[2silent]

I've seen a few other reviewers/complainers about problems with this system.

Mine loosened up/stripped out during an endurance race yesterday at a very inopportune time (I'm a relatively new racer and was having one of my best rides thus far). This was very disappointing- sort of kicking myself for just not buying xtr (which is usually my solution for when things break). The same problem also happened earlier in fall (which I blamed on improper installation and just replaced bolt, very carefully with proper tq etc. etc.)

The temperature changes recently are likely at least partially to blame (but that's not acceptable either). I did check it/tighten it prior to the start.

I spoke to some friends and we decided to go ahead with trying to source a steel (or maybe Ti) bolt to replace the aluminum one.

thoughts on this? what have others done?

edit- I should mention I also emailed them for help (but I wont' just be replacing it again, this is 2nd time)






I got concerned about the fsa carbon pro compact crankset I have sitting in a box waiting to go on my gravel race bike too (it uses similar system)... opened that up and the bolt in there is steel and has loctite on it from the factory. I'm assuming I will be ok there...

 

[jimithng23]

I had the exact same thing happen to a set of these cranks.

I contacted RF and ended up working through my LBS on a warranty claim. they have yet to return any messages left by my LBS on the issue.

taking matters into our own hands, we replaced the stripped bolt with one from an FSA crankset and it has been bullets ever since.

good luck working with RF, I'm likely to never do business with them again.

 

[2silent]

any idea what crankset that came from?

I believe these use m13, the fsa crankset for my gravel build uses a m17 (steel), my other raceface uses m18 or larger.

It isn't like the manufacturers list the crank bolt sizes anywhere, ya know? I'd rather not work with a shop if possible.

did you retain the cap system?

 

[Brazos]

If you gys figure out what FSA bolt/part number works could you follow up with that info? I just bouught an 09 Mamasita with the same crank and would like to have the correct bolt on hand in the event I have the same problems.

 

[2silent]

I will post- I wouldn't wait if I were you...

 

[2silent]

Found a Shimano bolt that fits- do not know what crankset it originally came from. It is steel and slightly longer than the raceface supplied bolt. I installed with loctite and slightly overtightened, rode some and backed it off a touch. Hopefully things continue to work properly from here.

raceface warranty replied and agreed that a steel bolt would likely solve my problems- I'm waiting to hear if they are going to send me one.

 

[Jvan_wert]

My 2008 Race Face Dues XC crank came with a steel crank bolt. The crank came OEM on my bike. Maybe checking with some of your LBS's in your area might net you a steel RF crank bolt. My bike is an '08 Anthem 0 AUS spec.

 

[Ratt]

Race face recently changed the crank interface so be sure to be specific about what year crank you have when you order. But generally the Atlas and Diablous come with steel crank bolt that should work for you. A lot of shops use the steel one to mount the crank and the aluminum one after.

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

Found a Shimano bolt that fits- do not know what crankset it originally came from. It is steel and slightly longer than the raceface supplied bolt. I installed with loctite and slightly overtightened, rode some and backed it off a touch. Hopefully things continue to work properly from here.

raceface warranty replied and agreed that a steel bolt would likely solve my problems- I'm waiting to hear if they are going to send me one.

How did you determine you overtightened it? Why would you then loosen it instead of reinstalling it to spec?

 

[2silent]

my instructions give no acual tq value... tighten to where its boomed out, doesn't turn well whn overtightened. I printed from rf website. am I missing something?

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

my instructions give no acual tq value... tighten to where its boomed out, doesn't turn well whn overtightened. I printed from rf website. am I missing something?

Well, the RF instructions I just looked at online indicated it should be a hard stop, and suggest that a torque of 45 ft lbs will get you there. I just can't imagine torquing a bolt and then backing it off "a little" as you have no idea afterwards as to what value it ended up at. Don't know if the current instructions might be different from those for your old ones, though. In the notes it does say:

1) Actual torque required to bottom-out RH crank may vary but this is a "hard stop" that will be very noticeable. It is not possible to "over-load" the bearings with the RH crank
installation. The most important thing is to ensure that the RH crank bolt is fully bottomed-out, regardless of final torque requirement.
2) After installing RH crank, spin the crank a few times hard by hand. The system should spin smoothly but some rotational friction from seal drag will be noticeable. This is normal and
will dramatically decrease after the first few miles of riding as the seals become lubricated and some BB assembly components seat-in.

PS when you say stripped, are you rounding out the bolt head? Are you using a good 8mm bit?

 

[2silent]

there is definitely no "hard stop" although you can tell when you get it all the way on...

if you keep tightening it keeps getting harder to turn and you can keep tightening and probably way overtighten if you want.

I got it "bottomed out" then backed it off (then I should have clarified that the last thing I did was once again tighten it some- but not as much as before). I did not use a tq wrench since the instructions don't give a good value anyways. I just wanted it to spin a little bit more freely than it was.

-Drew

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

there is definitely no "hard stop" although you can tell when you get it all the way on...

if you keep tightening it keeps getting harder to turn and you can keep tightening and probably way overtighten if you want.

I got it "bottomed out" then backed it off (then I should have clarified that the last thing I did was once again tighten it some- but not as much as before). I did not use a tq wrench since the instructions don't give a good value anyways. I just wanted it to spin a little bit more freely than it was.

-Drew

So your cranks differ from the ones RF refers to? There is no more tightening when a bolt is bottomed out (unless the threading of what you put the bolt in is limited, so the different length bolt you used could be a factor in that respect). What's wrong with their suggested value of 45 ft lbs of torque at least as a guideline as they say?

 

[Brazos]

I was just looking at my Deus cranks and I believe my crankbolt is steel. It looks like steel and using a magnet it sticks to it. To be sure I need to find a smaller magnet as the ringe around the bolt head is steel. My cranks are on a new 2009 Mamasita I just bought. I hope it is steel and believe it is.

 

[2silent]

just that it keeps tightening regardless- I do mean that it actually keeps getting tighter and literally tightening too...

I think I found the right tq value now... have another 200 miles on it since repair

for what it's worth- my cranks were not stock on the Mamasita. The batch Salsa is using may have the other bolt.

raceface is sending me a bolt btw