The Crankset  |  Stats  |  Installation  
Road Test  |  Recommendation

Carbon Cranks . . . Visitors to this site know that we have been tracking down rumors for more than a year about the release of carbon fiber cranksets and brakes from Campagnolo. Rumors and photos of carbon fiber brakes last year turned out to be nothing more than standard Record brakes with a carbon-look-alike treatment, and despite numerous "sightings," no Campagnolo-made carbon crankset has yet emerged (although Bianchi and Pinarello are both showing top-of-the-line road machines with carbon cranks and Campy gruppos this year).

We're still hopeful.  Based on our observations, it makes sense that Campagnolo would offer a carbon fiber crankset for (at a minimum) the Record gruppo. Campagnolo is clearly using carbon fiber as an easily recognizable element of their top gruppo--look at any photo from the European peloton, and you can immediately spot the Campy-equipped bikes by the black carbon brake levers. When Record was expanded to include a carbon fiber seatpost and rear derailleur, it was pretty clear what was going on. (Our sources also tell us that Campagnolo prefers carbon fiber to titanium because it can make the carbon parts in-house, as opposed to farming out production--witness the demise of the Record titanium seatpost after only one year.) However, Campy has yet to introduce a carbon fiber crankset, the logical next step in the "carbonizing" of the Record gruppo.

So, when we caught wind of a Campagnolo-compatible crankset being marketed over the internet, we were intrigued. Carbon cranks have been on the market for a few years, but so far have been mostly aimed at the off-road market and the ShimaNO-using segment of the road market.

We contacted the retailer to ask about performing a road test, and a set was sent to us. Here, then, are the results of our ongoing testing:

The Crankset

Sabin West, aka "webmaster@campyonly.com," has been selling carbon cranksets over the internet for several years now--he reports to have sold more than 400 sets in the U.S. Most of those have have been ShimaNO-compatible road and market cranks, but he now offers a Campy-compatible version with Campy's 135mm chainring diameter.  Photo left: Crankset as advertised on the internet.

The Taiwan-made crankset consists of two carbon fiber crankarms; an alloy spider with a Campagnolo-compatible 135mm bolt circle is bolted to the inside of the righthand crankarm. At the present time, the cranks are only available in a 175mm length.  The photo at right shows the cranks installed on the Campy Only Merlin.

Under his agreement with the manufacturer, Sabin can't reveal the name of the crank's maker, but they are a well-know maker of carbon-fiber components. A quick tour of the mail-order catalogs in our mailbox found a striking similarity between these cranks and cranksets bearing the FSA brand name.  (Click here to see the FSA crankset on the Colorado Cyclist web site)

Inside the solid carbon arms is an alloy spine which does not impart strength, but ensures that the pedal threads and the mounting tapers are properly aligned. The arms feature a "matte" carbon finish--the weave in the carbon fiber is clearly visible, but without the gloss coat common on most carbon forks. 

The alloy spider is sharp-edged, and is treated with a light grey anodizing. The spider bolts to the back side of the crankarm; a fairly standard setup for many lightweight aftermarket cranksets. (More on the crankarm spider later . . . ) 

Combined with the somewhat beefy crankarms, the effect is one of hi-tech strength. Sabin offers a lifetime warranty against breakage, although he says none of the cranksets he has sold has yet failed.

The cranks come without chainrings or bolts; you can use your existing equipment or buy new rings and bolts.

One other note: Sabin's $225 price includes second-day shipping; for $5 more, he can send them COD via Federal Express.

Stats

We measured our Record crankset and found that Sabin's cranks exceed his advertised 2-ounce weight advantage. Our set weighed in at a total of 15.5 ounces (without chainrings)--2.6 ounces (73 grams) lighter than Campy's top road crank. Most of the weight loss is on the right-hand side, where Sabin's crankset enjoys a 1.6-ounce advantage.

Sabin advertises the crankset as being 20% stiffer than Campagnolo's alloy cranks. That's difficult to measure without sophisticated equipment, so we can't confirm or deny that claim (more later).

Installation

Installing the crankset is fairly strainghtforward. The bolt circle is indeed compatible with Campagnolo, and we easily switched over our existing chainrings to the new crankarms. The bolts that held our Record crank on the bottom bracket fit perfectly in the new arms.

(Note to Record crankset users: You'll need to buy one new chainring bolt to use this crankset. The fifth bolt on a Record crankset is unique, threading into the back of the crankarm. Also, you may want to buy a new 53T chainring--if you don't, the chain pickup pin will be out of phase with your crankarm, since the Sabin spider will shift your chainring 1/10th of a revolution from its position on the Record crankset. All of these parts are available at www.branfordbike.com, a Campy Only sponsor).

One installation glitch--which is likely our fault--made itself apparent fairly quickly. We had put about five miles on the crankset when it began making a loud creaking noise. A few miles later (still creaking), something felt funny, so we pulled over to check everything. The lefthand crankarm was totally loose, and the mounting bolt was almost ready to fall out. We stopped at a bike shop, where they tightened down the crankset far more than we had (although the torque we used has worked for years on standard alloy cranks). After that, no problems. Note to users: Tighten this crankset down a lot.

The second glitch took longer to appear, and was not our fault. This, in fact, could be easily characterized as a product flaw in the design of the crankarm spider. The flaw involves the height of mounting tabs to which the chainrings are bolted. The tabs on Sabin's cranks are about 1.5mm taller than the same part on a Campagnolo crankset. That's no big deal for the big chainring, but it causes problems when using a 39T inner ring. With a 39T inner ring, the mounting tabs are just high enough to keep the chain from fully engaging on some of the chainring's teeth. That tiny loss of engagement made itself apparent on a test ride up a wickedly steep local climb, where every out-of-the-saddle effort induced at least one violent "jumping" of the chain. We fixed the problem by filing down the tabs (see photo) with a Dremel tool, but it's a pretty important oversight (informed of the problem, Sabin said he would let the manufacturer know of the issue so that it could be fixed on future cranks). 

On an aesthetic note, the crank spider could also be revised to better match Campagnolo's chainrings--the ends of the spider arms are about 3mm wider than the mating portion of the chainring, and is about 1mm shallower (see photo). Neither discrepancy raises any strength or durability issues, but for up-close inspection, this should be changed.

Road Test

On the bike, the crankset performs as advertised. It's hard to tell if the advertised 20% increase in stiffness is accurate, but the cranks do feel stiffer. On the Campy Only test bike, we can still induce some flex in the crankset under maximum effort, but slightly less than with our Record crankset (and probably due to flex in Campagnolo's chainrings). The 2.5-ounce drop in weight in the crankarms also translates into a slight advantage over standard cranks, especially on long efforts. Basically, you're not lifting those ounces on the upstroke with each pedal revolution; on very long rides, that slight reduction adds up.

Our Recommendation

Would we recommend this crankset? The answer is a qualified "yes." If you're willing (and able) to spend a little time with a file (or wait for an updated crankarm spider), this crankset is in many ways superior to Campagnolo's alloy cranks, and it certainly points the way that Campagnolo may go with their own carbon parts (if and when they introduce them). At $225 (about $300 if you have to buy new chainrings), they're a relative bargain, and well worth the price.

For more information on these cranks, or to place an order, email Sabin at webmaster@campyonly.com