# SRAM Rival vs Shimano CX70 (Ultegra) crankset?



## TXBDan (Sep 14, 2010)

Hey guys,

I'm in the market for a new crankset and i'm looking at the Rival and the CX70 at the same price point. 

Any opinions?

Thanks!


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## OnTheRivet (Sep 3, 2004)

TXBDan said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I'm in the market for a new crankset and i'm looking at the Rival and the CX70 at the same price point.
> 
> ...


I'm a diehard Shimano guy but can't get past the aesthetic of their newer cranksets. I Run Sram cranks on my Shimano equipped bikes. Aside from looks the Rival has better chainrings. Performance will be indistinguishable between the two.


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## TXBDan (Sep 14, 2010)

hah, i was thinking the Shimano stuff was pretty ugly myself. I had it in my head that Shimano did a better job with front shifting though so i was considering them. The rest of my bike is SRAM Rival, so i guess that's the way to go. Thanks!


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## tiflow_21 (Nov 21, 2005)

I upgraded to a cx70 crank this year on my cross bike and have to say the improvement to front shifting, everything else the same, was HUGE. I know others in the area who made the same upgrade and thought the same. Can't say I've heard a lot of good things about the rival cranks/rings, other than they work.


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## TXBDan (Sep 14, 2010)

The plot thickens. What crank/rings were you running before the cx70?


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## tiflow_21 (Nov 21, 2005)

TXBDan said:


> The plot thickens. What crank/rings were you running before the cx70?


A few road/cross cranks I've run in the past are shimano 105, Truvativ, and specialized carbon. All have been fine, but the shimano rings, stiffness, and ease of installation definitely stand out. Too bad shimano refuses to make pressfit cranks, otherwise I'd probably run them on all my bikes. As much as I like the shimano offerings I'm not willing to run an adapter in a pressfit bb to fit a threaded bb.

In an attempt to explain the difference I found when going to the cx70, it was similar to the jump from the previous generation mountain bike 3x systems to the current generation 2x systems. Obviously they both work, but the front shifts are direct with no hesitation on the cx70.


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## TXBDan (Sep 14, 2010)

Wow, hrmm. What FD are you running?


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## tiflow_21 (Nov 21, 2005)

TXBDan said:


> Wow, hrmm. What FD are you running?


Shimano 105, no change.


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## jrm (Dec 23, 2001)

*Out there*

what about the FSA 42/27 386 mtb double


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## TXBDan (Sep 14, 2010)

I decided to go for the Rival. Got it for $198 shipped, light weight, matches all my other components, and looks good . I've heard the newer SRAM shifts well and at least leagues better than the Gossamer. We shall see.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

jrm said:


> what about the FSA 42/27 386 mtb double


Wide-azz q factor.


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## cxboy (May 23, 2012)

OnTheRivet said:


> I'm a diehard Shimano guy but can't get past the aesthetic of their newer cranksets. I Run Sram cranks on my Shimano equipped bikes. Aside from looks the Rival has better chainrings. Performance will be indistinguishable between the two.


Agree...


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## TXBDan (Sep 14, 2010)

Just went for my first ride with the Rival. WOW. I guess i've never had a crankset this nice cuz this sucker is smooooth. And dead silent. Really amazing difference. I guess my old bearings were more shot than i thought.


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## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

TXBDan said:


> Just went for my first ride with the Rival. WOW. I guess i've never had a crankset this nice cuz this sucker is smooooth. And dead silent. Really amazing difference. I guess my old bearings were more shot than i thought.


Wait a few weeks.


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## OnTheRivet (Sep 3, 2004)

kbiker3111 said:


> Wide-azz q factor.


Actually they aren't. I couldn't run mine on my new yeti MTB as they were too narrow. Same 156 Qs the narrow XX cranks.


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## commfire (Sep 2, 2009)

Anyone have experience running Praxis cx rings on a sram crankset?


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