Tandem Cycling - Truvativ Elita Tandem Cranks ... how do they rate????

A previous poster used Truvativ Elita cranks on his new tandem. How do these cranks rate. Are they worth while in the spectrum of FSA Ultegra Sugino etc etc

Thanx in advance

Big H

They were stock on our tandem we bought last year (Burley Tosa). Ours came with black crank arms with matte silver chainrings. For personal aesthetic reasons not performance, I chose to replace the chainrings with black FSA chainrings. I think it looks sharp (less cheap), and makes our stock bike a little more personalized at minimal cost. The quality of the Truvativ Elita cranks seem very good, and we have not had any issues so far.

I know that this has nothing to do with your cranks, but what kind of seat pack are you using on your Burley. Is it big enough for a patch/tool kit, extra tube, etc? Thanks.

Seat pack is pretty big actually (no problem for that plus keys and cell phone). It is made by Jaand, and I got it at my LBS.

A previous poster used Truvativ Elita cranks on his new tandem. How do these cranks rate. Are they worth while in the spectrum of FSA Ultegra Sugino etc etc

Perhaps somewhere in between FSA's Gossamer & Shimano's Ultegra cranks. About $259 at Bultek Sports.

Just a couple reference marks for TruVativ:
Recently acquired by SRAM, who now also owns Avid & RockShox.

TruVativ rates the Elita cranks at "L2" in their heirarchy:

L1 = parts that are "Pro Level"
L2 = parts that are "Advanced Level"
L3 = parts that are "Enthusiast Level"
L4 = parts that are "Entry Level"

Burley's pretty good about using quality components on their products.

I'll tell you why I used them in building my tandem - PRICE, PRICE, PRICE.

Check out http://www.chucksbikes.com/store/ under cranks. I got both cranks (capt / stoker) AND 2 BB's for only $150.00!!! Same place I picked up the stoker stem and Ti Boom frame.

You cannot beat Chuck's for price on these. I'm pleased with their look, not having a chance to ride yet due to the snow.

Roadie Bob

You mentioned that Chucks Bikes stock these cranks. I got a fairly curt reply from him that he does not deal with South Africans. I got a rude reply back when I asked why. Even if he offers the cranks for free I will not deal with him in the future.

Big H

The ones I had on an 05 Cannondale used the ISIS BB,and I've had mucho trouble with ISIS BB's.

Roadie Bob

You mentioned that Chucks Bikes stock these cranks. I got a fairly curt reply from him that he does not deal with South Africans. I got a rude reply back when I asked why. Even if he offers the cranks for free I will not deal with him in the future.

Big H

Sorry about that, but maybe he gets daily email scams from South Africa wanting to buy stuff. I listed a bike on a local bike club forum, and got maybe 10 repsonses from SA, wanting to buy the bike, not one asked about condition, size, location, all said a rep would contact me regarding shipping. I don't know the scam, but always good to be careful.

For the price it's hard to beat an Elita. Excellent workmanship, plenty stiff and the finish is quite amazing for the price. I had used them on my commuter/rain bike for a couple years with no problems and decided to save a few bucks and use them on our new tandem build...see photo.
I purchased mine from Chuck's, great price and excellent service. I think They thought you were one of the "nigerian" scammers that are so prevalent nowadays. Give him another try and explain who you are and that you frequent this forum.

I've got a set on my cannondale road tandem, and while they seem to be working fine. The quality of the casting just plain sucks. The big chainring seems to be chrome plated or something, and that is chipping off the teeth.

Maybe I'm showing my age, growing up on the bikes of the 80's. But a $200 Raleigh cotterless crank used to be cast and finished better than these. My Campy cranks are finished much better on the inside than these are on the outside.

Also the stoker - captain chainrings aren't particularly well centered either. Making the timing chain tension vary throughout the stroke.

Sheldon

Maybe I'm showing my age, growing up on the bikes of the 80's. But a $200 Raleigh cotterless crank used to be cast and finished better than these. My Campy cranks are finished much better on the inside than these are on the outside.
Sheldon

Thank you for mentioning this fact! Generally finish quality on parts has decreased to a great degree. Coating everything black is a perfect example of this. Black coatings are easy and cheap and reduce the overall costs of the component greatly. Somehow, the industry is able to take these cost cutting measures and turn it into a fashion trends.

