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Submitted by
RC
a Weekend Warrior
from Lancaster, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 20, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | XC | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Cheap, somewhat functional | | Weaknesses: | Weak, low-quality, only somewhat functional | | Similar Products Used: | Suntour, Sugino | | Bike Setup: | Factory GT Backwoods hardframe. | | Bottom Line: | You get what you pay for, and you won't pay much for these cranks. If you're broke and/or do slow easy rides on beach boardwalks, then they are adequate. If you want cranks that can do anything more than that, get something better.
They were stock on my bike, so I used them. I do mostly mountain riding on smooth roads and trails; no hard impacts, g-outs, or drops at all. Despite that, the left crank arm still managed to fatigue and break completely off above the spindle while I was pedaling, the jagged stub of which slashed the back of my leg quite handily. They had been creaking and slowly self-loosening for years prior to that. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
swanny81
a Cross Country Rider
from Sydney, NSW, Australia
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | All | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Price | | Weaknesses: | Strength
Design
Weight
Square taper | | Similar Products Used: | Cheap, low-end Truvativ cranks | | Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel 70 with a few bits and pieces | | Bottom Line: | Used these cranks for a little while, approx 3 or 4 months.
They look reasonable, and you can pick them up for next to nothing, but Id very, very, VERY strongly recommend that you steer well clear of them.
The crank arm and spider that bolts to the chainrings is, for some ridiculous reason, not one piece. As such, mine has come loose so the chainrings have free play relative to the crank, and this has stretched my chain (and obviously means the cranks are 100% stuffed).
For reference I am not especially heavy - I weight 75kg, and whilst Im reasonably tough on cranks, I havent done *any* notable drops (2ft at absolute most?) on this bike - pretty well exclusively cross country riding.
The design is a massive flaw, and they really arent worth bothering with. Even for a casual rider, spend a little more and get something that will last indefinitely. These are utter junk. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sinisa Kovac
a Cross Country Rider
from Osijek, Croatia
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Volf servis | | Strengths: | Cheap, reliable, looks OK. | | Weaknesses: | Little heavy, teeth worn out after a year of hard riding. | | Similar Products Used: | Ritchey comp crank, shimano XT Hollowtech II | | Bike Setup: | 04 GT Avalanche 2.0 | | Bottom Line: | Its a good, entery level, inexpensive crankset for XC riding. Yeah it is a little heavy, but for the money what can you expect? Mine never left me out and i did whit Alivio more than 4000km. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Stock on my 1996 GT Ricochet | | Strengths: | Did the job of what a crankset is supposed to do. | | Weaknesses: | Chainrings can not be removed/swapped for other chainrings, Rings are in a smaller tooth size then the usual 44/32/22, Weight a little heavy. | | Similar Products Used: | Whatever came on my 1994 Raleigh Matterhorn, Sugino 44/32/22 crankset (replaced my Shimano Alivio) and my Bontrager Comp. 44/32/22 crankset that came stock on my 2001 Trek Fuel 90 Disk. | | Bike Setup: | 1996 GT Ricochet. | | Bottom Line: | These were a good stock item on my 1996 GT Ricochet, but they were a liltte heavy, inexpensive crankset as you could not swap-out the chainrings, gear ratios were a little smaller at 42/32/22 & I needed to buy a $15 Park crank puller to remove and then install a Sugino 44/32/22.
Bottom Line: Good for 1yr until I started to do 80-120km roundtrip rides. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Anthony willetts
a Weekend Warrior
from bunbury
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt Leonard | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came With Bike | | Strengths: | Cheap, fairly stiff and look cool | | Weaknesses: | not very strong in either the pedal thread or BB connection | | Similar Products Used: | RPM, Shimmano Hollowtech, Truvativ ISOflow, Truvativ Hussefelt | | Bike Setup: | Shogun Floater, Truvativ hussefelt cranks, Gigapipe BB, Alex DM18 rims, Suntour XCR forks | | Bottom Line: | these crank lasted me about 2 weeks before they started breaking, first it was just a case of the square hole at the BB conection wearing out and the bolt consistantly soming loose then after presoviering with that for a couple of months and having to replace the BB the pedal thread on the driveside crank gave way and stripped out! ofcourse i used these cranks for a few jumps/drops which wasnt very smart but if you need sum cranks that can take it, go sumthing a bit stronger! | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris McKendry
a Cross Country Rider
from Melbourne
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Woodlands National Park | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | Cecil Walker Cycles | | Strengths: | Lasted 5500 KM of on-off road use. I heavy rider at 98Kg but these cranks lasted well throughout that time. I am only replacing them now with the new look 2005 Shimano Alivio cranks because the chain stretched thus ruining most of the drivetrain componets. However for the money, cant go wrong.
