[Tarekith]

Hey all, recently the Truvativ Stylo cranks on my '06 Enduro decided to more or less fall apart, the drive arm is totally loose on the spindle and it can't be repaired. So I want to replace these with something slightly stronger (since the Stylo's never really saw THAT much abuse). It looks like the Husslefelt's or Holzfellar's 2.2's are a good replacement, they seem awfully light for how strong I hear they are. Any other recommendations?

I'm 195lbs geared up, and ride everything from long 80+ miles xc rides to dirt jumping, to urban, to 7-8ft drops. Basically me and my Enduro do it all.

 

[Merkyworks]

the stylo's are suposed to be a strong crank and have you thought about getting them replaced under warrenty?

anyway i got the old style hussefelts on my am/fr rig and im 220. they hold up fine for me but are a little flexy at times.

 

[Tarekith]

This is actually my second pair that did this, so I don't have much faith in them at this point.

 

[TNC]

Tarekith, is your broken Stylo ISIS cranks or the later thru-axle, outboard bearing model? As Merkyworks stated, the thru-axle Stylo is pretty darned strong. If you're killing the thru-axle model, then yes, you're going to have to go to full-on DH/FR models of some kind at a substantial weight gain. If you're killing a thru-axle Stylo, it doesn't sound like you're riding AM stuff...LOL!

 

[davec113]

The truvativ cranks don't come with the Howitzer bb required to run them, so the weights might be listed with no bb, and take that into account with price, too.

If Saints are still cheap (got mine for under $150), they might be worth a try. I got mine from Larry at Mtn. High Cyclery in Loveland. They are noticably smoother and stiffer than my RF Turbines w/ Truvativ gigapipe dh bb. They are heavy, but not too bad, just under 1200g I think?

 

[Tarekith]

Yes, these are the thru axle ones, in both cases the drive side crank arm got loose on the spindle after 3-4 months of moderate use. I live in Illinois, so it's not like I'm hucking off cliffs here. In fact I'd say 90% of my riding is relatively mild XC stuff.

Good point on the Howitzer BB weight too, that explains why the weights were so low.

 

[MonkeyBidnezz]

I would suggest the XT's. Pretty cheap online and fairly durable from my experience. I'm 220, and have to say they are stiff for your application.

You can get them at for about ~160. I had Performance pricematch Chainreaction 2x.

I think the Hones are a great choice too with the steel inserts. A little heavier, but can take a bit more abuse too.

 

[Lumbee1]

Is the non-drive side crank arm coming loose? This is a common complaint for this crankset. I fixed mine by removing the non-drive side crankarm, applying additional grease, installing another washer behind the crank arm bolt, shaving down the lip of the lock ring, and then tightening everything down. The additional washer allows the lock ring to contact the crank arm bolt and keep everything nice and tight.

Before doing this, mine would come loose on every single ride. I would carry an 8mm allen with me to tighten it up mid-ride.

 

[painter]

Are you using the correct number of spacers for the BB shell width? I know I was having problems with a Holzfeller crankset coming loose, until I fixed the problem.

 

[TNC]

May be on to something.

Are you using the correct number of spacers for the BB shell width? I know I was having problems with a Holzfeller crankset coming loose, until I fixed the problem.

While the Stylo is obviously not a DH/FR crank, it is still relatively stout. Having two driveside crank arms loosen up from the thru-axle without crazy abuse is certainly strange. I was thinking a setup problem of some kine too.

Tarekith, I'm not questioning your level of riding as to abusing the cranks harder than what you stated or your knowledge of crank setup, but who is installing and setting your crank up? Just a thought.

 

[blender]

This is actually my second pair that did this, so I don't have much faith in them at this point.

same thing happened to my friend's set.. and he was by no means harsh on them

get the Saint's dude.. seriously awesome crankset

 

[Mr.P]

I agree with TNC. The Stylo is a zero sex appeal work horse that works in a zone beyond it's original intention (lightwieght XC). And is very capable at that.

I have an ISIS version that is going on 3 years of abuse, now on the SS. And a GXP version getting hammered by a 6" bike.

Every few months I have to do a quick check of the bolts and usually get a little turn in.

With all cranks, if it loosens on the spindle, it's cooked. There will be no retightening. It's interface is worn and done. My buddy's RF cranks went that way too.

I should pull mine and loctite them for insurance.

The bolt on the ISIS version was aluminum, and with hot/cold expansion contraction they require some attention. That is true of the chainring bolts too.

I'm not saying it was user error, just that everyone need to check every once in a while.

Mr. P

 

[MartinS]

I had a similar experience with a set of the new stylos on a friends bike, the bb was faced and everything installed with a torque wrench - by the book. They loosened constantly and creaked like a b*tch - Horrible, and no warranty - not like the pre SRAM days. There is a reason Kona has switched a lot of their bikes to FSAs this year.
Go XT's, at least Shimano has pinch bolts for extra security.

 

[TNC]

Shimano

I had a similar experience with a set of the new stylos on a friends bike, the bb was faced and everything installed with a torque wrench - by the book. They loosened constantly and creaked like a b*tch - Horrible, and no warranty - not like the pre SRAM days. There is a reason Kona has switched a lot of their bikes to FSAs this year.
Go XT's, at least Shimano has pinch bolts for extra security.

