These will be a constant source of noise on your bike, because they are only melt-forged and fairly cheap. The Sugino rings shifted well but didnt last long enough, the cranks are extremely flexy
Sugino Mighty are meant to really good and Sugino used to make high end Ritchey and Suntour cranks, but Impel are just terrible
Submitted by
Owen Ronalds
a Cross Country Rider
from Yeppoon, Australia
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2004
Strengths: Solid basic crank, not too heavy
Weaknesses: chainrings are soft like similar cheap shimano stuff made of Pepsi cans
Bottom Line:
This crank is stiff and has worked harder than you are likely ever to and its still good. Creaks a little sometimes on BB spindle and definitley worth upgrading to better rings if you're getting it dirty (like something made of 7075)
Bike Setup: Ti hardtail with mostly retro gear , alot of old (pre'90) XT that still works perfectly.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Bart
a Weekend Warrior
from Greenwood, MO, USA
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2003
Strengths: Stiff, looks great, low cost
Weaknesses: None really, if I was pinned down and had to give one I'd say that the rings are a low end, but overall they are great
Bottom Line:
I see a lot of reviews on here bashing this crank. I'm a 225 pound rider and have been using it on my Karakoram ever since the crappy SR Suntour oem cranks bit the big one (non-replaceable rings), The Impel 700's look good, are strong, and have replaceable rings. What more do you want for $40? If you are wearing out the rings really fast then you need to get a clue and get a high end chain. Worn out rings are typically a result of a cheap, stretched out chain.
Similar Products Used: SR Suntour (OEM), Truvativ Husselfelt w/ rock guard (on my new '03 GT Ruckus 1.0 OH YEAH!)
Bike Setup: The bike the Sugino Impel 700 is on is a '99 GT Karakoram w/ rebuilt Judy fork, Sun Rhino Lite rims w/ Shimano LX hubs, Avid V-brakes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
garrett
a Cross Country Rider
from Brooklyn
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2003
Strengths: It does what it's supposed to: it cranks. It's also reasonably light, strong, and not ugly.
Weaknesses: The rings that came with.
Bottom Line:
I crack up at all the negative reviews. It's an inexpensive crank, but it has lasted 5+ years, is NOT flexy, is light, and has a utilitarian beauty to it. Yeah sure, I've got Raceface Northshore XS and Cook Bros as well, and they are great, but I like the Sugino Impels just fine.
Similar Products Used: Raceface, Cook Bros, Shimano, Caramba.
Bike Setup: 96 Jamis Dakota AL (initially) - now it's on a 01 Jamis Dakota XC steel HT.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Saby R
a Weekend Warrior
from Halifax
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2003
Strengths: I guess you get what you pay for (Impel)
Weaknesses: Does not look good at all, very flexy (compared to my new Race Face Next LP)
Bottom Line:
Right from the start I did not like this crank, I found it to be quite ugly and overall very blend. It always made noise and was resposible for a quite a few chain suck. As soon as I replaced it with Race Face Next LP, my speed imporved dramatically. Ok both cranks are at opposite end of performance line so it is not very fair to compare one another. Overall,there is no good reason to buy this crank new or used, there are better alternatives.
Bike Setup: Rocky Mountain Oxygen Race, Full XTR, Syncros (Stem, post and Headset) Mavic 517, Rock Shox Sid Race, Kore Skewers, 858 pedals
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
johnny
a Cross Country Rider
from quebec
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2003
Strengths: the arms are great they look good and are strong , their not that heavy
Weaknesses: the chainrings suck , chain suck a grandeur....whatever that means
Bottom Line:
i think that brand new this crankset must have been great ,but after the chainrings start to wear its too expensive to replace on an aging crank 3 chilis = good
Similar Products Used: all the forged steel cranks that come on sub 200$ bikes and a new up ( or downgrade) to a 2003 alivio crank , its actually pretty good
Bike Setup: fisher frame decent to not so great componentry
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Pierre L'Archevêque
a Cross Country Rider
from Laval, Québec, Canada
Date Reviewed: December 27, 2002
Strengths: I have a sugino Impel. It has a very attractive look and the crank arms are pretty strong -It makes a very beautiful garage decoration or even a high quality gardening tool. -it fits in almost every garbage can.
Weaknesses: It looks too good to be true. Chainrings are not durable, especially the two small ones. The big one is not bad but it gets bent easily. -They are pretty hard to find. -You should change to a shimano Deore or better -The chain tends to stick to it sometimes and the rear derailler cage hits the frame. It's pretty surprising. It jams
Bottom Line:
My bike is a 1998 Gary Fisher Tequila and it had this horrible crank on it.
Once, I was going down a hill at a pretty fast speed and somehow the chain got twisted all around the crank arms AND GEARS. The crank locked so abruptly. -Do not get attracted by the look. It is really garbage.
Tough, never had any problems at all. I put in close to 75 miles a week on training rides during race season and abuse them terribly and after 7 years they are still in great shape. MIGHTY 900'S are bombproof!!!!
Strengths: it did hold up for 6 months of downhill and urban riding and hucking.
Weaknesses: it bent on the first 2 months then the drive side broke in half after doing a trackstand. i am SERIOUS.