2005 Alivio looks good.
| | Weaknesses: | The weight is quite heavy at around 1kg but then again its a relatively cheap crank. | | Similar Products Used: | Suntour | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Giant Iguana SE, Deore running gear | | Bottom Line: | I believe its a very good crank for the money. Having riden around 5000km with these cranks i have the testing behind it to say they are worthy of using. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hui Chuen Chuang
a Cross Country Rider
from Penang, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | anywhere | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | cane with bike | | Strengths: | cheap... | | Weaknesses: | cannot withstand jumps...heavy...doesn't look good | | Similar Products Used: | Deore | | Bike Setup: | 2005 trek fuel 70, manitou axel comp, rock shox bar | | Bottom Line: | cheap to buy but not satisfying... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Grant
a Weekend Warrior
from Whitehouse Station, NJ
Date Reviewed: November 23, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Bike Setup: | gt tempest frame, Indy XC, STX shifters, Decore rear mech, decore Vs, some cheap light bars, everything else crappy stock | | Bottom Line: | this came on my bike when i bought it 100 years ago in 1997. they seemed fine till they broke. unfortunatly i was poor at the time, just like now, and replaced them with teh same thing but they have held out thus far. i'll give them 3 for value because they aren't the absolute worst, but only 2 overall because i wasn't doing anything very rough when they broke. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sam
a Weekend Warrior
from perth, western australia
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | john forrest/mundaring | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | ....was ok while it lasted....looks ok | | Weaknesses: | pretty flexible, not very strong | | Similar Products Used: | truvativ hussefelt, entry level truvativ, ac forged | | Bike Setup: | avanti montari + rhino mammoth rims + truvatuv hussefelt dh cranks & gigapipe dh crank etc | | Bottom Line: | crank seemed ok at first. im fairly heavy - ~95kg (190pounds) and it didnt seem to flex too much for a cheaper crank. started doing some drops and it started to bend. first bent at about 1m (only a little) and then bent heaps over a 1.5m drop onto grass...was only 3wks old. no good if youre heavy and do relatively hard riding | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rubén García
a Cross Country Rider
from Madrid (Spain)
Date Reviewed: May 1, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Every XC | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Zweirad Staedler Nurnberg | | Strengths: | Price, looks, rigidity | | Weaknesses: | Weight…really heavy | | Similar Products Used: | Some Taiwan Crap, Old LX, Acera and Deore | | Bike Setup: | My old self-made Chromoly Tange bike, with a mix of Shimano Alivio, STX-RC and Deore | | Bottom Line: | I am very pleased with them; they are an effective component, with a good compromise between rigidity and shift effectiveness. With the Shimano STX RC I had never a shift problem. The have done their work.
I’m a bit heavy, 75 Kilos; nevertheless I don’t have problems with their rigidity, even by powerful climbing.
For me, they have only a weak point, they are very heavy, around 900 grams. For me it is the only reason to change them. Highly recommendable, four flaming chillies for them.
Sorry for the writing mistakes!
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lexa Doig
a Cross Country Rider
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Slipstream | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Will probably make a good defensive weapon | | Weaknesses: | Everything | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized cranks, hollowtech cranks, sugino cranks, altus crap cranks, etc | | Bike Setup: | Alu hardbutt, deore alivio sugino RST blah blah blah | | Bottom Line: | Don't buy this crankset! Heavy heavy heavy! Poor styling, poor design, crank/spider is not 1-piece typical shimano crap crank.
Here's a tip, Get Sugino Impel Cranksets! They're not trick... but have a utilitarian beauty. Most of all you can't go wrong with them! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan
a Cross Country Rider
from London
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Redlands | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Leeds UK | | Strengths: | Cheap | | Weaknesses: | Heavy, Bends | | Similar Products Used: | Deore DX, Mountain LX | | Bike Setup: | Orange Gringo, Manitou Black Comp | | Bottom Line: | This crank came as standard on a bike setup with a good frame and cheap components. The Crank Lived happily through 2 years of very light use but recently its taken some reasonable XC riding. The result is the middle ring bending under peadling pressure, with one symptom being it now changes to the big ring on its own. I will try and hammer it back, but at the end of the day its lasted thtough only 200 miles of real use
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JC
a Weekend Warrior
from Ottawa
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$38.00 | | Purchased At: | Tommy And Lefebvre | | Strengths: | Gets the job done, shifts well | | Weaknesses: | non so far | | Bike Setup: | Stock CCM Cliffrunner with Hellbent XC handle bars and Kore stem with a [redish] Shimano derailure. | | Bottom Line: | My old cranks died along with the bottom bracket, so far these cranks are lasting and its a decent price and so i'm gonna give it 5/5 for now. I'll repost later when it breaks. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
kenif
a Weekend Warrior
from australia
Date Reviewed: May 12, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Strengths: | hell cheap | | Weaknesses: | pretty heavy | | Bottom Line: | pretty heavy but nice and cheap. gets the job done. shifts well and still going strong after a beating on the rocks. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ron
a
from austin
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Stiff enough, shifts good enough | | Weaknesses: | So damn heavy you could beat the crap out of someone with the left side crank arm | | Bottom Line: | What are you people doin with your bikes? Its a cheap crank, treat it as such. Dont do stupid sh*t with it and it will be fine. Its still workin great and puttin up with my 235 lbs. Yeah, its heavy but who freakin cares. Loose a pound of fat and get the same results all while you save money from not eatin at Mcdonalds. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
adam foster
a
from NS Canada
Date Reviewed: October 20, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | everywhere | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | cyclesmith | | Strengths: | if ur talkin about the 2002 alivio it is awsome i went off a 9 foot roof and 10 foot stair gap wit em on a hardtail. on a hardtail!!! and never bent. but if you mean the older one where the 3 chain rings are all together the chain rings were tough they were bashed on god knows how many rocks and concrete ledges and never bent | | Weaknesses: | for the 2002 a little heavy i guess but i ride wit sun rims mammoth and ryno lite to i cant complain. for the older one all the chainrings were together. o and the thing bent and the inside went from square to oval. | | Similar Products Used: | shimano acera, sugino, deore | | Bike Setup: | 1999 norco bigfoot with juddy tt sunrim mamoth in the back and ryno lite up front deore and alivio drivetrain | | Bottom Line: | the 2002 alivio crank is pretty nice it has all replacable chainrings and it looks awsome in black. dont listen to all those people who say they bent it in crosscountry wossey stuff cause i can go off roofs and 10 foot stairs wit mine and not bend it and on a hardtail!!!!!