Dave Bohm

Thank you for mentioning this fact! Generally finish quality on parts has decreased to a great degree. Coating everything black is a perfect example of this. Black coatings are easy and cheap and reduce the overall costs of the component greatly. Somehow, the industry is able to take these cost cutting measures and turn it into a fashion trends.



I'm a bit underwhelmed with bicycles these days. I worked at a custom frame shop in the 80's. I haven't bought a new bike since 1999 when I got a Georgena Terry Classic for my wife. Frames these days (at least the production ones) seem to be more slap and dash. For example the wife and I just bought a Cannondale road tandem. The brake cables are held on the frame with zip-ties, yes friggin' zip ties. The frame has bosses for disc brakes but yet they didn't go the extra yard and add some cable guides welded on for the unique disc cable routing. The bike also has safety dropouts on the front fork; this isn't a department store special, it's a nearly $3K bike. I think we can handle the quick release. Along those lines, there's a warning label on my bike! And it's under the clearcoat so I'm stuck with it. I've got to find a cool sticker to go over it. Back when I was a younger pup, I would have gone insane if one of my frames came back from the painter with a warning label.

I emailed Cannondale about the clear protective decals that were put on the frame crooked. The chainstay protector is actually pealing. Rather than asking me for my address to fire some off to me, they gave me a part number to get the parts from my LBS. The wife and I weren't sure if we'd like the whole tandeming thing long term, so we decided to cheap out and get the cannondale vs a co-motion or santanna. I'm pretty tall (6' 2") and my wife is pretty short (5' 3") so finding a used tandem was pretty difficult. I am impressed with the cannondale overall, it's not the be-all and end-all bicycle, but for $2500 its a great tool for spending some together time.

Don't get me wrong, there's some great advancements these days. I'm very impressed with some of the technology.


Sheldon

Sheldon:
Next time get a Co-Mo!
Put 57.000 miles on one of their custom ones. Well worth the $$$!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

I had a box full of FSA chain rings which I swapped the Elitas for. The chain rings were the only downfall I found with the crankset and then it was only because of how they looked, not how they performed.
I have nearly 2000miles on the Elitas attached to my commuter/rain bike and the black finish looks great!

I got some Truvativ Elita tandem cranks from Nashbar a couple years ago, on sale. They only had them a short while. They use ISIS bottom brackets (I bought the Nashbar versions, no problems at all). The cranks and rings are all silver and look great. They feel very stiff, shift great, no problems whatsoever. Since that time I've put other Elita cranksets (both ISIS and GXP versions) on my other bikes and they've all given great performance.

Rich

Sorry about that, but maybe he gets daily email scams from South Africa wanting to buy stuff. I listed a bike on a local bike club forum, and got maybe 10 repsonses from SA, wanting to buy the bike, not one asked about condition, size, location, all said a rep would contact me regarding shipping. I don't know the scam, but always good to be careful.

This is material for another forum, but the US should look at how some of its citizens deal with foreigners. Racial and sexual discrimination have long ago been considered taboo, but treating foreign nationals or residents as second class people is often dealt with in the same light as separate facilites for blacks were years ago, just a fact of life rather than an unjust act. I came accross the same issue when I was looking for a used tandem. Can you imagine somebody today saying "sorry I don't sell to blacks"?, yet somebody can get away with saying "I don't sell to South Africans" and carry on. Being careful is no excuse for being prejudiced.

This is material for another forum, but the US should look at how some of its citizens deal with foreigners. Racial and sexual discrimination have long ago been considered taboo, but treating foreign nationals or residents as second class people is often dealt with in the same light as separate facilites for blacks were years ago, just a fact of life rather than an unjust act. I came accross the same issue when I was looking for a used tandem. Can you imagine somebody today saying "sorry I don't sell to blacks"?, yet somebody can get away with saying "I don't sell to South Africans" and carry on. Being careful is no excuse for being prejudiced.

