Carbon Cranks

i think the flex thing might be anecdotal, but I've never had carbon cranks

they seem to rate ok on this test, although not as good as Dura-Ace, but it's a Shimano-funded study 🙂

http://dura-ace.shimano.com/publish/content/duraace/en/home/the_product0/drive_train.ExtraMainContentPar.0017.File.tmp/VN-crank-results-web.pdf

my racing buddies here in Manila says FSA is light but flexes...go for the Campy Carbon....

trijicon said:

I was about to purchase the FSA carbon crank set, when someone mentoined "I heard carbon cranks flex and you loose power"

Is this statement true? What have you heard?

I just put on a FSA SLK Compact Crankset last Friday, I switched over from a Dura Ace 10 spd standard 53/39 set-up. On Sunday I hit the hills and climbed 7000' in 70 miles, a lot of sections were in the 15-17% range. While climbing out of the saddle on these sections I didn't notice anymore flex than using my Dura Ace set-up. The only thing I noticed was that I could actually keep my cadence up above 60 rpm on the steep stuff. I would guess that in a lab, carbon fiber probably does flex more than other materials, but probably only strong sprinters would be able to feel it.

here's a good, independent comparison. read it carefully. this was done some time ago, and today's cranks may vary slightly, but it'll still be in the ballpark. as pointed out, pro riders use fsa carbon cranks so I'm sure you'll be ok as far as stiffness. not a lot of difference between the bunch. tom demmerly has a good rep for commom sense testing and telling the truth.

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/crank.shtml

and for what it's worth, I've got fsa compact carbon on one bike and da10 on another, and I can't tell any difference in crank stiffness.

I have a pair of FSA Team Issue cranks on my crit bike and I love them. No flex that I can feel, plenty of power.

trijicon said:

I was about to purchase the FSA carbon crank set, when someone mentoined "I heard carbon cranks flex and you loose power"

Is this statement true? What have you heard?

Gosh....makes ya wonder about the moron pros using them doesn't it? 🙄 I'm sure there are some cheap ones that might.

I have an FSA triple and don't notice any flex. The middle chainring had a problem after I bought it (early 04) and they sent my LBS a newly design ring that keeps the chain from hopping. Buy their BB...

trijicon said:

I was about to purchase the FSA carbon crank set, when someone mentoined "I heard carbon cranks flex and you loose power"

Is this statement true? What have you heard?

I don't feel any flex or loss of power from my two FSA Superlight cranks. Mostly my frame would flex first.