the older alivio is ok it took all my drops but i bent it once on a jump but i bent er back wit a pipe wrench with a big ol pole on it but then i bent it again doin sumthin stupid goin off my friends garage which bent it and rounded out the inside of it it also left me a nasty bruse above my eye where my head hit my handlebars. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
brad
a Weekend Warrior
from halifax
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | NOTHING | | Weaknesses: | EVERYTHING!! | | Similar Products Used: | no name cranks ect they lasted 4 years b4 they seized up and broke my arm and I had to get these now lousy ones | | Bottom Line: | These things where put on to just convert my old bike into a travel bike I take them on ONE XC trail and then there bent and creaking and not shifting with 2 missing teeth and several damaged teeth WTF! I coughed over like 100 cdn bucks to get this thing fixed and the next day its broken big time. I dont reccomend anyone buying these things and now im stuck waiting for my new bike for another wekk or so BAH! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a Weekend Warrior
from State College, PA
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Blue Marsh, Reading PA | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Strong, took a beating | | Weaknesses: | On the old five bolt model: the three rings are welded together as one unit. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano STX | | Bike Setup: | '96 Giant Iguana SE, stock set-up | | Bottom Line: | It was a great long-wearing crankset...got 6 good riding years out of it before a replacement was neccessary. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Aaron
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, TX
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | its strong | | Weaknesses: | heavy? | | Similar Products Used: | shimano biopace | | Bottom Line: | These came stock on my 2001 Raleigh M60 and they seem very solid. Im sure these are heavy compared to others, but who cares. I like the term the reviewer below used: "weight nazis." I like good old steel. Its strong and cheap. I would probably be riding a new bike with a steel frame (Fisher Wahoo), but I found this M60 for super cheap so aluminum I went. Anyways, I digress, these are good cheapo cranks. All you "weight nazis" look elsewhere. Im sure people who buy the best will never read this review because they know better, but still, these arent for racing but for recreational mountain biking. I give them 5 chilis because they perform very well for what they are. You do get what you pay for and that doesnt necessarily mean that you have to rate something low because it doesnt give you XTR performance for alivio prices. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dennisd
a Cross Country Rider
from Cornwall, Ontario
Date Reviewed: January 22, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | -inexpensive
-good, though not spectacular performance
-Strong, because of steel construction | | Weaknesses: | -HEAVY
-steel rings can bend
| | Similar Products Used: | XT, LX, Sugino, Specialized, etc. | | Bike Setup: | Tricked out GT Backwoods | | Bottom Line: | What can I say? I was looking for a replacement for the crappy Sugino cranks that came stock on my GT. I was short on cash that day, so I picked the Alivio. They are still on my bike two years later. This ia a very good XC crank. Big hitters and Downhillers will probably be looking for something else though. Also racer types and weight nazis won't like them. So what?
Alivio cranks compare favourably with a lot of the junk out there. They aren't performance oriented though. So know what you're getting. I like them because I'm 230 and these things are tough: I have yet to break them and I ride hard. They aren't the stiffest cranks out there, but will do the job as far as the average trailrider goes.
So anyone looking for a budget crankset and isn't too obsessed with weight might want to consider Alivio. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brendan
a Weekend Warrior
from Australia
Date Reviewed: November 26, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Doongala | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Superstore | | Strengths: | Cheap, Looks Nice, Fairly Sturdy, Alloy Chainrings | | Weaknesses: | Alloy Chainrings | | Similar Products Used: | The only other cranks I have used were Shimano Altus (on my old bike) | | Bike Setup: | Norco Bigfoot 2001 (6061 Aluminium Frame), Down Hill Handlebars, Alivio Crankset, STX-RC Hubs, STX-RC Rear Derailleur, Alivio Front Derailleur, Alivio Shifters and Brake Levers, Deore Brake Calipers, Alex Double Wall Rims, Kenda Kinetic Tyres, Rock Shox Jett. | | Bottom Line: | After about 4 hours solid X-Country riding using mainly the middle chainring it was stuffed. The middle chainring is bent to the max. I am now investing in Shimano Deore Hollowtech, I hope theses will be a fair upgrade. I would suggest this crank for the rider who uses their MTB on the road only or the rider who has a lot of money to be replacing chainrings as needed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
weather expert
a Weekend Warrior
from iowa
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | oem on a 96 trek 850 | | Strengths: | cheap, strong for its purpose, turns, shifts. | | Weaknesses: | heavy. rings are kinda soft | | Similar Products Used: | sugino, lx, suntour crap, raceface prodigy | | Bike Setup: | trek 850 | | Bottom Line: | this crankset is oem on my old trek (guess both are 96 model). for the duration this trek worked as my only functional bike, i had to say it's a pretty impressive piece of equipment for the money. it delivers your power to the rear wheel with good efficiency. shifting performance (with alivio front der) is surprisingly good compared to old lx with lx front der. the chain rings are a bit soft though, but i am yet to bend any beyond repair.
i feel like to remind some of the riders that this is an economic crankset that's NOT designed for DH, DS, jumping or trials. also, for you newbies, you have to learn to use your equipment properly. mountain bikes and its components are built tough, but not for misuse. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brad Toy
a Cross Country Rider
from Greenville, South Carolina
Date Reviewed: October 18, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | any thing around Isequena | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Great Escape | | Strengths: | umm, its works for a while | | Weaknesses: | its weak, bent so easyily | | Bike Setup: | Trek 6500 w/ Avid Arch Rival 50's and Speed Dial & levers | | Bottom Line: | This crank set came on my bike when I got it, but I really just started to ride the bike a little over a month ago, so I would say the crank really doesnt have much milage on it. The thing is toast already the 2 biggest gears are so bent and out of round. I can remember hitting a log with it once, but it was a soft log and i didn't hit it hard at all. I wouldnt get this crank unless you like to replace them often. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
R J
a Downhiller
from BC Canada
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | stock | | Strengths: | Haha, I guess they are good for XC... Nothing else though. | | Weaknesses: | Everything. I used them stupidly for drops and high speed stuff.... The pedal thread thingies stripped out, I bent the middle chainring to hell when my chain skipped when I was powering uphill, and the first ring has a wobble. How does my third ring stay fine? | | Similar Products Used: | Low end stuff. | | Bottom Line: | Get these if you ride paths or XC. Why do bike companies spec these crappy cranks on "freeride" bikes? My cranks are toast, nothing can save them. On to some 3 pc Cro mo! 4 for value cause they are so cheap and they lasted about 6 months before they died. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cody Whynot
a Cross Country Rider
from Liverpool
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Cow Road | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Barn | | Strengths: | *Strength
*changable chain rings
*price | | Weaknesses: | not too many so far.... paint has come off where shoes rub against it | | Similar Products Used: | lx, race face | | Bike Setup: | trek 6000, lx bb, judy xc fork, bontrager rims/tires | | Bottom Line: | This is a good crank for the price payed, I have put 310 k on them in less than three weeks and they still work like new, only problem is that the paint is wearing off. The gram counters might not want to try this crank, its not aluminum, but its sure as he|| stronger. Most say thats its not good for more than a four foot drop, but I weigh 150lbs and it still works fine after a five footer. I will upgrade to a higher quality crank when my funds are enough, but in the mean time im happy with what I have!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian Widentrack
a Downhiller
from Springfalls
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | you break it, you buy it | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | Garage sale | | Strengths: | It appears to have the proper shapes required to be a crank. | | Weaknesses: | These are cheap alivio cranks, what more can you ask for, they spec these babies weak. That's their selling point.
