# Best lightweight DH crankset



## godfather (Jun 28, 2009)

Looking for opinions/experience with lighter DH cranks. I'm 6', 155 pounds, and usually pretty esy on gear. What have you used, liked, disliked?


----------



## climbingbubba (Jan 10, 2007)

you are going to have to help us out a little more. the biggest question is 73mm or 83mm BB

83 - gravity lites
73 - XTR or XT

not really DH cranks but i weigh 185 with gear and have hit and shorted plenty of gaps on my XT cranks.


----------



## godfather (Jun 28, 2009)

83mm


----------



## Ojai Bicyclist (Nov 4, 2005)

Saint. Don't bother with Gravity Lights, I've seen SO many bent pairs. Or, get super-trick and get the "touring" XT cranks and modify them for an 83mm BB. I would just stick with Saints though.


----------



## Nick_M2R (Oct 18, 2008)

RaceFace Atlas FR's, strong, light, and come in a sweet range of ano colours


----------



## Sneeck (Jun 13, 2007)

Middleburn RS7. Lifetime warranty for dh'ing and stuff.

Ok its not really a downhill bike, but I run them since a few months on my banshee amp dirtjump bike and love them, very stiff, and if you notice anything with a hardtail is how stiff crank's are. With race face signature downhill bb and uno sprocket(32 direct mount) they weigh a hair under 800 gram's, so if you want to go with the 4 arm spider and run 38 sprockets they will be a tad heavier but not that much.

IMHO saints are way to overkill for dh bikes since you got a boatload of suspension cushioning the hard impacts. Thats how people get away with using xt in the first place, you don't see those crank's on street bikes.


----------



## Uncle Cliffy (Jul 7, 2006)

Sneeck said:


> IMHO saints are way to overkill for dh bikes since you got a boatload of suspension cushioning the hard impacts. Thats how people get away with using xt in the first place, you don't see those crank's on street bikes.


I see your point, but you're forgetting about all the rocks and botched pedal-down landings that Saints will survive and others wont.


----------



## Rb (Feb 28, 2007)

Sneeck said:


> Middleburn RS7. Lifetime warranty for dh'ing and stuff.





> *Warranty excludes tapers, splines and threads.


http://www.middleburn.co.uk/cranks_rs7.php

Shimano Saint is the way to go.


----------



## Bryguy17 (May 19, 2007)

saints would be my normal choice. not too much heavier than gravity lites, but a lot stronger IMO. Seeing as it's very low, and centrally located on the bike, it won't really affect flickability so much as other things (wheels, fork, etc). that means I don't really mind running a heavier crankset.

if I need a lighter setup, I'd probably go with ISIS middleburns, or modded XTs


----------



## HTFR (Jan 11, 2007)

If I had the cash I would run Saints. I have Gravity lights. I weight in at 165 and have'nt had a problem. I can say that they do flex a fair amount from time to time. Also, I dont like to do bigger jumps I try to keep it on the ground.. If you dont have a lot of cash go with the G-lights if thats not the case Saints for sure.


----------



## linusplatt (Oct 20, 2007)

RF Atlas FR's are my choice


----------



## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

Saints.....the gold standard in cranks and lighter this year.....I got mine for 235 on ebay


----------



## Sneeck (Jun 13, 2007)

Uncle Cliffy said:


> I see your point, but you're forgetting about all the rocks and botched pedal-down landings that Saints will survive and others wont.


Well rocks are a bit of an pain in the arsche, but pedal-down landings are all rider error. Everybody got a "strong foot" which they keep in front when dropping, I wouldn't want to exclude them for that reason. It seems to me that you can figure out what will happend when you land foot down on a full suspension bike...

The limit in guarantee is logical. There are still alot of tools out there who can't figure out what the hell coppergrease is for and how to properly install thing's. The interface used is plenty strong to withstand some propper abuse without problem's.


----------



## stgil888 (Jun 19, 2004)

What frame are the cranks going on? Certain crank/frame/chainguide combos don't work out as well as others. 

Off topic, especially in a threat about light cranks where I don't give a suggestion, but be careful with light cranks. When I build a bike, I think about the possibilities if a certain part were to break, and the likelihood of that happening. This is all imaginary, and I don't have any lab tests or data to back it up, but I'm more scared of a crankarm breaking than a seatpost bending or seat rails folding. On my bikes, I go stronger on the parts where I imagine a catastrophic failure would lead to severe injuries. It's not good when anything on your bike breaks, I've gotten messed up by a snapped chain, but having a crankarm tear off can't be good. 

If you can make them work, I'd try XT's, as other users have said. They're stiffer than their weight would suggest, which is something I notice at 245 lbs.


----------



## godfather (Jun 28, 2009)

The frame is a Jedi F1 and it looks like I have a set of Saints on the way! Should hold up plenty good under my 150 pounds.


----------



## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Sneeck said:


> Middleburn RS7. Lifetime warranty for dh'ing and stuff..


A lifetime warrenty is nice and all, but there's no way a solid design like the RS7s will have anywhere near the stiffness/strength to weight ratio of something like the Saints, or even XTs.


----------



## Raptordude (Mar 30, 2004)

I say Saints. A friend of mine bent a pair of Gravity Lights. For some reason on his new rig he bought another pair...

Don't be fooled by Holzfeller OCT's. I have a pair, and the cranks themselves are really light, the bottom bracket for them is heavy as crap.


----------



## juanbeegas (Oct 1, 2007)

Jayem said:


> A lifetime warrenty is nice and all, but there's no way a solid design like the RS7s will have anywhere near the stiffness/strength to weight ratio of something like the Saints, or even XTs.


That's kinda interesting to read, as I'm currently looking at new cranks and the RS7 is at the top of my list. May I know how you came about your info, or what you're basing your opinion on?


----------



## Nick_M2R (Oct 18, 2008)

Im willing to bet that the hollow forged saints will be alot stiffer than RS7, not to mention the axle and BB will probably stiffer


----------



## juanbeegas (Oct 1, 2007)

How well do you think they'd stand up to a real lightweight rider, such as myself? 5'11" 120lbs.


----------



## Sneeck (Jun 13, 2007)

The RS7's are very freaking stiff for what they weigh(note the 430 gram arms only) 

It's just a matter of souplese as well, if you don't use your knees you will probably feel them flex when dropping off a cliff, but I bet allot of dh'ers don't do this cause they got suspension? Like I said I run them on a dirtjump/ street hardtail and when dropping down a meter high wall I don't feel any flex, i'd say stiffer cranks don't matter that much on downhill bike's. Only for gate start's probably.

I seriously encourage anyone to atleast get a chance to test them on someone else's bike.


----------



## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

The reason why Hollowtech pwns:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_moment_of_area


----------



## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

Saint M810.


----------

