I have seen pictures of it in magazine and forum, for those of you who add a chance to put your hands on it, what do you think? I’m seriously thinking getting one but I want to get some feedback first.
To be honest, my first thought about it is “why?” Unless I’m mistaken, it’s not much lighter than the current D/A crank and is going to run $1200. Why not buy a Zipp Vuma instead? Lighter and at least every bit as stiff if not stiffer.
Why is exactly what i thought the first time i saw them the spec then the price. They don’t gain you anything but cost. Rumor has it they’re a dead project and won’t be around for 2009.
The guys at my LBS are completely infatuated with them. Then again, they won’t be paying the full retail. I personally think they are priced about 100% too high, but what do I know? (rhetorical!)
Good to know. yesterday I ordered a normal dura ace crankset for $250 shipped for probikekit.com
Good call if you HAVE to have ShimaNO 
That carbon one looks cool, and I’m willing to pay a little premium for looks, but this is a bit overboard even for me.
I think a better argument might be the SRAM Red crank. The Vumas are having a fair number of quality issues according to the guy that owns the local tri shop.
I got to play around with a Red crankset that was going on a custom Serotta last week. I don’t know what the total effect is, but the bottom bracket spins incredibly freely with those ceramic bearings! Plus, it just looks SO nice…
It’s the same ugly shape as the original just black.
I raced with Wayne Stetina (Shimano VP) late last summer and he had a set on. They sure looked nice, but as the other posters eluded to, I would definitely go with the Zipp cranks instead for the same price. They are only marginally lighter and only 10% stiffer so I was told. I can’t imagine they would sell too many of these things.
That’s good to know. I haven’t run across anyone with the Vuma cranks yet.
I have a set of Vuma’s. They are very nice. The q-factor is very narrow, which gives you a lot more options in terms of cleat width. Shifting is great. It’s also really nice to be able to run a 53/39 or 50/34 on the same crankset.
It’s also really nice to be able to run a 53/39 or 50/34 on the same crankset.
I didn’t know that was a possibility, good to know now!
Yes, the Vuma uses proprietary 4-bolt rings. But Zipp makes both the 53/39 and 50/34 pairs of rings.
Does it seem extremely durable? I’m only asking that because I’m thinking of spending the summer building a no-holds-barred 'cross bike…maybe. It’s an idea I’ve been kicking around.
And what better than a ridiculously killer bike under a cat 4 rider?! LOL
EDIT: It’s distributed by QBP, right? What’s their retail?
I don’t know who distributes for Zipp.
But yes, I think they are very durable. There are a handful of folks out there who have built no-holds-barred single-speed MTB’s using them. You can make a VERY light SS using these, so I’d say they’d be more than fine for 'cross racing.
Retail is $1000 for crank + BB with regular bearings; $1200 if you want the ceramic bearing upgrade.
Thanks for all of the info.
I’d love to see these on a carbon HT build!! What’s the difference, if any, in BB and spindle length between a road and MTB crankset? What has to be changed?
According to another post on this forum, DA in 2009 is going to have a lighter, “better” aluminum crankset. Does this become the next Shimano “threaded headset” to which they clung tenaciously while others made money on the threadless headset, or does the consumer finally realize that carbon is not the best material for every application. Carbon in a crankset is just not necessary. Shimano clung to the idea that everyone want 53/39 as the only chainring option as well, but the rumor was that 2009 DA would also be available in 110mm bolt circle.
Chad
Not sure it shoes that Carbon is not good for cranks, as so much as shimano doesn’t have much knowledge in the area to bring to cranks. They managed to make one of the most expensive cranks on the market, that has no advantage over most high end cranks carbon or Al.
From what i heard they got in over their heads, on the cranks. Most of their rim knowledge was bought.
**What real benefit does carbon add in a crankset? Carbon cranksets are simply fulfilling the consumer wish to have carbon. Time will tell if consumer wishes prevail over good sense. It is pretty hard to complain about rising prices when the consumer simply has to have carbon fiber and making new stuff with carbon fiber is expensive.
Chad