Alivio - the weak just got weaker! Flex for me! | | Similar Products Used: | Truvativ, Raceface, profile. | | Bike Setup: | VPS 1 | | Bottom Line: | I didn't have this on my VPS incase you were wondering. But I did use this on my hard tail for a week, I needed a quick replacement, and found this one for a buck (with BB). I must say it really is cheap, but you can't complain, it is a cheap crank put on cheaper bikes.
Now I don't know about all of you, but I give this sh!t kicker 5 chill smokes for value, wooooooooooo hooooooo
and a dog pile 1 for overall, aleast in my case.
Now the crank is molten melt somewhere, a friend cast metal thongs (yes underwear, J/K). He melts metal and makes things so he has them alivio's. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ruefus
a Racer
from Akron, OH
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | The Knob | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Y-Not Cycling | | Strengths: | Cheap, no nonsense | | Weaknesses: | For what they cost, they really have none. Ok, they're heavy. | | Similar Products Used: | LX, XT, Sugino, White Industries | | Bike Setup: | Trek VRX, Marzocchi | | Bottom Line: | These came stock on a bike I bought last year. I've done nothing but clean them. They work as well as any other crank I've used. The chainrings may be wearing out after a year of hard riding, but what do you want? They aren't sexy, but they work and work and work. I've jumped them hard on the VRX without problems.
I woudn't buy them as an upgrade, unless you're really strapped for cash, but I wouldn't use them as a reason not to buy a bike that comes with them.
Much better performance than I ever expected. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve Power
a
from Newfoundland
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Anti-Flex, Beefy, Can take just about anything. | | Weaknesses: | WWWWhhhhhaaaaatttttttt???????? How??? | | Similar Products Used: | Raceface XS, Truvative DH | | Bike Setup: | Vps 1 frame,Complete Aveilo system, Noleen Chubby Lt, Mavic 132 Xc rims(beefy). | | Bottom Line: | I was given a Vps1 frame for my birthday so I took the components off my Giant Rock.(Ridged $150). I rode the bike for 3 months really hard and never had a problem. I had a Truvative Dh Crank but snapped it on a 25 footer. Didn't have money so bought Avilo Cranks. This was the best downgrade I have ever made. I think they may be even stronger than that race face cr@p. Best value out there. Can buy them at your local corner store. Paid $10 brand New. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Charlie
a Cross Country Rider
from FL
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Nunya | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$16.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA | | Strengths: | Inexpensive & last longer than any aluminum ringed crankset that I've used. Chainrings are steel. | | Weaknesses: | Require slight modification to work with 9spd chain. | | Similar Products Used: | XTR, XT, LX, Sugino's, SunTour. | | Bike Setup: | Habanero ti with Manitou SX-R w/lockout, Velocity Deep-V rims, XT hubs, Alivio crankset, SRAM cogset, SunTour thumbshifters, STX-RC rr der, XTR fr der, SH-545 pedals, CODA brake levers, OnZa Raw barends, Selle San Marco Regal suspension seat & homemade ti seatpost. | | Bottom Line: | Don't know where reviewers are coming up with aluminum rings because both my MC-16 & MC-18 Alivio cranksets are steel-ringed. It's why I bought them. Got tired of zipping thru various aluminum ringed cranksets so decided to try the Alivio crankset instead. I've been very happy with my decision. Definitely can't beat the price! I've never had a problem with the chainrings either & I'm on my 2nd crankset. As for weight -- the only thing I have to say is that most weight weenies are poseurs. Get off your fat asses & just ride!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Essex, VT
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Costco | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Keep pedals on and turn chain. | | Weaknesses: | Weak rings, Flex | | Bike Setup: | 99 Fisher Kaitai | | Bottom Line: | These cranks were stock on my Fisher. I spent a lot of time hammering the middle ring back into shape. When I replaced my chain after approx 200 miles, the middle ring was toast and jumped with my fresh chain. Since the Alivio is low-end, my LBS did not carry the right ring. (LX/XTs will NOT fit!) Replaced with Sachs 8sp, but I have only ridden those twice as they were a late season replacement, and the snow flew early and often in VT.
If these come stock on your bike, use 'em, but expect them to be one of the first things to wear out. If your are thinking of buying them as an "upgrade"...I'd put the $$ into a better pair.
