Submitted by
Dave Weber
a Cross Country Rider
from Minneapolis, MN, USA Date Reviewed: April 20, 2002
Favorite Trail:
Downtown in Mammoth Lakes
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
can't remember
Strengths:
none really...could possibly be a strength is you were out in the wilderness w/out a crank extractor and you had a reason to remove your cranks.
Weaknesses:
You should not have to take off your cranks very often at all. Assuming that the cranks are on tight, I just don't think that this hardware is durable enough to withstand the torque over time. It might be good a few times, but who really needs it??
Similar Products Used:
Nothing like this..used some TNT aluminum crank and chainring bolts awhile ago (joke)
Bike Setup:
Yeti AS-3, Halson Fork, WTB, etc...
Bottom Line:
Add 20 grams to your bike and make it SOLID with steel crank bolts and steel chainring bolts. If you have that, you won't need to remove your cranks in the middle of nowhere--the only potential situation where these Crank O Matics would benefit you. I agree with the other testimonials that Syncros is kinda lame when it comes to Cust. Serv....they are up in Canada and it is always some cock 'n' bull story about the mail time, shipping costs...I would use their seatpost and that is about it.
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Submitted by
carlos
a Cross Country Rider
from San Antonio, Texas Date Reviewed: May 5, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Flat Creek
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
One hex key installed and removes crank (no more crank puller).
Light.
Won't rust.
Weaknesses:
Won't work if you don't read the instructions!
Similar Products Used:
regular steel bolts
Bike Setup:
98 Litespeed Obed/98 Just SL/Syncros BB, cranks, rings, seatpost, stem, and QRs.
Bottom Line:
If you read the instructions you'll notice that the Crank-O-Matics require a steel bolt for initial installation. Ti prep is needed on BOTH brass washers to prevent seizing and on the bolt threads and edges. A thin application of Ti prep is also a good idea for the spindle.
I've had no problems aside from the break in period within the first 50 miles. A good product all around.
I'm not sure what's up with the Syncros' customer service but I've called recently and asked for stickers for my fork (free advertising, no?) and never got a reply ot the stickers. And judging from the reveiws below a few other folks haven't had much luck either.
Sounds like another case of corporate crappery. Thanks GT/Riteway.
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Submitted by
Tony
a cross-country rider
from CA Date Reviewed: July 8, 1998
Bottom Line:
Hey , never had problems with my bolts. After reading these reviews I won't give up five chili's. Synchros should take care of their customers better, in my dealing with this company on other products I know that they are a bunch of hard heads...but that will come around to bite them, in the meantime if you know your stuff you shouldn't have trouble with the crank-o-matics
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Submitted by
Bob Bonner
a cross-country rider
from Toronto, Canada Date Reviewed: July 4, 1998
Bottom Line:
My disappointment with these things is rivaled only by my disappointment with Syncros. The retainer ring on my left crankarm has shattered and I may not be able to salvage the crank arm. When I e-mailed Syncros for advise they told em to take it to a bike store for repair. Its their ring that exploded adn possibly destroyed my crank but do you think they would bother to help out. DO NOT BUY THESE BOLTS!!!!!!
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Submitted by
Stuart Hodgson
a weekend warrior
from England Date Reviewed: May 6, 1998
Bottom Line:
like too many other people on this page i have found that the crank bolts them sleves are good, that is to say that the titanium fastener bolt does what it is supposed to do. this is not the problem, the problem comes when the removal of the bolt is done to remove the crank arm at the same time. the outer bolt that srews in to the crank arm shatterd on the first removal of the drive side crank. i am also dissatisied at the fact that Syncros's warenty does no cover threaded items, so getting hold of another pair of bots is not an easy task. However this is a shame as the cranks that i also purchased from them are perfectly fine.
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Submitted by
Mitchel Bynum
a cross-country rider
from TX Date Reviewed: February 4, 1998
Bottom Line:
I've been very dissatisfied with these. The outer retainer that allows the crank to be removed shattered on the first removal attempt. Removing the left over part damaged my crank. What this means is that you can't really tighten the cranks and expect the bolts to work. Syncros is very reluctant to deal with consumers directly. Too bad, most of there products seems to be good.