You are correct that this is better off in another forum, but I don't think you can compare racism to refusal to do business with folks in other countries. It's not that they don't want to do business with you, but when you do business outside the US the dynamics change. Fraud is a much larger risk with almost no form of recourse. Plenty of companies don't do business in other countries for one reason or another. I'm sure the rude person not wanting to deal with South Africans really doesn't care where the customer is from, rather where they are located. Totally different dynamic.

Duane

Duane, very well said.

KRhea

The issue is prejudice, which means to pre-judge, to take certain real or contrived characteristics of a group and assume the apply to an individual, and it takes many forms. It can apply to dark bearded foreign individuals boarding planes, all the way to a South Africans buying a crank, just a fact of life, which US citizens should look at if they want to be treated well on their next trip abroad, thats all. You can explain it all you want as being reasonable, but it will not take away from the fact that the fellow who is on the other side will take ofense.

Does anyone know the Q-factor and/or the weight of the Truvativ Elita tandem cranks?

I couldn't find this out from the Truvativ (SRAM) website (who don't appear to even list any tandem crankset) or by Googling. Bikepedia and Weight Weenies also didn't have any info.

Does anyone know the Q-factor and/or the weight of the Truvativ Elita tandem cranks?

I've now found the weight given in this other thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=408820), but the Q-factor is still a mystery.

Don't have any way of comparing Truvativ's to FSA's, or Shimano's, but I spec'd my tandem with Elita's (Nashbar had them for a very brief while at an amazing price). So far no issues at all. Mine are all silver, look and feel great.

I found a set of Sugino Cranks and they are on the tandem now. Our new Raleigh tnadem has Truvativ Elita cranks on and I am very happy with them. Thanx for all the replies.

BTW I received an email from Chuck and he is now willing to deal with me. Wonder what changed his mind??????

Another data point here for the plating on TruVativ chainrings peeling off. This was on a single, but they were the Rolleur cranks, (the next step up in the line). They looked hideous within 6 months. But chainrings can be changed. A needless expense, but the problem there can be rectified.

What can't be changed is the pretty little silver ring where the axle is swedged(?) onto the drive side crank. It, too, rusted horribly. I tried everything I could think of to inhibit the rust, but no go. It kept on coming. Tried disguising it for a while, (stuck cool bar end plugs in the hole and blacked out the rest of the rust!), but couldn't stand it. Finally had to replace it with an Ultegra crankset. Until they change the design and/or plating quality, I will not purchase another TruVativ crankset. Or Tektro brakeset, or ...

In fairness however, I have to say that my wife has the same crankset on her single, no problem. Plus, I sweat and I live in Florida. But then again, I've sweated and lived in Florida most of my life, and never had the kinds of rust issues that I've experienced with some current day equipment. My 70's and 80's Italian and Japanese components were subjected to identical treatment with nary a problem.

The issue is prejudice, which means to pre-judge, to take certain real or contrived characteristics of a group and assume the apply to an individual, and it takes many forms. It can apply to dark bearded foreign individuals boarding planes, all the way to a South Africans buying a crank, just a fact of life, which US citizens should look at if they want to be treated well on their next trip abroad, thats all. You can explain it all you want as being reasonable, but it will not take away from the fact that the fellow who is on the other side will take ofense.

Not so. Deciding not to do business within a certain geographical area makes no particular assumptions about anything. What it might state is the FACT that a high enough percentage of requests to do business within that region ARE scams, and it takes an inordinate amount of time to separate the wheat from the chaff. Therefore, the most efficient course of action is to simply not do business with anyone in that area. No prejudice involved, just prudent time management.

Ask yourself: If you had to send multiple emails back and forth to 10 different people spelling out exactly how you WOULD do business with them just to find out that 9 of them were scams, then deal with customs declarations, etc, to make the one ligitimate sale of a crankset from which you will make $30 or $40 profit, would you do it? Or would you just say, "Sorry, but I don't deal with South Africa".

I did say in my follow-up email that Chuck did say later that he will now deal with South African orders.

South Africa is much less corrupt than other African countries. It is only our politicians that are corrupt!!!!!!