Shimano has differnt levels because not everyone can affort (or needs) a full XT/XTR setup. But I'm very disapointed in the durability of the low end parts on my Kaitai (crank, Alivio front der, LP-27 BB). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Frog
a Cross Country Rider
from Severna Park, MD, USA
Date Reviewed: March 11, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$38.00 | | Purchased At: | Performace | | Strengths: | Cheap
Good Shifting | | Weaknesses: | Crank arm flex
Very weak Alumium rings | | Similar Products Used: | Suntour
| | Bike Setup: | Gt Outpost | | Bottom Line: | These cranks are decent. If you ride them lightly on bike paths and the street you wont have any problems. If you try to ride trails or your not a flyweight then look else where.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rubootensteinburgerosi
a Weekend Warrior
from somewhere in africa
Date Reviewed: December 13, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | looks cool | | Weaknesses: | every thing eles as weak as sh*t broke in a week middle chain ring wreaked you know the normal problems people have with these cranks
square bit broke NO JUMPS OR DROPS | | Similar Products Used: | nothing this bad | | Bike Setup: | gt palomar set up as a fat tank | | Bottom Line: | do not i repeat do not buy these cranks i am 16 year old and only weight about 60kg a i broke these in a week
it freaks me out to image what you fat 200lb guys could do to these cranks
do not buy them | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Yan
a Weekend Warrior
from Midlands UK
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Local bike shop | | Strengths: | They work! Shift well when set up with compatable front mech and chain. Nice high polished finish. | | Weaknesses: | Soft materials used in construction. I have opened the left hand crank square section, plus I have bent 2 middle rings. (granted the second one was from a 99 4arm LX that I used to replace my folded one, so it could just be me) | | Similar Products Used: | Sugino Rudd, on Sunn XC bike which developed stress fractures very quickly.
LX, FSA sidewinders. | | Bike Setup: | "Handbuilt in my shed" play bike. Middle range drive train, ALIVIO, ACERA, STX. | | Bottom Line: | Reasonable quality cranks. These get the job done to the level they were designed for, ie: Recreational Cycling. If you are a Chunky monkey, or a hard man then go for something tougher like LX XT XTR. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel M
a Downhiller
from Montreal,Quebec,Canada
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Banzai at Bromont | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Local shop | | Strengths: | Came on bike. Hasn't broken - yet. Iguess they look better than anything in the price range. | | Weaknesses: | Both me and another person have badly bent thier middle rings. God known how strong they are. | | Similar Products Used: | LX, STX, Icon, Specialized, lots of curved metal. | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 840 | | Bottom Line: | Lately, I have been jumping and dropping. I live with the constant fear of my cranks snapping, and cracking my nuts on my seat. If you get these cranks OEM, use them 'till they break, but do not buy these cranks aftermarket. Although they're worth $20, resist the temptation. Its not worth is. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
funky winkerbean
a Cross Country Rider
from 8th ave.
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | cheap, comes on bike, makes wheels go. | | Weaknesses: | none if you don't ride it past its limits (drop offs over 4ft., etc...) | | Similar Products Used: | moved up to stx/rc, then lx, then xt | | Bike Setup: | caad4 frame, lx/xt, x-vert, xt/mavic517, etc... | | Bottom Line: | if you wanna be hardcore get hardcore parts, i'm tired of people on this site hating on entry level s*&t because it doesn't perform like xtr, these cranks came stock on my first mtbike 3 years ago rode then for 6mths learned to ride hard on them w/ no problem | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Orr
a Weekend Warrior
from Redfield
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Good for the money | | Weaknesses: | Not good for the weight | | Similar Products Used: | xt cranks, race face, icons | | Bike Setup: | Both on a 6000, because I broke those cheap arsed suginos, and on a 6500 i later got | | Bottom Line: | You guys are dissing them, but you are also comparing them to xt, lx, xtr, straight deore, race face even! These aren't that high quality, they are near entry level. They are designed to get you buy till you wear them out and buy a better pair, if you can wait that long. They were good when I raced them. And I did race with them..ended up in third place too, got beat by a kid that was running mostly stx, and another that was running lx. Why does everyone worry so much about high quality when you can do almost the same stuff with lower end...just a bit heavier. I give it a 5 by 4...good value and pretty good performance for the money. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Lee
a Downhiller
from Richmond, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | North Shore | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Strengths: | Cheap | | Weaknesses: | Bendable, heavy | | Similar Products Used: | XT cranks | | Bike Setup: | Trek VRX 300, Full XT with avid brakes | | Bottom Line: | Cheap, great crank for the beginner. Oh, and never do drops(MORE THAN 4 FEET) on the Alivio crank arms | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andy
a Weekend Warrior
from Winston-Salem, NC
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | NONE! | | Weaknesses: | Poor construction | | Bike Setup: | 1999 Gary Fisher Kaitai | | Bottom Line: | These cranks came on my new Gary Fisher Kaitai and after only a week they are now in my trashcan. I went off a small 5 foot drop, when i landed i heard a pop. I bend the crank and ripped out the treads that held in my peddles. I say they should stop making those cheep cranks, and im on my way to buy a new Race Face crank set. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
GAOO
a Weekend Warrior
from Quebec
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Bromont | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | arms are pretty solid for a NORMAL use, | | Weaknesses: | Rings aren't enough tought for real off-roading, burnt after half year, some noises | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Deore | | Bike Setup: | Trek 6500 ZX orange, LX brake system, XT rear derailleur | | Bottom Line: | Worked well at start but ring are used too rapidly in muddy conditions, after two weeks, middles chainring began to skip teeth!!! Good for people you are using for road bike, the 5 arms model was more strengh! Really thinking about upgrading to new LX hollowtech | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe
