ironpuppy13

What's everyone's opinion on carbon fiber cranks? i'm just a little cautious about getting one because it's not metal and i'm concerned that it would break easier.

Marauder9

I have been wondering the same thing myself Puppy.

I would be a little warry about but full force of my legs into the peddles when climbing a steep hill.

chenghiz

It's my understanding the most CF cranks are actually alloy with a CF skin, for bling factor. Which cranks are you looking at?

rustybrown

Half life on carbon fiber cranks is negligible. Just be more aware of how you store your bike, lock up or rest it against anything.

vw addict

If you put carbon cranks on a ssfg they will most surely implode.

clink83

In the road world, most CF cranks aren't much lighter than forged hollow Al cranks. They are not worth it IMO, unless you want the looks. Cf is just as strong as any metal cranks, up to the point of failure.

ironpuppy13

FSA Carbon Track 165mm 48T ISIS Crankset 144bcd

that's what i'm looking into getting. I found a pretty good deal with it and a bottom bracket that i am desperately in need of.

carleton

They are fine.

I have used SRAM Red and Force carbon cranks on my road bike and they didn't explode. There are roadies that have bent chainrings before they broke CF crank arms.

I've seen them used on the track by guys stronger than most.

zacked

You aren't going to break them with your legs, that's for sure.

But they won't take the abuse of getting locked up and kicked around, and they aren't any lighter, so they'd be a dumb choice for a city bike.

Squirrelli

iunno brah



seems hella sketch to me

Inertianinja

You cannot break any carbon fiber bike component with the force of your legs

And for the love of god, it's "pedals" not "peddles"

Squirrelli

fixied.

Inertianinja

well, of course, if you're doing HELLA TRICKZ and JUMPZ with them, that could damage any bike component that's not designed for it. most of these are designed for a certain type of load in a certain direction over time. not sudden smashing against concrete steps.

carleton

Agreed. If you are gonna do that, get some Profile or similar BMX style cranks.

Xgecko

I got to try a Look 695 last week complete with carbon cranks. For certain those cranks are waaaay lighter than any "normal" cranks and stiff beyond anything I have ever felt. the whole bikes was kind weird though just thinking about accelerating was met with the cycling equivalent of being plastered to your seat by a big V8....it really was disconcerting not to mention I have felt wheelsets that weighed more than the whole bike

hairnet

not really bling(maybe for some). It's an attempt to reduce weight and keep or improve strength by reinforcing with carbon fiber

FrenchFit 

I have carbon cranks on my MTB/tourer. They are gorgeous. I suspect the chance of failure is about the same as my bike being exploded by a terrorist attack.

evilcryalotmore

I've honestly never heard of carbon cranks being a problem, If you'd like to get those crankarms. That would be fine.

I've seen people crash on those things and worst case its scratched up.

Squirrelli

That's the downside about carbon parts, they can suddenly fail on if you've crashed them before.

clink83

Campy Ultra torque cranks are advertised at 670gs, Shimano Dura Ace cranks are advertised at 725g INCLUDING BB, and the SRAM Red carbon crankset is advertised at 760G INCLUDING BB. So, the Aluminum Shimano cranks are lighter than the SRAM carbon cranks, and if you take out the weight of the BB they would be pretty close to the Campy carbon cranks.

evilcryalotmore

Oh yeah that too, Remember the carbon cog's i posted?

There is a review of someone who had one split and his chain slipped forward, Cause there was no tenstion and he Just fell head on stem, Nuts on tt. and knees on floor :|

carbon seat post ok, Carbon stem ok, carbon bike ok, Carbon cogs? Ehh. Not ok.

CARBON CHAIN! YESH!!

bleedingapple

im pretty sure those were not carbon cogs, but guides/ protectors...

on the topic of carbon, i have a wafer thin carbon fork that can hold my weight and another thicker carbon fork that can handle me busting around town on it. so im sure the cranks are ok... The only reason I am switching one of my carbon forks (makes me soooo sad) is that I want to put a porteur rack on the front and its probably not the best idea to have that on carbon...

vw addict

anything can fail on you, not just carbon

dookie

am i missing something? these are alloy cranks, not carbon.

carleton

Carbon Fiber has been fully embraced by other cycling communities (road, MTB, track). CF got a bad rap on the SSFG scene when the "steel is real" zealots were looking to make steel more desirable. Aluminum got a bad reputation at the same time. And of course there is that one carbon spinergy wheel that people trot out when it's time to bash carbon. That was simply a bad design.

This scene is full of folklore mainly because news and information is spread via word of mouth. Those on the other cycling scenes mentioned above see carbon fiber being used in magazines and videos by riders bigger, stronger, and faster than themselves, so they are comfortable with it. SSFG don't see that. When they see a CF track bike being ridden on the track, they assume it didn't explode because it was on smooth ground.

I'm 240 lbs and pretty strong. I ride a full carbon fiber road bike with carbon fiber cranks with no issues. I rode a carbon fiber track bike two seasons ago with carbon fiber wheels and handlebars with no issues. That's just my story. There are others with similar stories.