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Submitted by
Erik
a Cross Country Rider
from Minneapolis
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$135.00 | | Purchased At: | GT/Riteway | | Strengths: | Extremely nice finish, quality, workmanship and design. Reasonably light. Very stiff for the weight. Absolutely gorgeous. Very nice milling on back of crank, I consider it artwork. Made in USA. Unbelievable warranty. Company was run by a decent guy that actually rides | | Weaknesses: | I cracked two of these cranks from the botom bolt hole out. But I am a 180 lbs rider and put out a lot of power. The third pair have lasted long enough to wear out the JIS taper. Which will death talisman of every 4 sided taper crank. So, in the end, I have concluded that Grafton superlight cranks were too light as he beefed them up to the 415g model. Almost all the breakage was due to his subcontractor ripping him off. Very few people would have stood behind their product without a class action lawsuit. | | Similar Products Used: | Topline SLS, Sims(Grafton copy), Bullseye, Shimano XT, Suntour XC Pro(Sugino), ACforged7000, Caramba 7000 machined cranks. Raceface (North American made) | | Bike Setup: | American frame, real skf bb, raceface rings, grafton excelerator pedals, rohloff chain | | Bottom Line: | I am still using my Joystix in 2006. I am still riding my Excelerator pedals. Hence they value rating. They have outlasted several cranks. They have the gouges to prove they have been abused. I met the guy personally. The reason he decided to close his shop had nothing to do with the quality or design of his product.
Grafton Performance was Unconditionally Guaranteed. It takes a lotta love to do that.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jerry Snyder
a Cross Country Rider
from Fremont
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | Paper route at Mammoth | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$175.00 | | Purchased At: | Mail order | | Strengths: | I have owned these same cranks for about 10 years. They are wonderful, stiff enough for me and look great. Man have complained about the cracking, but I must have been one of the early customers and got the right stuff. They now sit on my 1991 Merlin and will stay there until they are stolen or break because of my stupidity.
If you find some on a classic MTB, grab them, If they are recent vintage, pass on them. | | Weaknesses: | I have two pairs, black and chrome. The black are somewha schratched up but are still going strong. Funky screw caps are not the best. | | Bottom Line: | Best money I have spent on a custom part in the past ten years. I wished they were still around. I have the brakes, cranks, bottom bracket and brake levers. Great groupo. Have been offered serious cash for the set up. No complaints from me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lee
a Cross Country Rider
from Orange County, CA
Date Reviewed: March 8, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Strengths: | Very Light,and Stiff | | Weaknesses: | Can no longer buy them | | Similar Products Used: | Truvativ, XTR | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale, XTR, Syncros, and Marzochi | | Bottom Line: | The one thing I have never had a problem with on my bike is these cranks. I have ridden them hard from the downhill at Brian Head to Cross Country in Mexico. I have never seen a hint of Cracking. I only wish Grafton was still around. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Caribou
Date Reviewed: March 20, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Stiff and light | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Xt, Lx and DX | | Bike Setup: | Bridgestone Mb-1, syncros stem, Ringle post, Bulls Eye hubs, XT, Answer Hyperlights. | | Bottom Line: | I have had these mated to an XTR bottom bracket for 4 years and never a hint of trouble. I weigh 180 lbs and ride my bike hard as i can. sucks that people had trouble cause they are really a great crank. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cdale
a Weekend Warrior
from Stockton, CA
Date Reviewed: June 22, 1999 | | Favoriate Trail: |
Darrington Trail | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Sharp looking, make good swizzle stix. | | Weaknesses: |
They crack! | | Similar Products Used: |
Race Face, Shimano | | Bike Setup: |
Cannondale w/ Headshok | | Bottom Line: | Be very wary if you still own a set of these! Mine cracked down by the bolt on the non-drive side. Grafton was as good as they could be about replacement (they were probably just about ready to go out of business). They sent me a replacement crank- I sold the pair to a friend, and soon after, he cracked them. YOW!! Had the Race Face for a while and love 'em! (See the Race Face reviews if you don't believe me!) | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a cross-country rider
from Ridgefield, CT
Date Reviewed: February 8, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
This is my third set of Joy Stix. Snapped the first pair (during their well-publicized recall), bent the spider on the second, and to date, no problems on the third. (Knock on wood.) At all times the company was apologetic, and shipped me out a new pair immediately. I like 'em in a 178 mm. They do flex, but only in trials type stuff. Could be their ti b.b. too. Raced two hard
