# Lightweight Carbon Chainset ?



## Macilvennon (Jun 22, 2009)

Hi,
I have often heard it said that you can save alot of weight by replacing your Chainset with a lighter version.

I am currently using a 2007 Ultegra Hollowtech Chainset.

My question is what is the lightest road chainset I could buy when you also take into consideration the bottom bracket weight?

Thanks,

BK.


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## nemiman18 (May 2, 2009)

easton ec90? if you have a bb30 option then cannondale si-sl hollogram something


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

skip the carbon stuff. best crank for threaded BBs now is the 7900 DA... around 685g for the crankset, 90g for the BB. Upgrade to CK BB and u have the most reliable, best built, best bang for the buck combo going.

and u keep it shimano. - down the line 6700 or 7900 shifters and derialleurs... etc..


but yes, for a quality and durable crankset - hollowgram SI SL is the best - 580g complete! but u need a bb30 frame for that.

if its just a weight thing, and u want carbon - u should be able to grab some older powerarms - combine with isis BB and be around 600g or under.

http://www.storckbicycle.com/usa/index.php?c=parts&s=cranks&s2=powerarms


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## stoked (Aug 6, 2004)

zipp vuma quad. 560g $1000.


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

stoked said:


> zipp vuma quad. 560g $1000.


could be wrong, but i'm guessing 1k is not so much an option for someone on ultegra.

good suggestion for some1 on sr11 tho. UT cranks suck a bit.


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2009)

wankski said:


> could be wrong, but i'm guessing 1k is not so much an option for someone on ultegra.
> 
> good suggestion for some1 on sr11 tho. UT cranks suck a bit.



What's wrong with UT cranks?


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

kytyree said:


> What's wrong with UT cranks?


oh, don't wanna flame it or get into an argument about it. Suffice to say if you're happy with it, more power to you.

my short story: on my 3rd UT cranks. First blew DS bearing @ 3-4k kms.. pitiful. Next one broke a tooth clean off on the big chain ring? WTF? 3rd one ok so far...

thing is - when it first came out, i thought sealing was inadequate by design. Destroyed bearing confirmed that. Campy admitted no problem... but then campy in modern designs has discontinued the old BB cups - the new olive cups have better seals - and the new cranks have a translucent bearing shield over the exposed ball bearings.

why the running changes all done under the radar if there was no problem?

I personally think that campy begrudgingly did the external BB thing before they were really ready for it. Pressed on bearings onto crankarms isn't the most practical way... all sram or shimano users have to do is screw off their old cups and screw in new ones - et voila! even 7900 DA cups + bearings cost what? $36. We're paying almost that for hollow cups.  

i think sq taper BBs that campy had for chorus and record were better. Double side DS bearings, well sealed but butter smooth even when new, and just got smoother... mine have at least 10k kms on them and no signs of fading any time soon. The whole point of external bracket is that the bearings are meant to be bigger and thus last longer. I can confidently say that the record/chorus sq taper BB will outlast the steel UT bearings, even in current models.

i'm not the only one that had UT issues around these here parts btw.

as usual though YMMV.


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2009)

I believe some of the first cups didn't have seals, the ones I've gotten in the new cups were the same ones I had in the first generation of cups I bought though. The improvements were to the life of the cups the old coatings were inferior and more prone to oxidation. 

My opinion, but I think most of the problems people have had with UT cranks were from BB that weren't measured prior to install and improperly installed cranks.


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

kytyree said:


> My opinion, but I think most of the problems people have had with UT cranks were from BB that weren't measured prior to install and improperly installed cranks.


entitled to your opinion. For the record, my friend who toasted his record UT cranks, and i mean completely gets his stuff for free, riding for a pro team. I guessing his mech isn't as incompetent as I, but i could be wrong.

Doesn't address the practical problem of bearings on cranks not on cups and $300 tool to remove it.

I admit tho, that a newish crank breaking off a tooth, along with the evaporation of the words "made in italy" off the chainrings was a prime example of my installation error.


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2009)

It doesn't take a $300 tool to remove those bearings, a proper tool can be bought for very little and I've done it in a pinch with two screwdrivers and a bunch of rags.


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

btw, my drive side bearing... it was obvious what happened to it.. it was contaminated. Then on the next MY of UT cranks, there are more seals. But yes, the BB not being exactly 68mm musta been it.

btw, just taking the piss. 

I don't give a damn about it anymore. UT is dead to me. Now on a BB30 frame with insert, waiting for hollowgram si to pop up for cheap(er). Just my opinion (again) but that is a great design in theory and in practice. bb30 may not be the be all and end all, but its better than trying to fit modern frame and crank materials into a BB shell standard made standarised in 1989, something that was designed for lugged steel and 12-14mm cromo axles. The major manufacturers are just buggering around trying to get their cranks into something too small for modern 24mm axles. Hence the shift to external bearings that brought in new problems with bearings that are probably still too small. That's another story tho.

