crank choices

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Kevin3182
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:11 am

by Kevin3182

Would y'all go with a Cannondale Sisl2 crank with the spider ring, or Shimano 6800 crank. Obvious difference in weight and price, but is the difference in price better applied to a different part of the build to save weight/ improve overall ride? i.e. bars stem etc.
Im planning on building up a BMC slr01 with ultegra 6870 and ultegra 6800 wheels.

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Rick
Posts: 2034
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 4:30 pm

by Rick

I have a 6800 crank. It is nice looking, functions perfectly, and only slightly heavier that the lightest. Figuring in the price they are available for it seems like the bargain of the century.
But I haven't used a SiSL2, and I am sure they are nice. Obviously I thought Ultegra was a good choice in the trade-offs.

It seems like if Ultegra is good enough for the rest of the group there is no big incentive to change on the cranks. Wheels are always a big investment, and while I wouldn't advocate necessarily going for the lightest, you may want to buy two sets or at least a deep-dish set.


(BTW: for reference the Ultegra 6800 crank works perfectly with 10 speed groups and using a 10 speed chain.)

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hornedfrog
Posts: 235
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2012 9:13 pm

by hornedfrog

If it's a 2012-present slr01 the hollowgrams won't work as bmc changed over to bb86 on most of their frames.

rma
Posts: 169
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:17 pm
Location: Belo Horizonte, Brazil

by rma

I also recommend the 6800 crank, it's good looking, works great. Use the money to buy better wheels or maybe a pwoermeter (Stages Ultegra really works and fits nice with the 6800 crank)

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fa63
Posts: 2533
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:26 am
Location: Atlanta, GA, US

by fa63

Turn Cranks by Praxis look interesting:

turncranks.com

Not sure about their weight.

eric01
Posts: 909
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 1:06 am

by eric01

Cannondale crank is a beautiful piece of machinery but quite expensive compared to Ultegra. Use the money to upgrade the 6800 wheels.
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mattr
Posts: 4671
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Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

FWIW a lot of self sponsored elites/pros I've dealt with or ridden with over the years have gone for a more basic crank to save money, as the performance benefits (say da over ultegra) are no way near worth the 75% price hike.

There are a lot of components that work equally as well as the top end stuff for half the money and only give away a handful of grams. Extra money is usually best spent on wheels/tyres, then frame, then the other bits. (Given that you are looking at half way decent kit anyway)

If i was still racing it'd be ultegra with the best/most suitable frame and wheels i could afford within budget.
(Probably why must of my mtbs are mostly xt. XTR gives so little benefit it's really not worth the extra)

rideintospace
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 2:06 pm

by rideintospace

the BMC slr01 will be printed with the bb type on the chainstay. i think they make a bb86 and a bb30 version. a friend of mine has the 2013 model which came with SRAM red (the bb86 model). it looked as though the inside of the bb area had some extra material in there to keep it at the 24mm dia spindle, and the cups on the outside of the frame did not look easily removable. it was almost like they took a bb30 frame and added extra bits to it to make it bb86. I wanted to switch things around for a compact crank, and was thinking of using a 30mm spindle, but after seeing the setup, decided to stick with a SRAM red gxp crank. I think the SRAM cranks are pretty good, and pretty light.

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highpowernut
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by highpowernut

I add to the consensus, go for the ultegra crank, worth more than they sell for. Use the extra for wheelset.
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Starter
Posts: 997
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:28 am

by Starter

You're not going to see a noticeable performance difference between the 6800 and SiSl2 cranks. I doubt you'll notice a difference at all between the two, once they are properly dialed in. And I run an SiSL2, so I'm not being biased towards the 6800.

The weight difference is around 200g all-in, that's including BBs.

The price difference (retail) is around $900 if I remember correctly, but bargain-hunting will shrink that difference to around $600. Buying retail (from Cannondale, through a dealer) will get you an extra Spidering (both 53/39 and 50/34 are included), while most of the street deals do not. Seeing as how the Spidering is itself a $245 item (and can be re-sold for near retail), the retail vs street price savings is effectively nominal.

Whether that weight difference of 200g justifies the price difference is a matter for debate. On some WW bikes, where most things are already tightened and dialed to the extreme, a half a pound for under a thousand bucks is a bargain. On bikes like yours, $600-$900 dollars carefully spent can easily result in 1-2 pounds lost, and noticeable performance benefits.

I'll concur with the others that there are better ways to spend that money at this juncture in your build.
Oof.

wootenlakeguy
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:55 am

by wootenlakeguy

I totally agree with the recommendations that your money would be better spent somewhere other than the crank set. On a dollars per gram ratio, that makes perfect sense. However, those recommendations were based on a price differential of $600-900. At three to four dollars per gram of weight savings, the resulting 200 gram loss doesn't make economic sense and your money would be better spent elsewhere.

However, with a cost differential of less than $350, the 200 gram loss is much more attractive. You'd have a stiffer, arguably better looking and certainly more exclusive crank, plus you'd be spending less than $1.5 per gram of weight loss.

I mention this because I've got a brand new never installed Cannondale Hollowgram SISL2 crank set I mistakenly purchased to retrofit my 2014 Scott Addiction SL. Only after purchase did I discover this crank set isn't compatible with my bike. Thus the reason for the inexpensive sale price. The SISL2 crank set is complete with the newer 109MM spindle and all required washers and seals as well as the spider with the 50/34 chain rings. The pedals are 172.5MM.

PM me if interested.

beeatnik
Posts: 368
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 7:26 pm

by beeatnik

There are few pro level components as attractively priced as the 6800 crankset. Even 5800 cranks have a killer performance to price ratio.

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