Chinese Carbon Cranksets

[jamesbass]

I have searched but been unable to find much discussion on these.

What is the verdict? Safe or not?

Most claim 430-550g and for around $100 - $150 USD.

Just seems too good to be true but I'm open to ideas.

Examples:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/104-110mm-BC ... 3226350044
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Smilete ... 12768.html

Someone on a MTB forum managed to trash them on the first ride:
http://forums.mtbr.com/weight-weenies/c ... 12181.html
But it's unclear if they were correctly installed.

I'm thinking of buying some to test on my indoor trainer bike. If they can handle the forces on there I will move them to the light bike, which is currently weighed down by a heavy SRM system.

[topflightpro]

Trainer seems like a smarter option than the road, but I don't think I'd touch these with a 39.5 foot pole.

A used set of older Hollowgrams aren't that much heavier or more expensive.

[AJS914]

I wouldn't touch one of these either. If you want to do a carbon crankset on a budget then I'd look for a used Sram RED or Campagnolo crank.

[Powerful Pete]

Whoa. Let others be the early adopters, and then see what works. Honestly...

[alcatraz]

These cranks are sold for 60-70usd in china. They are available for weight weenies/carbon enthusiasts that don't want to pay much.

Problem is they aren't ready for heavy powerful westerners. Most chinese are on average lighter and mostly cruise around. Not trashing the stuff.

They probably wouldn't buy a crank like this thinking you could either

I'm sure though that given some time they will be fine. The only way to stay in business is to supply value so and if they break easy they are useless so.

/a

[jamesbass]

Hmm. Yeah.

Maybe i'll take a gamble on the turbo. I'm only 55kg right now and can't sprint to save my life.

There haven't been many early adopters that I can see but it looks like these have been sold for years. Maybe everyone's as reluctant as me.

If I get them, i'll let you know how it goes. Ultimately, I would be looking to thrash the hell out of them on my light bike so we'll see what happens over winter...

[stockae92]

I still think carbon component got more to do with how it was built and how to verified it was built correctly, more so than what kind of carbon it is.

I am not brave enough to put them to test. These are manufacturer / seller that doesn't rely on building up any kind of brand name or positive reputation ...

[jamesbass]

I still think carbon component got more to do with how it was built and how to verified it was built correctly, more so than what kind of carbon it is.

Wise words.

On reflection, it looks like there are about 10 Chinese manufacturers of these products. I will message each of them first to ask if they have any real world testing data or if they will allow me to use a purchase as a test subject on the turbo for 6 months, subject to a full refund if a failure occurs. If anyone allows this, I will create some kind of testing proceedure and make it all public here.