a Cross Country Rider
from Chula Vista, Ca
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | ??? Cheap I guess, but mine came w/ my bike. | | Weaknesses: | Cheap. Heavy. Weak Chainrings. | | Bottom Line: | CHEAP. Good for you if your cheap, but bad if your not and want a quality crankset. Mine came stock on my bike. I am replacing them ASAP. Bent the chainrings under easy to moderate cross country riding. Middle chainring is basically unusable. If it comes stock on your bike, either swap it w/ a quality one when you get your bike or plan on upgrading in the near future. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pokey
a Weekend Warrior
from Kingston, Ont, Can
Date Reviewed: June 13, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | fort | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | strong, no probs at all, | | Weaknesses: | weight can be a prob, if you are worried about grams then don't eat that one last burger | | Similar Products Used: | STX limited, race face, Deore | | Bike Setup: | 99 rocky vapor, fairly stock, race face post, ritchey handlebars etc | | Bottom Line: | Hey this crank owes me nothing, 10' drops haven't hurt it, smashing the chainring on logs hasn't messed up the rings at all. What creaking? lubricate. negligible flex. tough as balls. I could see where experts may want something flashier or lighter, but it works for me (fairly rough on my bike hitting rocks, logs, getting my money's worth for sure) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bladteth
a Cross Country Rider
from Lodz, Poland
Date Reviewed: June 9, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | + price
+ acceptable strenght and durability | | Weaknesses: | - low quality chainrings
- a bit heavy
- all chainrings come in one piece, problems with replacing
- rather flexy | | Similar Products Used: | Tourney, LX, Sachs Neos | | Bike Setup: | Giant Terrago '98 with upgrades | | Bottom Line: | This cranks are not superb but what can you expect from a low cost product. Chainrings can cause serious problems - they canot be disassembled to pieces and the material used is of rather low quality. The whole thing bends easily under heavy load on steep uphills and sprints. However, for this price it is hard to find a better solution. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Knoxville
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Haven't found it yet | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | 4 arms
Made by Shimano | | Weaknesses: | I weigh 205 lbs. and this crank sucks! The inside that hold the taper of the bottom bracket spread so much that the crank wobbles and won't stay on. Don't get this crank. | | Similar Products Used: | XT LX STX-R | | Bike Setup: | Marin Bolinas Ridge w/ RST fork | | Bottom Line: | Don't but this fork!!!!!! It sucks.
I'll give it 1 chili for having 4 arms. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shehryar Burney
a Weekend Warrior
from Austin, TX
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Weaknesses: | Heavy
Very Weak Rings | | Similar Products Used: | LX | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale F400 | | Bottom Line: | I've had a similar experience to what was reported by many
other reviewers. Somehow I bent the small and middle
rings without hitting anything noticable. The big ring, which you would expect would contact a rock first,
is fine. Replaced with an LX. This crankset also seems very heavy.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Berit Gudrunson
a Cross Country Rider
from Sweden
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | If you remove the sticker it looks similar to a very expensive syncros crank I saw in a magazine.
| | Weaknesses: | THE ENOURMOUS FLEX! | | Similar Products Used: | - | | Bike Setup: | Lx rear, alivio front, Alivio shifters. LX v brakes with LX levers. | | Bottom Line: | Don't buy this thing!
The flex is annoying as hell!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Buxton ND
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Silver Top | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Real strong and cheap | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | suntour race face | | Bike Setup: | Haro ES | | Bottom Line: | this crank is strong and you can't get any cheaper.I got it while my Race face was being replaced under warrenty.I still haven't installed the new race face crank.The alivio crank is much stronger and no flex. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
kevin
a Weekend Warrior
from Colorado
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | runs smooth | | Weaknesses: | have to tune often | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | All Alivio, XT copy brakes | | Bottom Line: | great for a beginner, not so great for an expert | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robert
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix, Az
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Estrella | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | The cranks arms are tough, I have smacked many rocks and only scratched the crap out of them. Don't have to pay for them, they are spec'd on bikes. | | Weaknesses: | The rings bend really easy and are almost impossible to bend back into shape. The weight. Flexs under extreme load. | | Bike Setup: | 98' Trek 930, '00 LX cranks, LX der's, XT cassette | | Bottom Line: | Great intro crank, don't replace till you need to, then go to LX hollowtech. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
George
a Weekend Warrior
from NJ
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | various fire trails and single track | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Strength and affordablility | | Weaknesses: | Weight (835 grams according to my scale). Shimano should have installed an alloy large ring instead of a steel one. | | Similar Products Used: | Alivio,LX and STX-RC | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Giant Yukon hardtail, Alivio drivetrain. | | Bottom Line: | This crank is strong and shouldn't wear out prematurly. The beefy crank arms don't flex like some higher groupo's cranks do. The steel chainrings provide some of the smoothest shifting but do wish that Shimano would at least installed an alloy large ring to save weight. Bottom line, if you want something dependable and cheap, get Alivio. If you want to light weight get something else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Frank burrito
a
from San Jose, CA, USA!
