good to hear your opinions, as I say, a reasonably utilitarian crank or chainring is all I need for this bike, so if Alivio is fine, thats fine with me. As I said, I keep my drivetrain fairly clean and properly lubed so over the years, all my drivetrain stuff lasts quite a long time. Plus I really dont have any inclination to send 4, 5, 6 times the money to save a couple of hundred grams and I certainly will not be abusing it.
thanks again