Just got these pictures from our Shimano rep. Carbon 7800 cranks, debuting at Eurobike. No word on pricing. Part number is 7800C specifically.
One question: Why?
IMHO it looks like crap, but hey carbon carbon carbon!
Carbon for the sake of carbon…
I agree. It doesn’t look nearly as good as the aluminum version.
The thing I like most about the aluminum version is the way the cranks blend visually with the chainring, this doesn’t have that at all.
Answer: Weight.
The polished aluminium looks purdy, but SRAM, FSA and Campy are eating Shimano’s lunch when it comes to the weight of their Cranks.
My next crank is going to be a SRM anyway
But that’s a losing proposition with the new bladder free contruction of the K-Force Lite Crankset from FSA. With the aluminum spider necessary in the Shimano carbon crank and the supporting structures near the pedal mount this crankset will not be that much lighter than the aluminum version. Maybe 50-100 grams, but that’s nothing. It will, of course, cost a heckuva lot more, perhaps in the neighborhood of the K-Force Lite which comes with a Ceramic BB.
Why do you assume that this crank will be heavier than most carbon competitors? virtually all of them have some metal as support structure for pedals, bb and chainrings.
Styrrell
Maybe 50-100 grams, but that’s nothing. It will, of course, cost a heckuva lot more
Companies make fortunes selling products at 2X the cost for reducing the weight of a product by meaningless amounts.
Cyclists are not the most savvy customers when it comes to getting a return on investment. Triathletes are even worse.
The FSA K-Force Lite’s have an all carbon spider and arm. In other words, the are carbon monocoque with any leftover material left inside after layup.
It’s not a bad thing mind you, just an observation.
Bob
Agreed, but whatever, people can spend their money how they please and I’ll spend mine how I please. In the end, the more we spend, the less our kids will have to worry about estate taxes, right?
Bob
The FSA crank doesn’t have metal in the arm, but it does have metal at the pedal hole and the bb, just like the new DA crank . I’m not sure about at the chainring bolts, but I suspect it does there also.
Styrrell