Weight Weenies

Any experience with the '12 Force BB30? I think weight is around the mid 600g range. The SI is around that as well, right? I know the Hollowgram is the gold standard for BB30 but I can't help but think the Force will match my frame better. I guess I could always get the Hollogram arms powder coated. But ideally I could get a new Force crank for the same price as a used SI.

Any thoughts? Please set me straight.

sram force bb30, 645g without bottom bracket bearings. The hollow gram sisal i had, was 571 gram with bottom bracket bearings and everything. don't know the real weight of the bearings, but i would guess that the different in weight between those two is at least 120g. and the sisal is stiffer.
in what way would a black coloured force crankset match better then a black sisl?

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I can't contest to the weight.. but the SiSL is much stiffer.. I would prefer it.

JensW wrote:sram force bb30, 645g without bottom bracket bearings. The hollow gram sisal i had, was 571 gram with bottom bracket bearings and everything. don't know the real weight of the bearings, but i would guess that the different in weight between those two is at least 120g. and the sisal is stiffer.
in what way would a black coloured force crankset match better then a black sisl?

Thanks guys but I am talking about the Hollowgram SI not the Hollowgram SISL. SI only comes in silver arms from what I have seen on the used market. This is not about the more expensive and current SISL.

Yes the black Force would match better than the silver crank arms SI. But I could potentially get them powdercoated.

the SI and the SISL should have equal stiffness, the SI can be anodized black; nice side-effect is that the cannondale logo's turn out 'ghosted'

Si every day. Had a Force 170mm with 39/50 rings before. around 690 with bearings. My Hollowgram SL 172,5 is around 590. And SI is not so much heavier, like 30g? Force is really good but compared to a Hollowgram it's just boring

cerro wrote:Si every day. Had a Force 170mm with 39/50 rings before. around 690 with bearings. My Hollowgram SL 172,5 is around 590. And SI is not so much heavier, like 30g? Force is really good but compared to a Hollowgram it's just boring

I was going off of this old but goodie thread about SI vs. SISL thread: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=67162&hilit=hollowgram&start=15

In there members were saying the SI was 660g with everything and the SISL is 580g with everything (80g difference). Since the Force BB30 is around 690g with everything, it looks like a difference of 30g. But I agree that the Hollowgram is more unique and is a better crank overall. One of the reasons I am looking for a nicely used one. Just need to figure out how to make it match the frame a little better. Which goes to the post below now.

buikpijn wrote:the SI and the SISL should have equal stiffness, the SI can be anodized black; nice side-effect is that the cannondale logo's turn out 'ghosted'

The SISL is slightly stiffer than the SI from what I have read? But the SI will be plenty stiff for me. That is for sure.

Do you have any pictures of a SI crank that has been anodized black? Would it turn out to look similar to the black SISL crank, just the letters will look ghosted? I don't know much, but I figure my two options are to anodize or powder coat them. Powder coat seems to offer a little more resistance to scratches and provide longer durability but will need to be baked. From my understanding anodizing is a form of aluminum oxide that is applied using electrolysis vs powder coating using an electric charge to make the powder stick to the part and then baked in an oven.

From my understanding the powder coating will provide a better surface coating to protect it.

I would prefer anodizing over powdercoating. the epoxy used for bonding the cranks together don't suffer from the acids as used in the anodize bath, but the high temperature of the baking might affect it.
I can send you an email with the pic, just PM me your email address.

From what i've read/understood the SI and SISL use the same alloy, and from my best understanding the SI and SISL are equal in stiffness. While the SISL is relative stiffer, due to the smaller amount of used material.

tranzformer wrote:From my understanding the powder coating will provide a better surface coating to protect it.

Other way around.
Anodizing is a surface treatment. Powdercoating is just a surface coating.

And anodising with be lighter too

Most the comments from people here are saying the Cannondale are stiffer, which they may well be... but like anyone here can REALLY feel the difference in stiffness between the two cranks. It's not physically possible to feel such a minuet difference in stiffness between two cranks that are already far stiffer than any of us here could try to flex.

Anyway... Stiffness and weight aside... I still think the new SRAM cranks are aesthetically better looking. I'd personally go for what looks great, because in the end... saving a few grams won't make you "faster"

actually, every gram saved makes you go faster, uphill. But that's not what i'm saying; i'm saying the SI and SISL have an equal stiffness.

I switched from the carbon SI cranks to the aluminum SI cranks, and the flex on the front chainrings (using the same rings) is way less than it was with the carbon ones. The entire setup is noticeable smaller too. (q-factor) That helps for stiffness too.

I've owned SRAM Red BB30/ Rotor 3D/ Cannondale Carbon Si....and the Hollowgram SiSL is still superior, in every way. I'd say the Rotor 3D came closest...but the Q factor is not quite as ideal as the SiSL.

Cannondale still has drivetrain science down to an art form....

Zachariah wrote:Cannondale still has drivetrain science down to an art form....

These people have always made the best chainsets: http://www.stronglight.com/stronglight/ ... =HelioBB30

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