I do apologise to the OP for messin' up their thread. Sorry!


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

kytyree said:


> It doesn't take a $300 tool to remove those bearings, a proper tool can be bought for very little and I've done it in a pinch with two screwdrivers and a bunch of rags.


yer i know, but seriously why when sram and shimano is as simple as using the same tool you use to install *any* external BB cups?

its one of those things that is annoying in practice.

every time they install new cups (for a fair price) they get new bearings and no messin' about.

that you can jury rig tools to get em off doesn't change the fact that it was designed to be "serviced" by an expensive campy tool.


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## Macilvennon (Jun 22, 2009)

I started this post to find a lightweight chainsert....looks like that may not be carbon. Also, the Campag UT cranks seem to be a no no.

I am interested in the hollowgram SI cranks. Only problem is I can find no were which sells them. Do they only come on cannondale bikes? Also what bottom bracket do they use and will it fit a normal size frame?

Anyone used the Extralite 'E-Bones QRC' crank? Open the link below, go to webshop and scroll down to E-Bones QRC. I can find no reviews on them, but they are quite light.
http://www.extralite.com/


Thanks,

BK


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

might help:

http://www.fairwheelbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=5468

reviews a bunch including the extralite. Yes, for all intents and purposes the hollowgram si requires a bb30 frame... there is a way to get it in a conventional BB, but its expensive, fiddly and deletes the oversize bearings so i wouldn't recommend it...

It doesn't require BB cups (so saves weight).. The bearings are pressed into the special threadless BB and supported by 2 circlips. The oversize spindle is inserted from the NDS, a wave washer is installed and shims are provided to eliminate play when the crank arms are installed. The drive arm spider is removable too using a special lockring, so you can go from 130 to 110 compact BCD using the same crankset. cool.


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## Mdeth1313 (Nov 1, 2001)

how much are you looking to spend?

usually, unless you're willing to drop a good chunck, the weight savings won't be as dramatic. 

I went from an old profile carbon crankset w/ octalink BB to fsa k-force lights- weight savings were almost none. Then changed the rings to extralite (96g for 50/34 together) and that dropped some weight but that was it. I think I had the crank/bb down to around 640-650g when I sold the fsa and purchased a lightning crank (on the fairwheelbikes crank shootout)- w/ a stronglight ct 50 tooth and the extralite 34 tooth, my crankset is now around 570-580g. 
The lightning cranks w/out rings cost me around $580, but I sold the fsa cranks and took away about $330, so it cost me $250 to lose 70g. Not the best cost/weight ratio, but, it was more cost effective than my other options for losing a chunk of weight like that. I'm also much happier with the lightning cranks than the fsa cranks.


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2009)

Macilvennon said:


> I started this post to find a lightweight chainsert....looks like that may not be carbon. Also, the Campag UT cranks seem to be a no no.
> 
> I am interested in the hollowgram SI cranks. Only problem is I can find no were which sells them. Do they only come on cannondale bikes? Also what bottom bracket do they use and will it fit a normal size frame?
> 
> ...



You can order the cannondale cranks from a dealer or get them used, those are the only options.


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## aussiebullet (Sep 26, 2005)

If you don't mind ISIS BB's then there are heaps of the NOS K-force cranks on ebay l just bought a set new for $189AU with BB, l'll sell the BB and heavy FSA rings and my set when tuned should come in around ~630g.
The crank without rings and bolts came in at 361g so l am stoked.
l was sceptical at first about the weight's of these but here they are as claimed.


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

word. isis is where its at for cheap and light. think i mentioned that before i went on a huge tangent.


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## woz (Dec 26, 2005)

If weight is your main concern then THM wins currently, but will soon be replaced by Ax. However I'm guessing that budget is a factor. So with budget in mind two of the best options are the Extralite QRC(provided you want 172.5 and compact) and the Lightning. I reviewed both of them in the fairwheel crank review.


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## Cheers! (Aug 20, 2006)

http://www.lightningbikes.com/Cranks of Carbon.htm

then you pair it up with some Fibre-Lyte Chain rings 

http://www.fibre-lyte.co.uk/fl/fl_cycles_carbon_chainring.html


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## Juanmoretime (Nov 24, 2001)

My VumaQuads are rapidly approaching their second birthday. I've been very pleased. Stiff, light and shift well. 593 grams for mine with the 53, 39 rings.


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## sabre104 (Dec 14, 2006)

Cannondale Hallowgrams BB30 cranks can fit onto a english threaded BB frame. Look up Starnut here or over at Weight Weenies. He's done it and might be able to hook you up.

-John


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