Would you ride this crank ?

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trailflow1
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 8:30 am

by trailflow1

I've not been paying attention to the heel rub on my FSA SL-K Light cranks and there is a sizeable chunk taken out of the right arm. probably guessing around 1-2mm deep. They've been used for 4 years covering around 8000 miles. I know now i should have used some Helitape but its too late.

So would you ride these ? do you think they could fail ? or is it time to replace or fix somehow ?
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Also some damage to the ends on both left/right arms
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by Weenie


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Grill
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Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 12:12 pm
Location: Oop North

by Grill

I wouldn't ride anything with an FSA logo on it. I like myself too much. ;)

trailflow1
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 8:30 am

by trailflow1

Can't blame FSA here though. Only me for being dopey and lazy. The crankset has performed flawlessly apart from this. i would buy the same crank again but the aftermarket models arn't cheap. It came fitted on a Caad10 i bought.

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btompkins0112
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Location: Mississippi

by btompkins0112

Probably nothing to worry about, but I'd replace them for safety's sake. Those arms are hollow and much thinner than you'd think.


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mattr
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Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

How many layers have you gone through? 5? 6? Difficult to tell.

It's probably only got ~20 layers before the core/void in the middle when it's new.

But.......
It'll probably be ok for 99% of your riding.
Until you hit a pothole, under power, when that crank is at top dead centre.

I'd just get a new one. Just for peace of mind.

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synthesis
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Location: Denmark

by synthesis

Or get it repaired

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

Carbon fibre wont suddenly fail though if does get too thin it will crack and you will feel it and have time to stop pedalling.

Getting it repaired is sensible I suspect it will probably be fine though if you don't.

Devon
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Location: Sydney, Australia

by Devon

More to the point - shouldn't you get your pedals/cleats/knees looked at?

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btompkins0112
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Location: Mississippi

by btompkins0112

^ Good point.....hate to see the shoes!

Devon
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Location: Sydney, Australia

by Devon

I was referring more to positioning, but there must be a black hole in the heel box of the shoe :lol:

tmr5555
Posts: 356
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 12:13 am

by tmr5555

No keep riding it.
Is that a doval chainring?
If so, what do you think of it?

Bridgeman
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by Bridgeman

I broke a collar bone due to crank failure.

ain't nobody got time for that

trailflow1
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 8:30 am

by trailflow1

Going to try and fix it myself with a carbon/epoxy kit. It will probably be a huge disaster but its worth a try :) Will post the results.

After examining my shoes it turns out it wasn't my heel. It was the plastic part on the inner side of the buckle on my Northwave SBS shoes. Which i've used for a year. So i'd say this is a design flaw of the shoes. I do have my cleats facing outwards a little bit but nothing extreme. Who has their cleats perfectly straight ? Another thing i have removed my pedal washers (to save weight :) ) so that may have contributed to it somewhat.
Image

Is that a doval chainring?
If so, what do you think of it?


Yes it is. Its a 46t (13.5%) paired with a 33t stronglight inner ring. It's the newer MGLR version which has shifting ramps. i've not experienced any shifting or FD setup problems that have been reported on the older design. It shifts well with my DA FD and feels plenty stiff. Maybe not the stiffest but it doesnt have noticeable flex that i could feel.

It's the first time i've tried an oval ring. TBH i dont really know what to think of it or what i should be noticing from it. i dont feel any faster or it offers any saved energy. I've only tried 1 position so still need to experiment. Sometimes it can feel like the chainring is swept away at the bottom half of the pedal stroke. Which actually feels like a loss of power to me. Could be imagining it though. i have also felt some chain bobbing on occasion.

Most of the time it just feels like a normal chainring and i forget it's oval. Still early days only 100 miles but for now im not totally sure it offers any improvement for me. Maybe i will notice what it does when i switch back to a round ring. a neat design feature of the Doval rings is that you can fit them to any 5-arm or 4-arm chainset. The price was reasonably cheap for the 46/34t pair at £32 delivered from South Korea via ebay. Took around 2 weeks to arrive to the UK.

tmr5555
Posts: 356
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 12:13 am

by tmr5555

just snagged a set for 18 quid off the bay too 8-)
Do report back when you have more miles on them.
I want to believe, they make sense, but some of the claims seem like hyperbole.
we'll see...

by Weenie


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Marin
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Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

I ride 2 sets of Dovals and now 1 set Rotors, I like them.

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