[Suicider]

It seems like the more research I put into this subject, the more indecisive I get. I'm building a Titus Moto-Lite as my dream bike and therefore throwing my budget to the wind. This will be my one-bike quiver for XC races and XC/"all mountain" joyrides in New Mexico and Colorado. Light is good, but I don't want something that'll wear out or break in half a season. The rest of my drivetrain will be X.0 RD, X-Gen FD, X.0 trigger shifters, PG990 cassette, PC991 chain; this was easy enough to pick out. The crankset selection, however, is driving me nuts.

I'm looking for mainstream top end. Money doesn't bother me, this is for my dream bike. On the other hand, I'm not going to go with a tiny boutique maker I've never heard of for double the price.
22-32-44.
It has to survive use on a bike that gets ridden. I push my limits every time I ride, and my crankarms are the part of my bike that show it. No carbon, I'd break it.
It needs to be reliable. Browsing product reviews and the forums make me wonder if there's such a thing as a reliable crank. Creaking, cracking, and failing are things in a crankset that I'd rather not experience first hand.
Light is good.
Bling factor and brand name fanaticism are irrelevant.

Every person I talk to provides a different answer as to which company is horrible and to be avoided at all costs, and as do the members of this forum. I have an incredible bike tech at my service, and get the feeling that a lot of the problems people report are due to setup issues, which I'm confident wouldn't affect me. But, I'm paranoid, and need people with experience with cranks that meet my criteria to chime in with some positive feedback.

Thanks!

 

[dogonfr]

I'm going to say Race Face because that is what i use & has always been there for me. I ride DH, FR & AM, to old to be super agressive but i have alot of fun.
If you talk to people you will get alot of differant opinions from people. Asking what to buy is like asking what is the best beer. You will have to just check it all out as you have & make your dession or read 20 different oppinions here. So go buy some Race Face cranks & ride hard .

 

[shiny_car]

i use FSA on my bikes. i have a carbon K-Force crankset and an alloy V-Drive one, both with MegaExo external BB. i actually don't think the carbon jobbie will suit you although if you buy from an authorised dealer, you will have warranty as peace of mind. however, there's been reports of the pedal threads working loose in the crankarms; i've not had any signs of probs thus far, but i'm neither a 'clyde' nor ride my bike really hard (i do recreational XC, and nothing i'd call freeride). however, i'm sure there's many happy users out there, and we only hear about those with bad luck (maybe).

the V-Drive seems very good value and build, but heavier.

if you're happy to use shimano, i'd go the XTR crankset. tried and trued and pretty light, and looks bling. i have a little experience with using RaceFace, being pulled off my bikes and replaced with the FSA's; no probs with them, for what that's worth. some people have commented that the Truvativ Stylo cranks aren't that stiff and the BB isn't up to the standard of others; who knows, i take that with a grain of salt too.

 

[Techfreak]

Cranks are a huge pain. I'm going through the same question now and I have brought it down to a few. I'm going to skip the whole ISIS thing due to all the bearing problems (if that does not bother you, Holzfellers are quite nice):

1000+g
*Shimano Saints - heavy, but more or less indestructable
*RF Diabolus - heavy, indestructable, lifetime warranty

~950g
*Simano Hone - lighter, cheaper, seems like a really good choice (especially since the new ones come with cr-mo pedal inserts)
*RF Atlas -same weight as the Hones, no pedal inserts, lifetime warranty

~bloody light
**If you can wait, Middleburn is coming out with an external bearing setup sometime in March. They will likely be the lightest of the group, the most expensive of the group, and also come with a lifetime warranty.

 

[dulyebr]

Shimano XT

check out this thread

Note the German test where the XTs got the elusive Uberragend (outstanding!) rating.

It's the best bang for buck, and more importantly, strong enough for a trail bike and only about 50-60g more than XTR. Plus the finish is raw and looks pretty good after real world abuse, unlike a lot of the prettier cranks out there.

I'd also suggest that you use the advanced search function - this is a perennial subject. One of the MTBR members, Jayem, has some very convincing arguments about why he thinks XT cranks are Uberragend.

 

[Suicider]

Thanks for the replies, and the link to that other thread, particularly helpful. The XTs may win it just for their stiffness and durability.

 

[S-Works]

It seems like the more research I put into this subject, the more indecisive I get. I'm building a Titus Moto-Lite as my dream bike and therefore throwing my budget to the wind. This will be my one-bike quiver for XC races and XC/"all mountain" joyrides in New Mexico and Colorado. Light is good, but I don't want something that'll wear out or break in half a season. The rest of my drivetrain will be X.0 RD, X-Gen FD, X.0 trigger shifters, PG990 cassette, PC991 chain; this was easy enough to pick out. The crankset selection, however, is driving me nuts.

I'm looking for mainstream top end. Money doesn't bother me, this is for my dream bike. On the other hand, I'm not going to go with a tiny boutique maker I've never heard of for double the price.
22-32-44.
It has to survive use on a bike that gets ridden. I push my limits every time I ride, and my crankarms are the part of my bike that show it. No carbon, I'd break it.
It needs to be reliable. Browsing product reviews and the forums make me wonder if there's such a thing as a reliable crank. Creaking, cracking, and failing are things in a crankset that I'd rather not experience first hand.
Light is good.
Bling factor and brand name fanaticism are irrelevant.

Every person I talk to provides a different answer as to which company is horrible and to be avoided at all costs, and as do the members of this forum. I have an incredible bike tech at my service, and get the feeling that a lot of the problems people report are due to setup issues, which I'm confident wouldn't affect me. But, I'm paranoid, and need people with experience with cranks that meet my criteria to chime in with some positive feedback.

Thanks!

XT's have been good to me, so good that I've not needed to get the new 760's. But I'm considering the 05 RF Atlas X-type for 2 bills at greenfish right now.

http://www.greenfishsports.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=785

Give Larry at Mtnhighcyclery dot com a call about cranks. He has great CS and good prices. He may be able to give you some insight on your decision.

 

[Enduro_Man]

Race Face for sure

Go for the Race Face Altas like S-Works and other have mentioned. My girlfriend has a set and they're amazing. Pretty light, great strength, some of the best rings on the market, good price, what more could you ask for in a crank?!

Tho I am a little bias being a Canadian and all.

 

[fstrthnu]

xt

my xt has five three years of faultless service. i've just reminded myself it's time to regrease the bearings for the first time...oops. it's very slightly heavier than other top cranksets but spend the money using titanium bolts to = weight diff! it rarely (if ever) features in any horror stories. the hollowtech system is sooooo much better than the conventional bb's and almost always lighter. xtr is beautiful but you do hear so many people who never manage to stop them creaking or squeaking!