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Submitted by
Eric A.
a downhiller
from Hull, Québec, Canada. Date Reviewed: December 24, 1997
Bottom Line:
Simply the easiest to use and coolest crank bolts on the market today. Light, simple and solid, it's one thing I can no longer do without. All you need to extract your crank arms is a 5mm allen key and bingo!! you take your cranks off on the trail in a second. Chain suck can be fixed in a snap, so does noisy cranks. Just take them off and add a bit of grease (if you don't carry grease with you just unscrew one of your fork caps and take a dab of grease on the M.C.U. stack )and you get rid of the anoying noise.
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Submitted by
david
a weekend warrior
from The Big Apple Date Reviewed: December 24, 1997
Bottom Line:
I purchased these bolt to have easier access to my BB and cleanings. After installation (on the same day), these things seized up so bad the inner bolt cracked through the outer titanium ring. It is a pain in the ass to pull suckers out. I found out this is not an isolated incident. I'm getting them exchanged(if I can get them out!) but I'm very hesitant.
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Submitted by
Mike
a cross-country rider
from Palmdale, CA Date Reviewed: August 1, 1997
Bottom Line:
The large bronze washers get seriously thrashed after a few removals and installations. It would be nice to be able to get some fresh washers to replace the warped old ones. I have E-mailed Syncros to find out if they could just sell me some new ones. They just say, get them at a bike shop. I then E-mail them again and tell them no one around here has them. They give me the exact same answer. I hate to say it because I really have liked Syncros products, but this kind of attitude by Syncros shows me their true colors. In the future, I most likely will seek out the companies that truly appreciate their customers.
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Submitted by
Cody Peterson
a racer
from Ketchum, ID Date Reviewed: July 11, 1997
Bottom Line:
My crank-o-matics are light and trick. They work awsome. You guys whose don't work it is oporator error. Install them right. Read the instructions. Have a bike shop do them. The shop I work at knows how your shop might too. Do them right and they will be awsome.
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Submitted by
jerry
a cross-country rider
from Corvallis, Or Date Reviewed: July 7, 1997
Bottom Line:
This is my second review, so read below, too! I extracted my drive side crank arm with no problems, just back the bolt out and off came the crank, wellllll, not so with the other arm. The aluminum collar shattered so I had to use a chisel and hammer to back it out on one of the sharp edges. So, if you use these, remove your cranks and clean the spindle and crank mating surfaces regularly or your experience may be like mine.
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Submitted by
Eric Greene
a weekend warrior
from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Date Reviewed: March 25, 1997
Bottom Line:
Look cool, are light and best yet the with not rust. A must have..
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Submitted by
jerry
a cross-country rider
from Corvallis, Or Date Reviewed: February 5, 1997
Bottom Line:
I installed these with a Race Face crankset, followed the directions exactly, and have had no problems with loosening. I have as yet to extract my crank arms with these bolts so maybe my review would change.
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Submitted by
John Wolters
a cross-country rider
from The Netherlands, Europe Date Reviewed: November 11, 1996
Bottom Line:
Good working 'tool', never had any problems with it. Just make shure that you follow the installation instructions. These crank-o-matics has made it possible for me to get rid of some serious chain suck where you really couldn't get the chain out anymore.
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Submitted by
F. DAUGHERTY
a cross-country rider
from HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA Date Reviewed: October 6, 1996
Bottom Line:
Nice idea, pretty cool with it's sort of techno look, but broke the aluminum threaded carrier trying to extract the ring side bolt. I think it was about the 3rd or 4th removal. Went back to steel. Can save weight some other way.
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Submitted by
Allen Han
a cross-country rider
from Redmond, WA Date Reviewed: June 18, 1996
Bottom Line:
Nice chi-chi. Once installed you could throw away the crank arm extractor. All it require to remove the crank arm is a 6mm allen wrench. Weight of Crank-O-Matic is comparable to a pair of Ti crank bolt plus matching aluminum dust cap. Priced at about $25.00 US, it's also similar in price if you buy a set of Ti bolts and Cooks dust caps.
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Submitted by
Don Seib
a racer
from Melrose, Ma Date Reviewed: June 18, 1996
Bottom Line:
model: ti crank bolts
I'm somewhat a gram weenie so I used a set of these for about 3 weeks. I could never keep them tight no matter what I tried. I've also used Aluminum bolts which are all right if you don't want to torque them down. Stick with plain old steel for this application, it will never let you down.
$ 25.00
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