Bottom Line:
i bought this crank for the price. well, i got exactly what i paid for. I didnt expect it to last anyway. the day before it broke, i remember hitting my pedals in a 2' high curb. then the next day, while practicing a trackstand, the right crank broke in half, amusing all my friends. value for money, id give this crank a 5. maybe this crank was made for smaller riders who ride light downhill and XC and wont mind the weight, it is heavy (who cares).
Submitted by
Ronin
a Weekend Warrior
from South Bay Rules!
Date Reviewed: July 9, 2002
Strengths: Strong and stiff
Weaknesses: Weight and looks
Bottom Line:
This crankset came stock on my Nishiki and I've yet to break them. This is a pretty good accomplishment considering that I weigh in excess of 200lbs. Though they're a bit on the heavy side, I'll trade this weight penalty for the strength. I've changed just about every component on my bike to build it for strength (remember I'm over 200lbs.) and stayed with the Sugino Impel cranks since I've yet to find any problems with them. I've done everything from trailriding and dirt jumping to downhilling at the local ski resort, yet these things have never failed me. All the skeptics can whine and mutter about something they probably have never used but I'll go with my own experience and stick with my Sugino's.
Favorite Trail: RollerCoaster (now a golf course :( )
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Bike Setup: Nishiki Backroads Hardtail, Manitou X-Vert DC
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Danner
a Downhiller
from New Hampshire, USA
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2002
Strengths: cheap price held up well for me so far
Bottom Line:
did i mention i use these CRANKS on a unicycle? this means direct drive, no spiders or rings or other stuff to worry about, so down to the basics, for a cheap set of cranks, these have held up to my 180lbs of jumping rather well(unicycle means that i have all my weight on these cranks, all of the time) if you are complaining aobut a cheap pair o cranks not holding up as well as your $200 pair, be reasonable...
Strengths: Simplicity compact chainring design, good looks
Weaknesses: Ehhh?
Bottom Line:
They work, simple and straight forward design with hex bolt mounting chainrings and a hole for da pedals! I do not understand the vitreol meeted out here against the Sugino cranks they are no better and no worse than any other upscale or aftermarket crank I've ever used. once you move away from 99 cent store one piece cranks the choices are mostly cosmetic, unless quality control is gastly. It is possible to kill a chainring or two I've even done so on my MANY, MANY, road bikes. I've sheared off pedals and bent crank arms. All on road bikes! considering the abuse MTB often take I'd be surprised if an awfull lot of chainrings, and/or crankarms did not get banged up. The Sugino line is not one you hould be afraid of if it comes stock on you bike like it did on mine do not worry about it. If your looking for a "New" sexy state of the art high tech crank. The Sugino line is not going to be your cup of tea. Sugino cranksets are too basic and utilitarian to attract that kind of attention. Sugino's are basic dull workhorses.
Strengths: i'm reviewing the impel 750. reasonably stiff, shifts well, good rings.
Weaknesses: i don't have anything badto say. oh yeah you can say it's not as light as 1 gram and it's not as stiff as DH cranks. hey, we live in the real world.
Bottom Line:
this crankset came stock on a 96 fisher xcaliber. i bought the bike used, then used it for 2 years. over 300 dirt miles and close to 3000 road miles. no problems. the rings are still good after all the usage. it didn't bend or anything. now it's dutifully serving on my beater.
(i can't imagine someone would be s****d enough to use an XC crnakset for DH and jumping. this is plain absurd. but this seems to be a lot of reviewers doing here)
Similar Products Used: turbine square, prodigy isis
Bike Setup: crank came on an xcaliber now on a trek 850
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
steve ross
a Cross Country Rider
from scotland
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2001
Bottom Line:
I must admit that I am a bit confused with the reviewws here, either Sugino make the worst cranks ever seen, or they make good quality, excellent value for money cranks that perform well under most conditions. IMHO, I fall into the latter camp. I had a set of Sugino cranks for 2 1/2 years and they performed really well. Then I decided to "upgrade" to a set of LX cranks, and found that they creaked all the time (due to the 2-piece spider) and had relatively soft rings. Why do the Sugino cranks get either really good or really bad reviews. I think they are the best value for money out there.
Submitted by
jarlath
a Cross Country Rider
from london
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2001
Strengths: (sugino mighty 900) strong enough, light, straight forward sensible kit. lots of people doing bargain prices on them. made by the manufacturer behind many more expensive "branded" cranks
Weaknesses: none. unless you want them to look flash.
Bottom Line:
Firstly. what is everyone reviewing here? sugino make more chainset models than anyone else, inlcuding half of all oem and "own brand" cranks aswell as many branded cranks. People are dissagreeing with other reviews that are probably for different cranks. In my experience working in the bike trade all suginos represent good value at their price point. they are straight forward no nonsense kit. I use the mighty 900. the cranks are light, they don't flex for me and i haven't broken them in 5 years of riding (but i don't break that much kit anyway) and they are available at around £50 all over in the uk. the chainrings shift like the best but don't last too long. 5 chillies for top quality no-nonsense kit!
looking to shorten a set of cranks for my 9yo daughter. have two sets to choose from
1) xtr fc-m900
2) alivio fc-mc16
anyone know if either of these can be shortened?
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I have developed a grinding type of noise when pedaling that I can't seem to figure out. I have checked all of the bolts on my bash guard, arms, pedals, and everything is tight. Read More »
Has anyone else out there had any chain suck issues with their E13 cranks? As a shop we have 3 people - including myself on them - and we all have chain suck problems on the same r Read More »
