All I can say is the crank is original from when the bike was new. The chain rings are a bit worn/ bent but its still doing its job. Bottom bracket has a slight amount of play in it but this crank spins over so easy compared to others I've compared them to. I think ill try to find new rings and bottom bracket and continue using it.
Strengths: It really seems to be a lasting product, and bending should not be considered as the end of the life of this product, why should it when you can unbend it and keep riding??
Weaknesses: The rings will bend
Bottom Line:
It came with my Y5, back in June 1998, that's right 9 years! I'm used them, and used, and used them again. And yes the rings have bent, and I have unbent them, and they have bent again, and I have unbent them yet again. At least it hasn't broken right? and for more than 9 years of use?, I think that's the best deal you can get for this price, it's like 8.20 USD per year. Nevertheless, I am seriously thinking about upgrading to the Shimano XTR Hallowtech II w/BB 2007. If an 80 dollar value shimano lasted me 9 years, a 400 USD will last me maybe 30 years? The value is great, but the performance can only be said it's good.
Bike Setup: Y5, all original components except for fire shifters which gave out 3 weeks ago, and I upgraded to the Deore XT shifters about a 120 dollar upgrade. I also upgraded from 24 speeds to 27, and when pedaling using the large front right and the large rear ring, the chain will skip down, this is also a reason why I will change the crank with rings.
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Submitted by
bendus
a Weekend Warrior
from Lodz, Poland
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2004
Strengths: look quite nice (IMO much better than todays low-end cranks)
Weaknesses: out of production - it's really hard to get new chainrings
Bottom Line:
The came on a used '96 Giant Terrago I bought quite a few years ago. Judging by the bike's look the cranks may have seen some action. It's 2004 now, and they're probably one of the few things I have not replaced in my bike (even the frame was changed) They don't look as the modern Deore or LX cranks, but still they work. I recently replaced the middle chainring, so I'm hoping to use them for many miles to come.
Bike Setup: A custom built bike - the best I could do with a limited budget. A mix of RST, Truvativ, Sh-no LX,XT and..hmm Acera front derraileur (which I hate, but just can't get to break)
Strengths: Zero flex and flawless shifting.Nicely polished crankarms and rings can be replaced.Perfect replacement crankset if you're restoring that old mountain bike.Good value.
Weaknesses: None so far.
Bottom Line:
Zero flex on sprints and climbs and no mis-shifts under load on friction/index mode.Replacing the Shimano XT SIS topmount front shifter with the STX shift pod eliminated any flex that I once thought to have been caused by the STX crankset. I can shift and forget.The STX looks great on any vintage mountain bike.The teeth has shown little wear.I'm over 200 pounds and I have very strong legs and I've flexed cranksets that were expensive compared to the STX.The Scott Unitrack ST is a softtail so any flex could be easily noticed but there has been no flex. Any future vintage mountain bike restoration that involves replacing an OEM crankset,I will use the STX.Highly recommended.
Similar Products Used: Old school Shimano XT and Deore,Suntour XC Pro,Sugino,Ritchey & Specialized.
Bike Setup: 1993 Scott Unitrack ST/Ritchey Logic tubing.Scott Unishock LF front shock. STX crankset is used with a 1st generation XTR front derailluer,Shimano Hyperglide chain,Customized STX rear derailluer and 7 speed Shimano Hyperglide cassette.Shifting is done with STX Rapidfire shiftpods.Cables are Shimano OEM.
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Submitted by
Dave Bowman
a Weekend Warrior
from Seekonk Regional HS
Date Reviewed: September 23, 2002
Strengths: Shifts ok, looks ok
Weaknesses: bendy like whoa
Bottom Line:
its a cool part, lighter and more durable than your non-name spec and Suntour and the like. Flexed like a biatch, tho. Only really bad when all my weight was on my right pedal during a granny climb and the pedal flexed so far under the bottom bracket that the big ring up and bit me in the calf (very painful, I assure you, brother.) Never felt too much flex when the pedal was horizontal. Cant really compare to the new stuff at all, tho. Hollowtech is worth the cheese unless you have youself a penchant for hucking.
Weaknesses: Inner chainring mounts to tabs on the middle chainring.
Bottom Line:
For the $25 price i paid for it, the propritary middle chainring isn't an issue. At least i can replace the inner ring with an industry standard model, because that was first ring to wear out on my last set. The outer ring is replaceable with a std. model too.
Similar Products Used: Shimano Alivio--six good years of use before granny ring wore out from climbing stairs...All three rings were welded together, so i had to buy a crankset.
