Lets talk FSA & SRAM.
 

After some post tonight I began thinking about how I am moving away from Shimano components to SRAM and FSA. I have been doing this unconsciously by saying owww that is lighter than Shimano or Owww the pros are running this set and it's $200 cheeper for the same weight. How many of you are feeling the SRAM/FSA creep as of late. I just sat down tonight and ordered a FSA SLK 170mm 53/39 Crank Set with BB and a SRAM front & rear derailleurs for a new bike in my stable. Becasue to get the same weight savings from Shimano, it's hundreds more now. Are they feeling a pinch from FSA and SRAM and upping there prices to hold a bottom line or is SRAM and FSA putting glitter & unicorn tails in there alloy mix now days? Just saying:troll:.

I had an FSA compact for a while. The left crankarm came off twice. I finally replaced it with Ultegra. The Ultegra shifts better.

The sooner I can move away from FSA products the better.

I too am not a huge fan of FSA cranks...especially the carbon ones. For a long time, they had issues with de-lamination and never shifted as well as Campy or Shimano. Not bad but not as well. Plus their weight claims were never even close to reality.

Ehh... FSA's track record were spotty. I had one of the early carbon compacts with alloy spider -- the one's Tyler Hamilton made famous a few years back on team CSC. I quite like those.

Then I picked up one of the early MegaExo SLKs. Bad experience. Overweight to begin with and it ended up failing...

I've been on Shimano 7800 (two sets) ever since. IMHO, one of the greatest cranksets. Haven't tried 7900 series Dura Ace, but from what I've heard, it shifts better than 7800, but not a huge upgrade over 7800.

Does that bike already have a SRAM rear shifter? If not, you've got an unpleasant surprise coming, I'm afraid...

Or maybe you're going to use a ShiftMate or something?

I'll bet shimano has some high overhead like 10mil Ceo's and thats why its more expensive. But it is trustworthy. Maybe.

Hate my FSA, moving back toward Shimano *shrug*

You can get a Dura Ace crank for $400 I think it is the best crank for the money though Sram cranks are the same money and would be my choice if I was using Sram.

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/pr...-5077.6.1.html

my FSA gossamer gaves me lots of problem, glad i changed to the DA7900 cranks. i used their SLKlight cranks, not problem. But the gossamer is rubbish.

No. Shimano is still the best out there.

I've had three sets of FSA cranks - two Gossamers and one SL-K Carbon BB30. Gossamers are crap. Even with loctite, the left crankarm comes loose constantly. I didn't have any real problems with the SL-K but I sold it before anything happened. I'd recommend a SRAM or Shimano crankset any day of the week over FSA.

I think FSA makes nice stems, seatposts and handlebars, but that's about it.

It may be uglier than Shimano or SRAM, but at least it doesn't work as well. Pick up some Rival, Red, or Force cranks and never look back.

ouch. tough crowd.

There are lots of posts here and other places about actual FSA weights are much more than claimed

Agreed. The lower level stuff pretty much sucks. I'll accept maintenance elsewhere on a bike, but constantly retorquing crankarms is unacceptable, and the BB was very short-lived. That 2-bolt pinching mechanism is not a great design either. I did get an SLK nice and cheap, and with a Phil BB is a huge improvement. No issues thus far.

Yeah FSA cranks are notoriously bad. You should of gone with a SRAM crank, or if you want to really save weight a Lightning, or a Zipp crank are both great.

I have FSA compact cranks (an energy on my steel and sl-K carbon on the other) and so far have had no issues with them. The only trouble I have with all compact cranks is it is tricky to mount the FD so you don't get intermittent chain drop onto the BB shell when going from small to big. Keeping the FD cage as low as possible just shy of hitting the large ring and perfectly parallel to the chain on the highest gear seems to work.

I've been getting the Red "itch" actually.
Color, weight, features, cost, USA company.
It's almost like I have to find reasons to "not" try SRAM.
It's definitely in my future though.

I love the FSA SLK crankset's looks.
But my next crankset will be a Hollogram Si Sl.
Now, Cannondale is running FSA chainrings on them.

Same here. From OEM FSA Vero to Ultegra SL.


Affirmative. Excellent cockpit bits.

Other than the fact they weigh more than they're supposed to, don't shift as well as Shimano, have an inferior tightening design, tend to come loose and creak, and the bearings tend to fail prematurely, they're not bad.

:lol:

(OT, but one more post and your at 20K!)

SpookeayBird, you have a promising future as a product manager at a major bike manufacturer.

The constant use of substandard cranks like FSA on manufacturer-spec bikes are one of the main reasons I don't even bother with manufacturer spec'd bikes -- I just buy a frame and roll my own.

At least the low end FSA cranks are compatible with Shimano BBs so you can get away from the lousy FSA BBs. But when you get to the SL-K level you are locked into their BB too. And let's not forget the special socket you'll need to get the left crank arm on and off. Bleah.

I have also had bad experiences with FSA cranks. I'd say both their design and quality departments are lacking severely.

That sums it up. After a few years constantly fiddling with my wife's FSA cranks and BB, I gave up and went back to Ultegra. No problems since.

I have a FSA stem, bars, and post. I like that stuff a lot.

Had a Gossamer on my old Fuji Roubaix and never had a problem even though I rode the crap out of that bike.

I don't understand this. If FSA is so bad why do so many major brands use their cranks as a substitute for Shimano? Even many high end bikes put equivalent FSA cranks on an otherwise full Shimano component group.

I'm not defending FSA. I like Shimano myself. Just wondering...

Follow the money. FSA cranks are less expensive than Shimano, and the average rider isn't very discerning or experienced with the relative attributes of different cranksets.

I'd say "cost".

As stated before, their lower end stuff=garbage. I can't speak for their higher end cranks.
And, yes: Cannondale trusts their rings enough to spec them on Hollograms.

Dang! I was ready to pop down my money for a FC-7950 ... but that link is for a 170mm crank.

Rofl at people talking about slk.

I ran sl-k light crank, no problems with sram red fd-rd-shifters. I moved to a red crank also for the lower profile.

The only shimano crank i would consider is the duraace, fugly, but strong. But sl-k light and sram red are nearly identical stiffness as duraace testsnhave shown. They all shift the same. Oh wait, shimano needs adapters for bb30, guess i wont run them anytime, if ever as ling as i have bb30.

My FSA Gossamer has been nothing but trouble, too. I wear 9-speed chains out more quickly than 10-speed chains on an Ultegra crank. Had to replace the chain rings on the FSA.