FSA Track Cranks

[drewjc]

Has Anybody had any expeience with FSA track cranks? I recently purchased a set and to my dismay they have quite a bit of movement between the carbon spider and the alloy crank arm. I sent the original set back but the new set has the exact same problem. This is quite frustrating as it feels like the bike is freewheeling for a fraction of a second each time i instinctively backpedal to get out of a sticky situation or when i have to stop. I know the cranks shouldnt do this but i was wondering if anybody else has this problem??? Maybe i should just get my money back and buy some tried and true Campag or Shimano versions.....

 

[nitrogenmustard]

are you sure that you dont have your chain too loose, cuz this makes it freewheel a little bit too.

 

[drewjc]

definitely not the chain mate. I have ridden track for about 15yrs and i know what a loose chain feels like. If u put ur weight on the cranks in a forward motion then do it again backwards u can actually see the carbon spider section move separate to the alloy crank arm. It only moves a few mm but it is amplified by the length of the crank arm, and it certainly isnt suppposed to happen.

 

[Lars Zahle]

definitely not the chain mate. I have ridden track for about 15yrs and i know what a loose chain feels like. If u put ur weight on the cranks in a forward motion then do it again backwards u can actually see the carbon spider section move separate to the alloy crank arm. It only moves a few mm but it is amplified by the length of the crank arm, and it certainly isnt suppposed to happen.

Hi drewjc

I have spoken to FSA in the US, they are aware of the problem and suggest that "we" sent them back to FSA or the dealer. It is not all Cranks that have the problem, and the 10 year warrenty should cover this for the ones which "do the thing"

 

[drewjc]

Cheers,
I have already sent one pair back to the dealer who got them replaced. The replacement set did the same thing. The shop has since "fixed" the problem with a method of their own (with approval from FSA apparently) and i have the cranks on my bike ready to use. Hopefully the repaired cranks dont play up again (it will prob be a while til i ride them with track season not coming til november-ish) because it seems the batch that got sent to Australia was a bad one........
I will keep you posted.

 

[Lars Zahle]

Cheers,
I have already sent one pair back to the dealer who got them replaced. The replacement set did the same thing. The shop has since "fixed" the problem with a method of their own (with approval from FSA apparently) and i have the cranks on my bike ready to use. Hopefully the repaired cranks dont play up again (it will prob be a while til i ride them with track season not coming til november-ish) because it seems the batch that got sent to Australia was a bad one........
I will keep you posted.

Please do, cause I'm inm during next week, purchasing min, hopefully it will work... btw what cranckarm lenghts would you recommend for TT like races on the track?

 

[hippy]

Carbon is strong enough for track cranks?

Is there enough weight saving to justify the cost?

Is there another benefit I've not considered?

hippy
"steel is real" ;-)

 

[drewjc]

Carbon is strong enough for track cranks?

Is there enough weight saving to justify the cost?

Is there another benefit I've not considered?

hippy
"steel is real" ;-)

Hippy, the cranks themselves are chromoly or alloy (i think) but definitely not carbon. It is only the spider section that the chainrings mount on to that is made of the black stuff. This "spider" is not in the usual star shape but a solid disc made from layed up carbon fibres. Obviously this is quite heavy being solid carbon and approx 5-6mm thick, but it is extremely stiff and strong (this is the benefit u havent considered, ie ridiculous stiffness at a weight that isnt ridiculous). The cost isnt much different to Record/Dura-Ace and weight isnt a huge deal on a track bike anyway (there are no hills on a velodrome). The trouble with my crankset is that the interface between crank-arm and spider is not machined to high enough tolerances and this section has some play in it which is quite disconcerting in a race, especially stop start situations.