. I haven't tired the ultra high end XTR, Raceface, Syncros stuff but for sheer value for money and performance the XT can't be beat. The power transfer to the wheels is noticably better as the flex in the crank arms is reduced substantially compared to the older models. On the minus side, the BB nuts have to be re-torqued after every ride in the first 1000 kms of use. This is a minor irritation because once bedded in, the EA70 BB and the XT crank are one tight unit. The only creaks come from road debris and dust between the spider and the chain rings. Throw a bucket of water over it and the noise is gone for a week.