Bike Setup: '96 Giant Iguana SE, full-butted cro-mo, rapid fire, stx drivetrain, Altus hubs, Alivo cantilever brakes, Kool-Stop Pads, Weinmann 519 rims, Rock Shox USA
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Submitted by
Erich
a Cross Country Rider
from Rochester, NY
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2002
Strengths: Cheap, not too bad for weight, seems to be decent.
Weaknesses: Can't take abuse? Shifting is really harsh. I've got grip shift (ok jeer away) and a 2001 XT front derailleur and even after countless hours of tweaking the whole thing, going between 1, 2 and 3 is nowhere as smooth as it should be.
Bottom Line:
This product had been working fine since I purchased it on a 98' schwinn moab that I ended up scrapping for parts (the damn guy sold me a frame with and ovalized headtube, arg.). Anyway, I was out riding some trails in the boston area 2 days ago. Nothing too hard at all, when I got back to campus, I noticed a very very odd wobble in my right pedal. I stopped and gave the pedal a little tug and the whole damn thing just pulled out complete with 90% of the threads from inside that part of the arm. Needless to say, I am a bit miffed. I've never seen any product do that before. My cheap pedals are fine, but now I have to go buy an entirely new crankset, which will probably force me to upgrade to 9spd. with what small funds I have left (currently it's a 7).
I don't know if this problem is the result of poor manufacturing, or a lack of quality control when selecting the materials, but I am amazed that such a thing could happen. Perhaps the previous owner really beat the crap out of them, but he claimed that the bike had not been abused before he sold it to me. All I know is that they broke in a new and amazing way and I can't give very high marks to that. Also, the chainrings are not too good at all, they chip quite easily. Sorry Shimano, this set's just not a winner.
Similar Products Used: crappy old cranks on my old near-huffy quality beaters
Bike Setup: 2001 Nuke Proof hardtail, 99'K2 Smart Fork, Cheap Wellgo Platforms, mish-mash of stx, lx and xt drivetrain components.
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Submitted by
miha ..
a Weekend Warrior
from slovenija
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2001
Strengths: kind of stiff
Weaknesses: chainrings suck
Bottom Line:
The crank itselve is good, but chainrings i bought with the 5-armed crankarms suck! The chain gets caught in them when shifting in the way which ruined 2 xt FD-s of mine. If you apply too much force when up-shifting, the chain (which at first I thought was a problem and have bought a new one)gets caught in the "gaps" (made by shimano for improoved up-shifting), which results in colission of lower end of FD and chain. Gradualy the FD weekens and breaks. Damn shimano guys shuold stick with their fishing and golf equipment, or make cheeper and more accessible upper end bike parts.
Bike Setup: STX Derailers front/back, LX hubs, Mavic wheels.
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Submitted by
John Woodington
a Cross Country Rider
from Columbia, SC USA
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2001
Strengths: It's a beast! Takes nasty shifting with all kinds of crud in it. I've hit it on rocks and logs and all it does is clean it and take chunks out of the rocks and logs.
Weaknesses: Kind of heavy in comparison.
Bottom Line:
It's not a Rolex...it's more like a Timex("Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'")
Similar Products Used: Many other cranks (Not right good)
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Z5's, LX Brakes etc
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Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Berkeley, CA
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2000
Strengths: price, decent shifting
Weaknesses: durability, rigidity
Bottom Line:
I don't know if it's the 'rings or the front derailleur, but the best part about this crankset is that they shift better than my '99 LX's. Unfortunately, it's the only good part. I've had two STX cranksets on a bike I have only ever ridden around town and to work; both were poor at best. The first one developed chipped teeth rather quickly, which later became broken teeth. The second crankset, the slightly-lower tier STX, has lasted even fewer miles than the first one. Every time I crank out of the saddle, the chain rubs the front derailleur. After I wear out the rest of the drivetrain, I'm seriously considering trashing the whole bike and buying a cheap road bike for commuting. But hey, the crankset was cheap.
Similar Products Used: '99 LX, Sugino MP 110 ('88 model)
Bike Setup: '94 Performance M304, originally STX-SE, replaced with STX drivetrain
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Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2000
Strengths: Inexpensive package on a quality frame.
Weaknesses: Incompatible with upgraded chain rings.
Bottom Line:
They're heavier than high end componenets, but they made the package inexpensive. Don't expect to be able to upgrade to new chainrings without a lot of screwing around. Avitar Werx chainrings aren't compatible with these cranks. Great for weekend riders who aren't aggressive maniacs that want reckless speed. I've replaced the original big chainring with an exact match when they were still in production. Its battered and getting noisy.
