Hi guys,

I'm a roadie newbie. Any and all advice is appreciated! My search results are too scattered to determine a good answer to my question.

Anyhow, I'm well on my way to weenism but one of the areas that I want to address is my crankset. I'm currently running a tank of a crankset (Shimano 105) but want to enhance my ride with a carbon set-up. My current frame (2011 Specialized Tarmac Elite SL2) with a threaded bottom bracket isn't very light so it'll get upgraded in a few years. That being the case I want to source a lightweight crankset that I can afford to discard with the frame as my next frame will no doubt have a lighter BB configuration (BB30 etc.)

So...what's the best value/weight crankset out there for my 68mm BB? I haven't deciphered all the various weights yet. The weights I find vary depending on chainrings, with or without BBs etc. and I'm left very confused. I'll be looking for a standard (non-compact) set-up.

Can somebody simply tell me which one to buy? I want to target used if possible. I see many options for SRAM RED, SRAM Force, FSA SL-K and they all seem to be anywhere from $200-$300. Which of the cranks in this range offer the best value?

I personally liked the FSA SL-K very much. After using that crank, I moved to a Rotor 3d+ using the BSA threaded external cups and I'm much happier.

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Cervélo S2 2012 Red
Great minds think alike... sadly, so do the mediocre ones.

out of the cranksets that you have listed red is the stiffest and probably the lightest and gxp is a breeze to set up.

Fairwheel crank shootout.

http://fairwheelbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=7916

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"Nothing compares to the simple pleasures of a bike ride," said John F. Kennedy, a man who had the pleasure of Marilyn Monroe.

I'd say the older red gxp is probably the best value currently. I've seen them lightly used around $200 lately, which is pretty hard to beat for the performance.

I admittedly fall into the stiffer at the expense of a little weight camp when it comes to components though.

+1 more for older sram red. I did the upgrade last year to my Madone/Force groupe and love it.

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Let's finish the ride with a 20% grade.
2011 Scott Addict R1 Matt black
2012 Cannondale EVO "Storm Trooper" white and black

Sweet! This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thanks!

Except that none of those cranks is 200-300(outside of the dura ace and red)
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

I rode square taper cranks for years after the first adopters went Octalink. I finally upgraded when the newest bestest thing came out and I could get Octalinks used and MAN! what a difference.

...for about 2 rides, then they felt like cranks again.

Since then, I really haven't felt any real differences between my D/A 7700, Red and Force GXP cranks, or my Gossamer BB30 cranks. Which leads to 'how much stiffer than 'stiff enough' do you need?'

M

Miche do some lightweigth carbon cranks. supertype I think. Maybe worth a look.

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www.thecycleclinic.co.uk

There's a craigslist ad in my local area for the exact same (but lightly used) FSA SL-K Light crankset as reviewed in the Fairwheel shoot-out. The asking price is $200. I think I might buy that. There's also a used (2010 or 2011?) SRAM Force compact for $180. If I go compact, I guess I'll upgrade my cassette as well.

Go for either of these two? Or keep looking for a SRAM Red?