seasons on them, with no complaints. Weigh 190+, but am also light on my bike. Don't recommend big air stuff on these. Quite light. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim Nielsen
a racer
from Arlington, VA
Date Reviewed: February 7, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I think its only fair to Grafton to point out that the reason why the original run of Joy Stix had so many cracking problems was that the idiots contracted out to do the CNC of John Grafton's design intentionally substituted a slightly more inexpensive and much weaker alloy for the 7005 that John spec'ed in a effort to increase profits by a few cents per crank. Grafton sucked it up and warrantied countless sets of cranks nearly bankrupting his heretofore nicely-up-and coming company. Grafton makes top quality stuff and stands behind it.I have a polished pair prototypes I bought at Interbike years ago that are the only old part on an otherwise brand new $4500 ride I put together last summer. They flex a little under hard loads, but at 360 grams I can't complain. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dennis Semik
a racer
from Germany
Date Reviewed: December 16, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
The Grafton cranks look nice, but they suck. I have a pair of Kooka cranks that I have bin riding for 3 years now, and they still work. The reason I mention this is so that you dont believe I dont know how to land. The grafton cranks broke after an icredible 1 MONTH at the bottom bracket on the left side. If you get them for free, melt them, and do not buy them!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Richard Kaak
a cross-country rider
from Hanover, Germany
Date Reviewed: July 23, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
My father and I bought quiet at the same time two bikes and each of them had Grafton Components. Round about three years ago my drive crank cracked and I had a knee injury. I had a lot of trouble and even the only sales representative denied helping me. After al lot of unsuccessful expenditure I gave up.
Yesterday the left crank of my father’s bike broke, too. Now just surfing through the net I’m really astonished that there had been a recall for the cranks. May it be possible that we still can swap and get back resistant cranks. On our high end bikes from Merlin and Marin they would surely look cooler.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
B.Katz
a racer
from NJ
Date Reviewed: December 19, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
My left crankarm cracked. It was a known defect. Unbelievable that they've had so many fail that they knew exactly where the thing cracked (bottom of the
left crankarm.) Until then, they were super. Light. Strong. But, who the
heck cares if the damn things crack on you. I ended up getting my money back. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a cross-country rider
from California
Date Reviewed: November 21, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I bought these cranks 4 years ago when only 3 companies were making low profile cranks. I chose the graftons because they were the lightest and . Since I only weighed 125 lb, I noticed no flex. The anodizing was inconsistent between the two arms which worn off from ankle rub after about 6 months. They were then recalled, so I sent them back. I was told that only the non drive arm was recalled, but Grafton replaced both arms anyway. The pair they sent back had better anodizing, but the non drive arm was considerably beefed up pushing the weight from 380 to 430. I'm still riding the cranks and am happy with them. But I were to buy another pair, they would not be graftons. Although the weight is still competitive, there are many other cranks which are lower in profile and stiffer. Besides, 117 BB's are hard to come by these days. The crank is in need of a redesign, like race face did a few years back. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jay
a racer
from Knoxville, TN
Date Reviewed: August 31, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
i have been racing on these BRIGHT red anodonized cranks for about 2 years now. on the NORBA circuit as an expert, i have had absolutely no complaints about them. the only prob it this..i am running them on a 115mm BB to compensate for my 48th chainring (strong rider:) and i have noticed my BB flexing a lot, but the cranks are very strong for the racing. my only complaint is that i also do a lot of trials riding on my bike, and they are a little flexy for controlled trials competitions. they are a comfortable crank, but flex under hard loads and bobbing...aka trials riding. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a cross-country rider
from Texas
Date Reviewed: May 26, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I have used these cranks for about 2 years now and I have had no problems with them. They don't seem be be as stiff as the Cook Bros RSR crank on my other bike though. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim Kalina