I have the thru-axle Hone and LX new generation models. Even though both cranksets are identical (at least the alloy Hone is), the Hone crankset sucked IMO. I don't think it's a design issue, I just think I got a funky bearing set. That crank always a slight drag regardless of how it was set up. The Hone, LX, and XT are good cranks. I've been running the Stylo on my Nomad for some time now, and it's a smoother crankset IMO than the LX or Hone...by that I means that once it's set up, it has a noticeably smoother spin in the BB shell. Frankly, however, all 3 of these cranksets look basically the same. Oddly the outboard bearings and cups look like they even have the same print and machining points...like they came out of the same factory.:skep:

The design and component spec on these two brands/models of these cranksets looks identical. If your friend has creaking and loosening of the BB, I'd bet there's some other problem. The BB cups and bearings in these cranksets are too similar in material, spec. and design. The crank arms are the main difference, and I can't see how the pinch bolt setup vs. the end-of-spindle bolt makes any real difference in the crank arm clamping integrity. If you notice, Shimano even uses a plastic tool to tighten the crankset with before using those pinch bolts...and therein may be a setup problem with the Truvativ. You can easily overtorque the BB bearing preload on the Truvativ, as their system is more like the old ISIS crankarm attachment...very secure, but hamfisters can easily overtighten them. We've had lots of Shimano and Truvativ thru-axle style cranksets go through the shop, and neither has shown any real pattern of problems if done right.

 

[Tarekith]

Tarekith, I'm not questioning your level of riding as to abusing the cranks harder than what you stated or your knowledge of crank setup, but who is installing and setting your crank up? Just a thought.

The first one was straight from Specialized, as it came stock on the Enduro. Second one was set up identical at the lbs, though I don't think it's a set up issue. There was no play when new, they were great cranks actually. The issue keeps happening where the drive side crank arm is pressed onto the spindle, eventually it loosens up, and there's no way to tighten it. So I don't think it's set up issues per se, as this isn't something that you 'set up' in the first place. And like I said, everything else with the crankset is fine. BB is fine, spins smooth and has always been tight (in a good way). No slop around the spindle or side to side or anything like that.

I was looking at the XT's too. Will I need new BB cups and bearings if I go that route? Could have sworn I saw theyw ere thru axle now, but it's all starting to blend to gether now too

Thanks guys!

 

[TNC]

Yeah, the XT will look identical to the Stylo as far as the design of the BB is concerned. Your XT will come with the BB, as that's how they're all sold now days. Hey Tarekith, just for grins look closely at the BB cups and bearings between the XT and Truvativ, if you get the XT. I think you'll see that oddly identical setup I was referring to. I can't think you'd be disappointed in the XT...but then I didn't think you'd have trouble with the Stylo either...LOL! Good luck.

 

[MartinS]

I have the thru-axle Hone and LX new generation models. Even though both cranksets are identical (at least the alloy Hone is), the Hone crankset sucked IMO. I don't think it's a design issue, I just think I got a funky bearing set. That crank always a slight drag regardless of how it was set up. The Hone, LX, and XT are good cranks. I've been running the Stylo on my Nomad for some time now, and it's a smoother crankset IMO than the LX or Hone...by that I means that once it's set up, it has a noticeably smoother spin in the BB shell. Frankly, however, all 3 of these cranksets look basically the same. Oddly the outboard bearings and cups look like they even have the same print and machining points...like they came out of the same factory.:skep:

That wouldn't surprise me if they were from the same source, Phil Wood had a collection of bearings at IB from Shimano truvativ etc that really varied in their grease content, showing it's pretty easy to get a crap set or a good set. Phils own had 90% grease content and stainless steel cups- Nice!
Sorry I wasn't clear, the bearings/BB aren't the issue (with the creaking), it's the crankarms, I think having a single bolt to hold the whole thing together is under designed (although I'm over 200lbs and I have a degree in industrial design and prefer over built). My local shop I used to work at has had several issues with the Stylos - probably 1 in 5 sets- mainly constant loosening. It can be remedied with Locktite, but that really shouldn't be required if they were properly designed.

 

[TNC]

But Martin, the method of holding the non-drive crank arm isn't a big issue as far as the difference in pinch bolt vs. spindle bolt IMO. The work there is being done by the spline interface in the crank arm and spindle. I mean, crank arms have been "cinched" onto tapered spindles, ISIS spindles, Octalink spindles, and now various splined spindles in these newer thru-axle models with excellent success. Now I would agree that if that crank arm/spindle interface is bad, that's a problem...and no amount of pinch bolt or bolt-on attachment method would fix that...and maybe therein lies the problem...I wonder.

 

[MartinS]

But Martin, the method of holding the non-drive crank arm isn't a big issue as far as the difference in pinch bolt vs. spindle bolt IMO. The work there is being done by the spline interface in the crank arm and spindle. I mean, crank arms have been "cinched" onto tapered spindles, ISIS spindles, Octalink spindles, and now various splined spindles in these newer thru-axle models with excellent success. Now I would agree that if that crank arm/spindle interface is bad, that's a problem...and no amount of pinch bolt or bolt-on attachment method would fix that...and maybe therein lies the problem...I wonder.

Fair enough, you've got a point. Maybe it's just a QC issue on the crank arm interface or a bolt tolerance issue. Another issue with the Stylo was that the shim between the axle and bearing interface (part of the bearing cup assembly) managed to stick onto the axle - which was greased - which made removal of the crank from the frame a royal pain. So many issues with one particular crankset kinda wound me up, and to top it all off, no warranty, no explanation as to why either (although Norco is in charge of SRAM warranty in Canada and they are notoriously poor).