Road Cycling - Can anyone recommend a crankset?

I am currently riding a Cannondale R2000 with full Ultegra group. I like the ride very much but was wondering if I could improve my ride a bit with an upgraded crank. I climb pretty well and want to improve. I have been considering one of the FSA carbon cranks but have also been considering the slightly heavier Dura Ace crank. I dont have the bucks for the shifters or anything else at this point and thought that the crank would be the best upgrade for the money. Am currently riding on the Ksyrium SSL's. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Save your money! Sure the fsa and dura ace cranks are cool, a little lighter, but will it really get you up the hill? Maybe a few seconds. Saving on rotational weight is like saving twice the weight, but that's on the wheels because the rotation of the rim and tire is a good distance from the hub, this is not the case for the cranks. The ultegra crank is a pretty nice performing crank.

Other ways to save weight: use lighter tires, dump your extra water before a big climb (be sure to drink what you need and save some of the water), wear less (so what if it cold out, suck it up). :p

I am currently riding a Cannondale R2000 with full Ultegra group. I like the ride very much but was wondering if I could improve my ride a bit with an upgraded crank. I climb pretty well and want to improve. I have been considering one of the FSA carbon cranks but have also been considering the slightly heavier Dura Ace crank. I dont have the bucks for the shifters or anything else at this point and thought that the crank would be the best upgrade for the money. Am currently riding on the Ksyrium SSL's. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I doubt you'll notice any difference between the different cranksets. With that being said, carbon FSA cranks are a nice pimpy add-on. On the Chi Chi scale they rank hi in bang for the buck

In the bang for the buck column the return is very small. 88 grams is a stop at a roadside tree. But, the FSA cranks sure do look really cool.

Changing cranks to climb faster??? Save a few grams? How about doing hill repeats every week...maybe twice a week.

However, from a reliability standpoint...your Shimano cranks are just fine. Some of the pimps on my regular ride have the new Dura Ace 10 speed set up....looks like the Q factor may be a little wide.

Stuff to stay away from: Mavic cranks (broke 2). Also cracked an old Record crank.

How much do you weight? If under 200lbs, best way to a better climb is lighter wheels like American Classic CR-350; better yet go tubular.

Uh, never mind you said you didn't have the bucks.

Still riding tubulars? My Gawd....

Set of Mavic Ksyriums Elites will speed you up... $450 on ebay brand new!

I think simply changing your bar tape color will make you a better climber. It's a lot cheaper than swapping cranks.

Going from Ksyrium SSLs to Ksyrium Elites would be a downgrade...

I think simply changing your bar tape color will make you a better climber. It's a lot cheaper than swapping cranks.

I changed mine from black to red/white/green and now I am superfast!

I am currently riding a Cannondale R2000 with full Ultegra group. I like the ride very much but was wondering if I could improve my ride a bit with an upgraded crank. I climb pretty well and want to improve. I have been considering one of the FSA carbon cranks but have also been considering the slightly heavier Dura Ace crank. I dont have the bucks for the shifters or anything else at this point and thought that the crank would be the best upgrade for the money. Am currently riding on the Ksyrium SSL's. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm changing from 172.5 Dura Ace to 170 FSA. My new FSA crank set should arrive in a couple of days. Yeah their lighter, but not that much. I got them new on ebay for $238 (includes shipping), not too bad a deal...and depending on where you shop they're not much more than a new D/A crankset. My D/As were too long, I couldn't get comfy with them so I put some old 170 Ultegras on and I was back in riding comfort. Problem is these Ultegra cranks belong on my tandem and mama wants to ride too! I read somewhere that a rider really liked the way they felt while riding, the carbon soaked up a lot of road vibration and that they were much stiffer (responsive) than his D/A cranks...When I get some miles on mine, I'll let you know if they're worth the change ($$).

I think you should just wear a white jersey with large red polkadots!

Changing cranks to climb faster??? Save a few grams? How about doing hill repeats every week...maybe twice a week.

seconded. climb more hills, sprint for longer periods of time (i like to do 30secs all out, full bore sprint, then 60secs relax, wind down, then 30secs all out...repeat until you're wheazing, then ride another 10 miles).

you can't buy speed or climbing ability. it has to be earned. new cranks won't help you climb better/faster, unless you're upgrading from like, 1985 dura ace to 2004 fsa gossamers or something...

[QUOTE=Gus Riley...When I get some miles on mine, I'll let you know if they're worth the change ($$).[/QUOTE]

Okay, I have 200 plus miles on my new FSA cranks and I can tell you (unlike some of these riders who have never experienced them) they are great! I climb better, they feel a whole lot lighter, and a lot of road vibration is gone. For a bit more than Dura Ace cranks would have cost me, they are worth it! Go for it, you won't be disappointed!

i was also looking for a new crank (fsa) i was wondering whats better for what double or triple cranks

I agree with others who say to first look at upgrading the wheels. However, if you're really intent in investing in new cranks then I don't think you can go wrong with FSA. They look sharp, perform solidly and are reasonably priced for high end cranks.

I really love my FSA cranks. I have the older Carbon Pros as opposed to the newer Carbon Pro Teams. Mine don't have carbon spiders like the Teams. However, I have also begun lusting over the new Stronglight Pulsions (http://www.zefal.com/stronglight/page.php?nom=produit&keyProd=pulsion).

http://www.zefal.com/stronglight/BASES/PRODUIT/image/prodPulsionImage.jpg

They're on my list for my next upgrade. Unfortunately, they're also around $100 more than the FSA Carbon Pro Teams. They're still half the price of the Campy Record Carbon cranks though. ;)

Still riding tubulars? My Gawd....

Set of Mavic Ksyriums Elites will speed you up... $450 on ebay brand new!
To heavy for hills.