Ciamillo Gravitas crank, review and poll

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What are the 2 most important things for you on a crank ?

-Design + stiffness
15
9%
-Design + weight
24
15%
-Design + price
8
5%
-Stiffness + weight
70
44%
-Stiffness + price
14
9%
-Weight + price
28
18%
 
Total votes: 159

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carbonLORD
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by carbonLORD

sedluk wrote:I have a friend that bought a pair and received them two weeks ago, he has already bent one of the arms. He is about 190 lbs and is known to be tough on bike parts. He is going with a different crankset. I saw them when he first received them, they looked good.


Just curious how one bends carbon? :noidea:
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sedluk
Posts: 412
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 3:10 am

by sedluk

I guess if you wanted to be more technical, I should have said the crank arm twisted.

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odin99
Posts: 157
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:46 pm

by odin99

i'm going to have to see some photographic evidence of these crank failures before i believe them.

Mimizk
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2012 1:35 am

by Mimizk

Hi,

I'm waiting for a set of new cranks for Vista Integral pedal system by Ciamillo.
I've promised with Ted that he must make it within this month.
So probably I will get the special cranks when the next month coming...

Last 20 days :D

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TrekUk
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Location: UK

by TrekUk

It doesn't matter if its mass produced or not, on the last page 2 products were posted to be lighter and have proven themselves to be reliable in the real world, who in the right mind would buy a new largely untested product that's heavier than a quality mass produced crank.

If you want this to sell it has to be lighter, or somewhat close to whats out there already. Unfortunatly I think is 8 pages of wasted time and it will never catch on as its heavier that whats available and untested in the real world.
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carbonLORD
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by carbonLORD

TrekUk wrote:It doesn't matter if its mass produced or not, on the last page 2 products were posted to be lighter and have proven themselves to be reliable in the real world, who in the right mind would buy a new largely untested product that's heavier than a quality mass produced crank.

If you want this to sell it has to be lighter, or somewhat close to whats out there already. (spell check---->) Unfortunatly I think is 8 pages of wasted time and it will never catch on as its heavier that whats available and untested in the real world.


That is true, if you want to run a Sram crank and save 20g. I personally don't as it would not match or work on the two builds I have using Campy and Shimano components with a BB30 frame.

There will be customers who do not want to buy "off the rack" parts, (I don't buy complete bikes or suits that aren't tailor made, for example). There will be cyclists that want a matching set of brakes and a crank from a boutique US manufacturer to go with their Chris King US hubs, US made Enve wheels and (Tiwaneese, "designed" in the USA) frame sets.

There are some people who really like a Sram crank. Sram is right up the street from me, the cranks they produce however were not made right up the street from me... Just like Cannondale CAAD 10's, just like a lot of things these days. I choose to use something different that is not on dozens of bikes at every shop in the US.

Page 8 is unfortunately wasted on opinions (guilty as charged) but you and I are not the majority and we both have vastly different opinions as do the people who own and use this product.
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carbonLORD
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by carbonLORD

sedluk wrote:I guess if you wanted to be more technical, I should have said the crank arm twisted.


Yes, Its the WW forum, I do want you to be technical.

No more "my friend" stories.
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sedluk
Posts: 412
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 3:10 am

by sedluk

I have to admit to being a little puzzled by the responses to my post about a friend having trouble with his Ciamillo Gravitas crankset. Responses like “I'm going to have to see some photographic evidence of these crank failures before I believe them.” And “No more "my friend" stories.”

A little background. I ride with this friend regularly and we also go to the same gym and talk regularly. He lives a few blocks away. Last fall he asked me for advice on a new bike. As many on WW will know I ride mostly Cervelo road bikes. I explained to him all the reasons that I like Cervelo roads bikes and gave him a heads up when some of the European dealers were dumping R5 VWD framesets at 50% off. In a sense I talked him into buying one and I think I helped him get a great deal. He loves his new frameset. We also talked about wheelsets and he followed my recommendation and so far is happy with his new wheelset, time will tell. Given his preferences I suggested that he wait for the Shimano 11 speed even though I prefer Campy. He wanted some light aftermarket cranks and I suggested THM but did not try to talk him out of Ciamillo Gravitas crank. I just explained that I own their brakes but prefer other brakes on my new builds but mostly because Ax brakes are lighter. I explained that I do not have any experience, at the time no one had any experience with Ciamillo Gravitas cranks. That he was on his own with this one. When it came to building the bike I even loaned him a new Praxis ring set because they were not in stock (50/34), and they are still not in stock but will be shortly. I did not build the bike, we have one of the best professional mechanics in the area that we both use. I do most of my own work but he is always the guy that I go to when I need help.