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Absolutely nothing | | Weaknesses: | Every aspect of this product is utter sh!te | | Similar Products Used: | Coda, TruVativ Stylos | | Bike Setup: | Trek 6000 w/ a whole bunch of mods | | Bottom Line: | Where can i begin? The rings are warped, the square sockets that connect to the spindle are stripped round, the cranks are super flexy and creak like hell. These cranks never worked well from day one. This unit never shifted well and with only moderate off-road use they have become trashed. The rings look like they are made out of tin and wear just as well too. Sure they are cheap, but they also look and function cheap. After a couple of mild wrecks they have become grindy and loose. Even after retightening, they are still notchy. A complete and total waste of time--I'm happy that these cranks have finally died, so that I may replace them with something better....Not even recommended for a commuter. Cranks are a high wear item--not a good place to save your money....-5 chilis | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Weekend Warrior
from Klamath Falls
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | It worked for the first five months of daily riding just fine. | | Weaknesses: | After 6 months they started squeeking and havent stopped. I took the cranks off ad cleaned the spindals to no avail. At this point either the cranks are somewhat shot or the spindal is really not long enough. Either way the cheep shimano bottom-end setup is not winning to many chilis from me. | | Similar Products Used: | no-name 3 piece cranks off Costco bike which never squeeked in 8 years of riding. | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Kaitai w/ alivio cranks and similarly cheep bottom bracket and bearings | | Bottom Line: | These cranks i would not even recamend to a casual rider because of their short lifespan. The squeeking is horrible and since it didn't start for 6 months i am assuming that it is a wear/fatigue problem. Bottom line is: splurge for a little nicer cranks or get a huffy with one piece action. I guess if you want the cheepest cranks available you could go with this but they might give you fits later. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JAMES STAUBER
a Weekend Warrior
from STATEN ISLAND, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Green Belt | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Low cost | | Weaknesses: | Poor quality
chain rings easily bent
heavy
The metal used for the chain ringsis of very low quality,... it reaaly doesn't have any place on a Mt bike
| | Similar Products Used: | just ordered a turvativ, I'll let you know what I think of it when it comes in | | Bike Setup: | Trek 6500, with Nashbar clipless pedals and Noleen LT front shocks | | Bottom Line: | Ok for riding on pavement, but not for much else. Do not use this product for anything else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fran Conroy
a Racer
from Hyannis, MA
Date Reviewed: March 21, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | OTIS | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Cheap. Strong | | Weaknesses: | Heavy. | | Similar Products Used: | Cook Bros. RaceFace | | Bike Setup: | Ted Wojick | | Bottom Line: | Ok they're cheap and some of them break, the bottom line is that I ride harder than everyone and I have the same set on my bike from 2 yrs ago. The situation was that my RaceFace cranks got wrecked and I needed a rep quick. All there was was this, I decided to use until destroyed, well, I'm still burnin everyone with these. People who've had problems with them shouldn't look to the crank they should look at the way they're riding. Especially if the thread comes out with the pedal. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jody
a Cross Country Rider
from Fredericton, NB, Canada
Date Reviewed: March 8, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | cheap, arms are ok | | Weaknesses: | heavy as sin, soft rings | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX, XT | | Bike Setup: | 97 Trek 6500, '99 manitou spyder R, mostly upgraded to LX now. | | Bottom Line: | This crank SUCKS. I bent the chainring like nothing, didn't have a lot of cash, so I put on another one. Big mistake. Within two weeks I bent the new one. Going to go for the LX now. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
AirKnight
a Cross Country Rider
from Buffalo, NY
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | makes a very good substitute for chain whip when you have an old chain | | Weaknesses: | everything from heavy, to short life | | Similar Products Used: | '00 LX, the LX is surpurb!!! | | Bike Setup: | GF Kaitai, '99 Z2 Superfly, '00 LX crankset, Shimano M-535 Clipless, Sachs P-51 chain, Michelin Wildgripper Lite S tires, Icon Stem | | Bottom Line: | They came with the bike, so I used it for half a year. ALL the chainrings were bent after less than 1000 miles of mostly pavement riding. They are also very heavy! I hate them! Don't buy them unless you want to do ghost riding! If you have them, don't feel bad. You can save youself money for a chain whip. I'm using my alivio crank as chain whip (with an old chain) now. Get the new Hollowtech LX, they worth way better.
AK | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Buzz
a Cross Country Rider
from NY
Date Reviewed: February 14, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Brookfield | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | ??????? | | Weaknesses: | Weight
One Piece Rings
| | Similar Products Used: | LX | | Bike Setup: | 95 GT Timberline
XT Group
Manitou Spyder R
Green Michelins
Bontrager Mustangs ASYM | | Bottom Line: | These Cranks suck. I had them for less than an year and they were nothing but trouble. I thought the arms had a considerable amount of flex. I went to change my pedals and when I took them out the treads on the arms came out with them leaving me a nice smooth hole. Nice S*** Shimano. Bring on the Cook Bros.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jay
a Cross-Country Rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: December 28, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Arms are strong | | Weaknesses: |
Rings suck | | Similar Products Used: |
Many | | Bike Setup: |
GF Kaitai | | Bottom Line: | Keep the arms if you want bullet proof cranks, dump the POS rings. But for 30 bones you really can't complain. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
J. Bailey
a Cross-Country Rider
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: December 25, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Local trails | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Weaknesses: |
Heavy | | Similar Products Used: |
LX XT race face | | Bike Setup: |
Giant W/manitiou and a air cardridge equiped JudySchwinn Moab 3 99'
Judy C | | Bottom Line: | THere are good strong cranks that are better than any shimanos except the XTR's. good to train with because they are heavier than the crank I use to race with. They are also a good crank to get whe rebuilding a bike when you are short on cash. Like em 10 times better than the cheep flexy LX and XT junk. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bikemike
a Cross-Country Rider
from sydney
Date Reviewed: November 26, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
cheap | | Weaknesses: |
cheap price, cheap quality | | Similar Products Used: |
99 LX cranks, 99 XTR | | Bottom Line: | Well, for someone who very rarely jumps, these cranks might look tough, but aren't really. Half a year of trail riding and these things (combined with an LP27 BB to make life sheer hell), are creaking and clicking like crazy, indicating that they have worn out. A year later, after light riding and commuting stuff, and they are just unuseable. But if you insist, they are cheap, and if you do use them, get an IG 90 chain and it will shift beautifully. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew Rowson
a Cross-Country Rider
from Tonbridge
Date Reviewed: October 13, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Cheap | | Weaknesses: |
Heavy | | Similar Products Used: |
none | | Bike Setup: |
GT Tequesta (rigid at the moment) | | Bottom Line: | Basically, a good part. You get more than what you pay for but not by a lot!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Racer
from Saratoga, CA
Date Reviewed: September 29, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Mammoth Kamikaze | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
The main strength is strength! and CHEAP!!! | | Weaknesses: |
Extremely embarassing since i have it on a 2000 dollar slalom bike | | Similar Products Used: |
XT, RaceFace, White Industries, Strongarm | | Bike Setup: |
Stumpjumper M2
Manitou X-Vert R
Mavic 121 DH rims
Full XT/Sram Plasma
ALIVIO CRANK!!!! | | Bottom Line: | These things are cheaper than anything and well worth the cheapness. Once i'm done with em i just throw em out and get a new one right away. they make good weapons.
