# FSA's Crankset/BB lineup ...



## Jdub (May 5, 2004)

... is ridiculously confusing. At least for me anyway. 

I just spent a half hour on their site trying to figure out what the difference between all their different Cranksets and BB's. WTF? Their descriptions suck... I mean come on throw a little marketing mumbo jumbo in their so I can at least pretend to understand the difference. They aren't even consistent since they don't list the same specs on each info page. For example weight is listed for some and not others. 

Anyone with some knowledge of their Crankset lineup care to shed some light on the different cranks. I'm mostly interest in the high end stuff.


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## bahueh (May 11, 2004)

I haven't heard the best things about their BB's, but their Superlight cranks are great. I went with an ultegra BB (reportedly less problems than DA) and have been a very happy camper for about 1500 miles...

personnally, I'd stay away from the FSA BB's just what what local shop guys have told me and reports on this website...check it out under Product Reviews..


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## redstone (Sep 22, 2004)

bahueh said:


> personnally, I'd stay away from the FSA BB's just what what local shop guys have told me and reports on this website...check it out under Product Reviews..


I've had nothing but great luck with FSA bottom brackets. In fact, with regard to ISIS bbs, the FSA Platinum Pro is the only bb to have lasted me more than 10 months of rough mountain biking in Colorado.

Hey Jdub - I agree that FSA's offerings seem deep and redundent. Perhaps for easier explanation, you could check out BTI's website for more fact oriented detailed FSA info. 

It's www.bti-usa.com. You don't need a password or anything to check it out. Here's an attempt at some of the very most basic differences in their road lineup.

Kforce is their top notch stuff, monocoque carbon, etc. EXO is the outboard bottom bracket bearings, ala Dura Ace/XTR.
SLK is also carbon, but compression molded and cheaper. The SLK cranks also have the EXO bb.
Superlight is 1pc Carbon, ISIS drive
Pro Elite - carbon again, less expensive than Superlight
Team Issue - yet another Carbon ISIS crank. This was their 1st Carbon crank a few years ago
Energy is the aluminum, hollow forged crank, most affordable.


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## naawillis (Oct 6, 2004)

*problem is...*

if you buy new, you have to get ISIS. fsa no longer makes (correct me if i'm wrong) cranks for octalink bb's. they used to so they're around, but you have to check existing stock at retailers or ebay. you know where to look. anything marked 2005 is off limits though. while i hate this inter-manufacturer incompatibility they're at least good about letting you know about it. they wont trick you into thinking its octalink, but make sure to ask


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## redstone (Sep 22, 2004)

naawillis said:


> if you buy new, you have to get ISIS. fsa no longer makes (correct me if i'm wrong) cranks for octalink bb's. they used to so they're around, but you have to check existing stock at retailers or ebay. you know where to look. anything marked 2005 is off limits though. while i hate this inter-manufacturer incompatibility they're at least good about letting you know about it. they wont trick you into thinking its octalink, but make sure to ask


Yep. ISIS or their new EXO integrated bbs. If you're looking for a non Shimano Octalink, Ritchey is about all I've seen.


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## fiddledoc (May 28, 2003)

*10 months?!!*



redstone said:


> I've had nothing but great luck with FSA bottom brackets. In fact, with regard to ISIS bbs, the FSA Platinum Pro is the only bb to have lasted me more than 10 months of rough mountain biking in Colorado.
> 
> Hey Jdub - I agree that FSA's offerings seem deep and redundent. Perhaps for easier explanation, you could check out BTI's website for more fact oriented detailed FSA info.
> 
> ...


Sorry, but 10 months is too short for a bottom bracket. Maybe I'm old-school, but I believe that a bottom bracket should last for years. My XT lasted for 8 through Florida thunderstorms, commuting in a Montana winter, and mountain biking in Montana and Oregon. When I recently pulled it out to replace it, I realized it still has plenty of life although it's loosened up slightly.

Last night I was looking through the new Supergo catalog, and saw an ad for a Race Face ISIS bb--they boasted it had 96 bearings in it's 3 cartridges. 96 bearing? That means 32 per cartridge, right? I remember repacking loose-ball bbs, and how many did they have?
9 or 10? It means that the bearing used in ISIS designs are so tiny that they--IMHO--shouldn't be used as bearings in such a critical area. What the bike companies have done is solve a problem that doesn't exist (lack of crank stiffness) by designing a huge axle, and created a worse problem (reliability). That's why I went for a new compact crank that would use a tapered bb. Plenty stiff, and my new XT will last for
at least 5 years of road biking.


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## redstone (Sep 22, 2004)

fiddledoc said:


> Sorry, but 10 months is too short for a bottom bracket. ...
> 
> 
> What the bike companies have done is solve a problem that doesn't exist (lack of crank stiffness) by designing a huge axle, and created a worse problem (reliability).


I agree. 10 months is too short. That's why I like the FSAs. Mine's been going 2+ years without incident. An XT square taper would generally last about 2 seasons of hard riding out here before developing play. Basically, though, cartridge stye bottom brackets in general are a poor idea, but that's what we've got. 

The stiffness problem, arguably existed more for some than others. I see the ISIS/OL systems to have been beneficial in that they led to the popularity of the external bottom bracket. External bb's are noticeably stiffer and have much more reliable bearings. It's a win win situation relative to stiffness and reliability. Again, perhaps not so much an issue for some. For me personally, the external bb is something that I would not consider on my road bike, but it makes a big difference on my mountain bikes.


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## Jdub (May 5, 2004)

*Huh weight?????*

So exactly why does this thread get classified as a weight savings thread?

You moderators are getting a little carried away with the thread moving.


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## vonteity (Feb 13, 2005)

Jdub said:


> So exactly why does this thread get classified as a weight savings thread?
> 
> You moderators are getting a little carried away with the thread moving.


Methinks they did a search for "light" and your thread inadvertently came up because you used the phrase "shed some light".

Oops. Searches are never 100% accurate.


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## Juanmoretime (Nov 24, 2001)

*FSA Superlight & Platinum Pro ti bottom bracket.*

I have this set up on two different bikes. The one bike has over 7,000 miles on a ISIS FSA Platinum Pro titanium bottom bracket. It still feel great and I guess it will last for some time yet. My experience has been great with FSA ISIS bottom brackets.



bahueh said:


> I haven't heard the best things about their BB's, but their Superlight cranks are great. I went with an ultegra BB (reportedly less problems than DA) and have been a very happy camper for about 1500 miles...
> 
> personnally, I'd stay away from the FSA BB's just what what local shop guys have told me and reports on this website...check it out under Product Reviews..


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