I’m thinking of replacing my ultegra cranks with fsa pro carbon team. is the upgrade worth 250.00?
the ultegra chainrings are worn down, so at minimum i need to replace those.
i’m not very educated on installing cranks, so i wasn’t sure if i’d need additional equipment (bb, ect.)
not sure if fit is an issue either. i currently have a 2002 p2k ultegra 9speed.
how often does everyone change cassettes? chains?
Dave, although I’m never really averse to spending $$ on bike parts that I like…I think it is exceedingly difficult to justify the $250 for the carbon cranks, in pure performance terms. Your Ultegra cranks are perfectly fine, and will give you many more years of service. You can replace the chainrings for about $40. I’d go that route. But, going back to my original statement…hey…if you WANT them…don’t let justification hold you back…they probably aren’t going to be WORSE than your Ultegra cranks.
As far as chains and cassettes…that really depends on how clean you keep your drivetrain. If you clean it once in a blue moon, when the squeaking gets so bad your riding buddies get on you about it…then your chain is going to be suffering at 1500 miles…and your cassette maybe double that. If you’re an anal retentive Marine like me and clean your drivetrain every week, and even more often when the weather is crappy…then you can probably triple or even quadruple those values, with the chains being more limited in durability than cassettes. Most folks probably fall somewhere in the middle…
Buy a chain checker and you’ll know exactly when you replace your chain. If you haven’t kept up on it, you may need to replace your chain rings, chain, and cassette all at once.
“Is it worth $250?” hmmm, that depends on how you determine value. Certainly you’ll go no faster with carbon cranks but you’ll gain much valued (for some) style points. I replaced my Dura-Ace cranks with FSA carbon cranks last year on my time trial bike and one thing you may want to think about is your Q-factor (distance between the crankarms). I can absolutely guarantee that my Q-factor increased with the switch. Some will like a larger Q, others will prefer a Q that is more narrow. It’s personal preference. Although I like the LOOK of the carbon, I will probably switch back to the narrow Q Dura-Ace cranks as it’s easier to get a “knees in” position when I’m aero.
Also, if you’re going from Shimano to FSA I can almost guarantee you’ll have to get a new BB as well as most recent Shimano cranks are Octalink and the FSA’s are most likely Isis. Like my old boss used to say, “there are WANTS and there are NEEDS” which one is it for you? Unless you just want the look of carbon cranks, replacing your drivetrain (cassette, chain, chainrings) will make your rig ride like new and spend the bucks on something else that you want/need that will actually make you faster like a professional fitting, race wheels, new aero bars, bike overhaul etc.
Miguel in the 'No…El Tribato.
I wonder if anyone knows if the Q angle on the new Ultegra 10 cranks is the same as the 9-speed version?
Dave in VA
darn, i was hoping you would say - get them. the carbon would look so much cooler on my red bike.
thanks for the advice.
Hey…I never said there was anything wrong with the “cool” factor…I think Gopha would say “get them” if that’s the case!
Red bike?
This changes everything. Buy them dang it.