a cross-country rider
from Chicago
Date Reviewed: January 24, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I have been using these cranks on one of my bikes for over four years now. In the first two years, I cracked as many cranks. The last replacement, which was redesigned, has held up great for the past two years. But I don't trust CNCed cranks anymore as too many variables are involved in making a good, strong crank. Cold forged is the only way to go. Grafton did replace both pairs (charging only for shipping) but it took nearly two months to get one pair. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bill
a racer
from omaha neb
Date Reviewed: January 8, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
give me a break cause thats what i did to 2 sets of those over priced
pieces of crap!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a downhiller
from California
Date Reviewed: July 4, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I've owned these cranks for about two years and they've worked wonderfully. They're light, strong, and very nicely constructed. I had been told by a few people that they were flexy and prone to break, but I have experienced neither of these problems. They just keep going. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rocky Reifenstuhl
a racer
from Fairbanks, Ak, USA
Date Reviewed: April 16, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
The Grafton cranks have worked very well for my. Using Graftons cranks, and most of the other Grafton components, my wife Gail Koepf and I have won IDITABIKE a total of 6 times.
We have never had a problem with cranks, brakes, levers, bottom brackets, or pedals. We
race 30 NORBA and USCF races each season, including Nationals so we beat the hell out of
the equipment. And, oh yes...they look cool too!
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark A. Jesus
a weekend warrior
from Stockton, CA
Date Reviewed: April 15, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I've owned a pair of Grafton Joystix for over a year now and I
am happy to say that I have not experienced any problems with them. I
have heard stories of light weight cranks snapping because of their
lack of durability, but these cranks have held up just fine! The
Joystix do flex, but the amount is minimal. These cranks should hold
up fine unless you are the thrasher type, in which case I would
recommend something with more beef. I have used these cranks to do
downhill runs at a local ski resort and was impressed with their
performance. These cranks feature a one piece spider/crank arm design
that eliminates the creaking that two piece cranks tend to develop.
The Joystix are of the low profile variety which requires the use of a
shorter bottom bracket spindle. The shorter spindle helps promote
stiffness in the crank arms. I think the Joystix are one of the most
beautifully crafted cranks on the market. I had to wait a couple
months because of a backorder situation, but it was well worth it!
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin
a cross-country rider
from San Carlos
Date Reviewed: April 5, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I've been riding my original Shimano LX cranks since I started mountain biking about six years ago because I didn't think aftermarket cranks could make a difference. Well I was wrong. I broke down and bought some Grafton Joy Stix cranks a month ago and have been extremely surprised by the stiffness of the Joy Stix cranks. When I'm hammering up a steep hill the stiffness of the crank helps push my bike forward with more less effort. I recommend the Joy Stix crank for anyone who wants a high quality, stiff, light crank that is from a company known for reliable high quality parts. Plus they look really cool!
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
J. Daniel
a cross-country rider
from Vermont
Date Reviewed: April 3, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
My first set of lite-weight cranks. Hey these came out years ago and have changed very little. I bought a pair in 92, raced them for a season until the spider broke. Grafton warrantied their product and I haven't had a problem since. They're now on my backup bike and have proven to be reliable. The spindle hole can become enlarged with repeated removal and tightening so go easy. They are very well crafted and the one piece (no seperate spider) ensures no creaks from the driveside crankarm. Pick up a pair, they're worth it. Perhaps the only drawback is their slight flex when reallllly hammering.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Planetarium
a weekend warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: April 3, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Better than other cranks that i've tried...
but it's too pricy...did lots of heavy riding and stunts and seems no cracks
yet...i have them on OCLV and they look really coooll !!!!
But i need more than 122mm of B.B. to have it fix on my bike without touching the
chainstay...so go for it...!!!
| | Overall Rating: |
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