I just installed a set of compact cranks on my tri bike and went for a test ride. My fear was that I would lose my top end, it turned out to be unfounded. I used a 11-21 dA cassette and a 50/34 crank instead of my old 54/42. The difference is now on the flats to rolling hills I am right in the middle of the cluster, with most of my shifting being one tooth at a time instead of two tooth jumps. That is way easier for me on the hills and I found my target cadence of 85-95 was much easier to maintain. I also lose nothing down hill as I went from 12 to 11 on the cassette. I actually pick up 3 gear inches there. I also use 650c wheels. I used a Nashbar crankset for the experiment, it looks pretty nice, a keeper. It is ISIS though so I had to buy a new BB tool. the total cost, 150.00, not bad. Only buy the Truvativ BB tool they recommend, even the Park tool is no good.
Compacts rule. Unless I move to some totally level plateau I’m never going back.
So far I agree with you. I am doing my 1st race on them this Sunday. I don’t care what the terrain is as now I am prepared for just about anything with only 1 set of rings, I cannot believe I did not do this earlier. I was also suprised by the quality of the aftermarket cranks from Nashbar.
I was also suprised by the quality of the aftermarket cranks from Nashbar.
I have it on fairly good authority that the Nashbar compact cranks are manufactured by FSA
.
FSA, or, more accurately, Tien Hsien (TH) makes cranks for just about everybody, including Nashbar and Ritchey. They also make stems and other products for many of the Italian companies, including the Groupo companies. They make just about every headset you see, and they make lots of other little widgets, like the guts for GT I-drive MTBs.
If your cranks say “TH” in little tiny letters on the back, you will know for sure.
are the nashbar cranks compatible with the shimano ultegra bottom bracket? or do i have to buy a new bb as well if i get these cranks?
They require an ISIS bottom bracket. I got a new FSA one off eBay. But I needed an Italian one so it was cheap.
You can get an FSA Energy set that is Octalink compatible for about the same money as buying the Nashbar set and an ISIS BB.
That is true, but I wanted to try out the Isis BB. The differences between it and Ultegra are: weight, pretty much the same, spline contanact area on Isis looks to be about 3 times greater, the cup and drive side threads are about 1/4 inch deeper. So if the bearings from Truvativ are as good it should be well worth the $50 investment. The only negative is that with the deep threads,having their BB tool and a 15" long 1/2 inch drive ratchet is a must. The Park tool that looks like a wrench with litte barbs to fit in the outside of the BB notches will not hold. The good news is the tool from Truvativ only cost me $11.
I have one of the new ISIS BB from American Classic. It is superlight. 140 grams or something silly. It seems to work. I installed it with the Truvativ tool as well. I had no problem.
All of the ISIS BB have a bad reputation for reliability over time. It remains to be seen how the American Classic will hold up. I was too scared of it to take on my cross country trip. I stayed with the tried and true Campy BB for that.
The Truvativ BB I installed is a newer one called a fire team SL. It looks beefier than the others I have seen, its no where near as light as the one you installed. I guess time will tell as to whether it will last. At least its sealed bearings and the mountain bike guys I talk to swear by them. I figure they beat the things up alot more than me and I only weigh 145 lbs. I just rode on the new cranks again, if anyone wants a set of 54/42 TA DA rings or some 130mm carbon cranks they will be on EBAY next week.
So lets see if I got this right. Nashbar crank $69.95, BB tool $11.00, and bottom bracket $50.00? I dont see the Truvatv BB tool on Nashbar. Is that where you got it?
Dave
I got mine at aebike.com. You have to look around for it, but you will find it. It works fine. I haven’t tried any others.
Those prices seem about right.
I actually got the BB tool locally from Ken at Bike Lane here in Houston for $12. A little plug for him, he is a great guy and one of the best wrenches I have ever met. When I have a question he always has the right answer. 281-440-6100.
That is it.
I just got done my 1st race on these things. I cannot tell you how fresh my legs were for the run. I had a respectable 37:12 bike split for 13.3 miles and ran about 20 seconds a mile faster than my last time on this same course, and today was much hotter. My cadence was on avg. 5 RPM’s faster than usual and my speed about the same. I found the hills easier to navigate though I’m still learning to spin instead of mash. So far, so good.
I have mixed feelings about mine (FSA carbon).
The negative: Yes, I can ride an easier gear up hills, but I am no faster up said hills, and in fact, maybe slower. On the flats, I now have to ride in the big chain ring all the time since any gearing in the small chain ring on the flats had me spinning like a hampster on a wheel. (I ride much more like Jan than Lance.) I’ve definitely lost the good top end in the big chain ring (though I can still kick butt on the sprints without it).
The good: Got rid of the shifting issues I’d been having. I’d had a couple of gears on the small chain ring that I couldn’t even ride in due to skipping and my LBS couldn’t figure out what the problem was. They look very cool.
clm