My advice to downhillers/slalom riders... for training (on some non-DH bike), take off your Race Faces and put on alivios. These cheap POS can stand up to tons of abuse and you won't wear em out before the race.I would put em on my DH bike but you can't put MRP chain guides on this crap. But for 20 bucks at certain stores... 5 flaming POS X 2!!!
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
p34
a Cross-Country Rider
from Charlotte, NC
Date Reviewed: September 27, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
cheap | | Weaknesses: |
rings | | Bike Setup: |
GT Backwoods | | Bottom Line: | I've only had my bike since mid-August. So far everything has worked as expected, except I somehow managed to bend the middle chainring enough that it is unusable. Getting waranteed at the LBS as I write this. Looks like XT cranks for Christmas this year!! (if the current cranks last that long) BTW, any idea how I bent only the middle chain ring? I didn't crash or bang it. It just bent. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
stephan
a Cross-Country Rider
from Ridderkerk(Holland)
Date Reviewed: September 13, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Schoorl (Holland) | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
cheap,
looks | | Weaknesses: |
weight | | Similar Products Used: |
none | | Bike Setup: |
Giant ATX
Mavic Crosslink
Deore xt/lx | | Bottom Line: | It was the standard crank on my bike but I think I'm going to replace it by an XT'99 | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joel Bermel
a Cross-Country Rider
from New Braunfels, TX
Date Reviewed: August 29, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
muleshoe bend | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Cheap, attractive | | Weaknesses: |
rings, weight | | Similar Products Used: |
Came stock on my Schwinn | | Bike Setup: |
Schwinn Moab 3 | | Bottom Line: | Bent the middle ring four different ways some how during the last month; I weigh 200 and ridely fairly hard--good excuse to tell the wife I need to upgrade | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Oliver Storz
a Racer
from Stuttgart, Germany
Date Reviewed: August 26, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
steep streets in stuggi-town | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
cheap, fine-looking | | Weaknesses: |
not found yet | | Bike Setup: |
giant chicago 1993, hardtail | | Bottom Line: | After my first 20.000 km on a suntour crankset were done, bike dealer suggested to change all the drivetrain parts. the alivio crankset was a good decision regarding the bikes original price (but there's nothing original but the frame and seatpost). already made long tours (no offroad) with frequent gear shifting - never had problems. for an everyday-in-use-bike it's okay. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alex
a Cross-Country Rider
from HI
Date Reviewed: August 18, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
Cheap
Strong (at least for me)
Cheap
Stiff enough
Did I mention Cheap? | | Weaknesses: |
Weak rings
One piece rings- can't upgrade
Kinda Heavy (esp. the rings)
Lame 42t big ring | | Similar Products Used: |
Shimano '98 XT | | Bike Setup: |
Jamis HT
Acera/Alivo BB
Alivo and IG90 (XTR) chains | | Bottom Line: | These are some seriously cheap cranks. I weigh about 200 lbs (well I did when I had these), ride hard, and have had no problems with the *crank arms* while *riding*. The one piece rings suck though, they're heavy and you can't change them. Once I was JRA (on the sidewalk) and the rings just folded over on me! Luckily my LBS bent them back into perfect shape after a lot of work, and they never bent again (which is pretty weird considering my weight and riding stle, ie, to mash on the cranks all the time). Last year I was in a 37 mph crash on hardpack which severley bent a Kalloy seatpost and Avid brake lever (I was more or less OK though =)), well the left crank bent inward until it put a 1/6 deep dent in my frame (a cheaper cro-mo Jamis with fairly beefy chainsays). Considering the force applied I think most cranks would have bent. I think I don't need to say that I got more than my money's worth out of them. Great cranks considering their cost. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jester
a Cross-Country Rider
from Poland
Date Reviewed: August 2, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Anywhere Muddy | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
Cheap! | | Weaknesses: |
Chain rings | | Bike Setup: |
Trek 6500
clipless pedals | | Bottom Line: | It sucks!!! I busted it after 100 miles!
But it good if you're short on cash and need a new part! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
keith abel
a Racer
from stpete florida
Date Reviewed: July 15, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
hard rock | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
cheep which is nice when you just need to ride but busted the good stuff | | Weaknesses: |
where do i start heavy week but in all farness i'm not so nice to them ither | | Similar Products Used: |
none | | Bike Setup: |
amp reaserch b3
with f4 shock setup with carbon fiber legs | | Bottom Line: | hey if your in a jam like i was and and need somthing that worked but dident have much cash this is the crank for you other then that stay away RACE FACE ROCKS!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
aubrey theall
a Cross-Country Rider
from stamford, ct
Date Reviewed: June 17, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
mianus river park | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Cheap, reasonably stiff | | Weaknesses: |
Weak rings, heavy | | Similar Products Used: |
LX, XT, Raceface | | Bike Setup: |
Rocky Mtn. Soul, Judy C | | Bottom Line: | Came stock on my Rocky Mtn. Soul- The middle and small rings are bent all different ways and I can't figure out why- I haven't whacked them. The big one is still straight- go figure. Wrecked 'em in a month and then upgraded to LX- we'll se how long these hold on. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Manuel Garcia
a Weekend Warrior
from Sintra - Lisboa
Date Reviewed: June 4, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Stiffness | | Weaknesses: |
Weight
Size (22,32,42) small | | Similar Products Used: |
sachs centera | | Bike Setup: |
Marin Palisades Trail
RST 381 SM | | Bottom Line: | OK for a start but, weights a lot when climbing...
Try buying a Sachs for a better performance... | | Overall Rating: |
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