Silly question time…
What’s the story regarding the cannondale carbon si cranks? Are SI cranks so fantastic that they should never ever be taken off? From a few previous posts, they sound like really good stuff but the bike I’m looking at for my wife has standard 53/39 rings and we really want compact cranks. Is the SI BB proprietary, needs to be replaced if changing the cranks? Any issues with replacing the both the cranks and BB?
Thanks!
K
Cannondale makes a carbon SI compact crank. Any chance you could get that put on the bike you are looking at?
Go with the compact Si’s. They’re great cranks - simple & effective design, lightweight, stiff, and the only crank that seems to make SRAM shift well up front (not that it’s an issue for you).
Shimano is testing a similar design with Scott USA for '07, and CDale is trying to get everyone on board with the Si design as a new standard. Good luck to them with that, I guess, but I like them.
The cranks are actually quite good but do require regular maintenance and very carful torque settings since the crank fixing bolts are actually alloy. They are fragile.
The cranks may develop a habit of loosening occasionally and this is why regular maintenance is required on them. Remember: This is racing equipment. It is optimized for performance and needs some frequent attention just like a race car engine does.
The SI crank and bottom bracket are proprietary and integrated. The frame is a threadless “press fit” installation of the bottom bracket. This needs to be done by an experienced mechanic who has (preferably) done it before and has the appropriate specialty tools available from Cannondale.
The aluminum crank is actually much nicer (and somewhat more expensive) than the carbon version. It is lighter, said to be stiffer and costs a few more bucks.
I just spoke to Cannondale to research your question and most sizes of carbon cranks are in stock but some of the core aluminum sizes are scheduled for middle of January delivery.