My post was not intended to bash a product, just share an experience. I think both positive experiences and negative should be shared.

It is my feeling that the Ciamillo Gravitas cranks will succeed over time if they are a great product and will fail if they are not great product. I shared one experience because I thought that it might be useful, not to bash. I think it would be best for all of us if they are great products but time will tell.

If people with more knowledge of the past issues with these cranks and how they have performed over time would like to share their knowledge, I think we should all welcome that.

Given the response from others, this will be my last post on these cranks, good luck to all.

RudyMontana
Posts: 65
Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2012 4:17 am

by RudyMontana

FWIW I appreciate you sharing. As you mentioned good AND bad experiences are good to read and help us form a more rounded opinion on a product.


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runner999
Posts: 316
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:01 am
Location: Bay State

by runner999

I've put about 300 very hilly miles on my Gravitas Cranks with Praxis rings and so far have had zero issues and very pleased with them. They are definitely stiff enough and the Praxis rings are a good match for this setup. Chain line is spot on my bike and shifting is flawless. Installation was fairly straight forward if you’ve installed Vuma Quad’s or Hollowgram cranks. The only thing that could stand improvement is set of decent instructions and a better shim kit. Fortunately I have a collection of shims and the know how so it wasn’t an issue. Are they worth the money, depends on what you're after? I paid $1000 for the Vuma Quads when they came out and Clavicula’s and THM M3’s aren’t cheap either which were also on my short list.

I'd like to see Jason from Fairwheel Bikes do a test review on them.

Note to Jason: Is it possible to periodically amend your crank review when other cranks become available for testing? I think we’d all like to know how these cranks stack up to the competition.

gleason
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 5:39 am

by gleason

The third revision of the gravitas crankset came out today and the best part about it is the Bike Rumor comment section on it. Check it out if you need a good laugh.
http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/07/15/cia ... -in-white/

jumpman
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:39 am

by jumpman

Hi Guys

Quick question. I have the Ciamillo crankset but on my production batch the spider was slightly warped. i have contacted Ted and although he's promised a replacement, it still hasnt appeared.

I have another road trip coming up (i've already had to pull it off and put my Cannondale SISL back on for a previous trip) and was wondering if there is another spider from another brand that I could use instead else pulling the whole thing off again and just going with a SISL2 setup and ditching this altogether.

As much I like the products, I'm currently alittle hung out to dry.
2011 Cannondale Evo Team, SRAM Red, Corima MCC on Conti comps, Ciamillo Carbon Zero G(taken off all Ciamillo crap), Look Keo Carbon, 3T ARX Ltd stem, Carbon Ti skewers

elfuinha
Posts: 723
Joined: Sun Aug 08, 2010 10:18 pm

by elfuinha

jumpman wrote:Hi Guys

Quick question. I have the Ciamillo crankset but on my production batch the spider was slightly warped.


deformed in what way.

can you add pictures

i've also order a Crank almost 3 weeks ago, so the delivery date is this Monday.

i know that Ted is working in a new spider adressing the contact of the spider with the chainrings, so it will have cleaner lines between spider and the chainring.

let's wait and see.

jumpman
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:39 am

by jumpman

Visually, its hard to see but when you spin the crank, you can see it and feel it moving.
2011 Cannondale Evo Team, SRAM Red, Corima MCC on Conti comps, Ciamillo Carbon Zero G(taken off all Ciamillo crap), Look Keo Carbon, 3T ARX Ltd stem, Carbon Ti skewers

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ZeroG
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by ZeroG

Jumpman,

The new spiders are bolt-on to the revision 3. Please email me and we can discuss your options.
tciamillo@gmail.com

Thanks,
Ted

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