Submitted by
mtnbkmyk
a Cross Country Rider
from Dearborn, MI USA Date Reviewed: July 22, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Pontiac Lake
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
fine at first - smooth shifting on the chainrings
Weaknesses:
fell apart
Similar Products Used:
race face deus
Bike Setup:
paragon - stock cranks
Bottom Line:
first year - no problems, second year when the cranks started creaking and I felt vibrations on the drive side, I took it in: the right crank is permantly loose and cannot be repaired. This is still warranteed but I don't want another one. Switching to XT
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
zfuel
a
from spain Date Reviewed: December 10, 2007
Favorite Trail:
just ride
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
strong, pretty good finish, good chain change.I haven't had any trouble with the non-drive side arm, if start to get loose, you should notice it before
Weaknesses:
botton braket isn't too much smooth.
Similar Products Used:
deore
Bike Setup:
fuel ex 7 2006
Bottom Line:
I think isis bb are smoother, at least deore crankset are. When you ride, they feel quite strong and secure, and the change between rings are good. They came with my bike, but i prefer shimano, or at least with non integrated bb
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jason
a Weekend Warrior
from Albuquerque, NM Date Reviewed: December 8, 2007
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Purchased At:
Sportz Outdoor
Strengths:
When it was working it seemed to work well - clean shifts, stiff BB. Plenty of times I hit rocks thinking I would have lost a tooth but it was over all bulletproof...
Weaknesses:
The crank arm fell off on the non-drive side after only about eight rides. As it was my first season on a MTB I couldn't have been riding it very hard. It had been an unusually wet Spring in New Mexico so I did do several dozen stream crossings but that shouldn't have caused a problem like this, right?
It cleaned up and re-attached OK for about another couple dozen rides then became loose again and would no longer last for more than a few miles before needing to be tightened until eventually I didn't trust it at all.
Bike Setup:
07 Fisher Paragon - crankset came on it OE
Bottom Line:
I only got perhaps 400 miles out of it before giving up and having the entire crankset replaced while still under warranty. I'm hoping it was a fluke and that the replacement lasts much longer...
With the exception of the arm falling off it worked great (seriously) and I was very happy with it's performance. If the arm hadn't have fallen off I would be giving this a high overall rating and a "fair" value rating...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark
a
from Orange County Date Reviewed: June 25, 2007
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
It worked fine until it fell apart with less than 100 miles of riding. Makes a Great Paper weight though.
Weaknesses:
I bought it brand new. Came stock with the bike. It fell apart. Only took it out to ride for about the 4th time ever. The crank arm on the non-sprocket side fell off. It was never even ridden that hard. Never abused. The damn thing just fell off. Tried reattaching it back on the trail. A few miles later, the The crank arm on the non-sprocket side fell off again. This time all the threads were ripped off with it. I could no longer reattach the arm because what was left of the threads wouldn't hold. It was so bad that I could tug the arm off with my bare hands. The crank was completely ruined on my 4th ride on the bike.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XT. Shimano XTR
Bike Setup:
2006 Gary Fisher Fat Possm XT
Bottom Line:
If you read other posts from other riders, I'm not the only person who has had this problem with Bontrager cranks. Apparently this is not one isolated incident. This crank is total Crap. Save your money and go with a shimano. Unless you are some sort of massochist, don't even bother purchasing any bike that comes stock with this product. I hope the executives at Bontrager read these reviews and hang their heads in shame for producing such an inferior product with an inferior design. It's not only an embarrassment, but a legal liability. They have lost a customer for life.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ben
a Weekend Warrior
from Holland, MI, USA Date Reviewed: June 22, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Cannonburg State Game Area
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
I guess it looked nice new.
Weaknesses:
It fell apart.
Bike Setup:
Gary Fischer Paragon, new out of the box.
Bottom Line:
This bike is about a year and a half old, but I only ride is summer (Michigan). So, a few times a week I hit the trail for a couple of hours. The crank arm on the non-sprocket side fell off. Upon inspection I found that the threads holding it on were right handed making this inevitable with enough time and backlash from use. So, I pursued the torque spec, put it back on with thread locking compound, and it fell off this time taking the threads with it.
Bottom line, I have a lightly used $2000 bike that is falling apart because this is a lousy crank design. Avoid it if you can.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sam
a Weekend Warrior
from London, UK Date Reviewed: June 2, 2007
Came fitted as stock on my Fuel EX8. First impressions were great - excellent shifting, good power transfer and no noticeable flex. After 50 miles the drive-side BB failed but was grudgingly replaced under warranty. After another 100 miles the drive side BB failed again. Given the 4 week turnaround last time I won't be claiming it under warranty again.
On closer inspection, it looks like the cranks could be to blame as the middle chainring isn't true - it bends toward the frame by about 2 - 3mm for a run of about 4 teeth close to the crankarm.
If I've managed to do this while riding (and I can't imagine how I could!) then the chainrings are horrifically soft. If it came like it from the factory then it's pretty poor quality control. Either way, I'm swapping it for a Shimano.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kyle
a
from PA Date Reviewed: May 24, 2007
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Purchased At:
Came on bike
Strengths:
GXP, stiff, shifts well
Weaknesses:
I would prefer all black chainrings, but whatever.
Similar Products Used:
Stylo GXP
Bike Setup:
Trek Remedy 6
Bottom Line:
Pretty good crank. The external BB is nice and it has been stiff so far. About average weight for a crankset. I really like this crankset because so far it has been a "set it and forget it" type of relationship.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Caio Paoliello
a Cross Country Rider
from São Paulo - Brazil Date Reviewed: April 27, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Guarujá
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$120.00
Purchased At:
Caravelle
Strengths:
Good looking, great performance, avarage weight.
Weaknesses:
Weighs a little more than others, but the price is very good, though.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano Deore Crank, LX Crank and Truvativ Firex Crank
Submitted by
Tommy
a Downhiller
from Aarhus (Denmark) Date Reviewed: October 28, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Vejle Speed trail
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Its nice and has a strong feel to it's design and
Weaknesses:
A bit hard to install when you also have to place a spacer whit ISCG mount and chainguide very little room (also had for saw the inner mount holes for a small chainring off)
Similar Products Used:
Truative Blaze and Truative GIGA pipe DH
Bike Setup:
Yeti AS-X 06, Manitou Metel shox,Manitou Sherman Breakout plus, Axlesrims DM24, Hope pro II front and rear hubs, Hayes HFX 9 DH breaks, FSA F-200 ONEpointFIVE stem, RaceFace Evolve DH handlebars, Sram X-7 shifter, Sram X-9 rear Derailleur, Sram Chain and gear, E-13 SRS chainguide, DMR V8 pedals, Maxxis HighRollers 2.35, FSA big fat pig ONEpointFIVE headset
Bottom Line:
So far a realy good a reliable piece of hardware but the real test of it will be at the next DH race
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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