Dear Shimano – can we please have silver cranks again

I want to change my old (although it looks new) M770 chainset for the new XT one so I can fit a 30T ovalized chainring and ditch the granny. Trouble is, some genius has put paint on them. I don’t like paint on bikes…at least not on the parts of bikes that get smashed with rocks all the time (cranks, frames etc).

Putting paint on cranks is just silly. Please sort it out Shimano so I can give you some money.

rant over

Buy SLX and give them less money.

Black goes with my new frame though

I thought they were 104 BCD – same as what I already have?

Black goes with my new frame though

silver goes with anything though….and how long before they get tatty?

philwarren11 – Member

Buy SLX and give them less money.

groupset of the plebs

Would someone please make everything silver?

Would someone please make everything silver?

hear, hear

Just buy these: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-xt-m780-10-speed-triple-chainset/rp-prod67199
104mm PCD which is same as the AB (32T) one I’m running on my XTR M970

stevied

This is what I already have – the new cranks have 96BCD which means you can run 30T ovalised absolute black chainring….something necessary for my weedy legs and the steep local hills we both know and love 🙂

Surely a man of your calibre can run a 32T? It’s, effectively, a 30/34T..don’t have too many problems carting my ‘slightly heavier than yow’ body and bike up the Hills 😉

ndthornton – Member

I don’t like paint on bikes…at least not on the parts of bikes that get smashed with rocks all the time (cranks, frames etc).

you’re doing it wrong.

😉

He falls off, especially in the snow on Long Myndd 😆

They’re powder coated.

Silver powder coated cranks look just as shit once scuffed.

If it bothers you that much put heli-tape/crank boots on.

Never really understood why on day 1, my SLX and my XTR looked more or less the same but on day 1.25 the XTRs were starting to scuff up… They know what to do, they just choose not to, and apparently it’s more desirable for your cranks to look crap the more expensive they are

(OK but secretly I quite like it, there’s something nice about posh kit that looks ****ed)

Very kind of you Steve. I probably could manage but Iv set the Liteville up with the 30T oval and I like the fact that I have more than one climbing gear (especially with the soft as cheese alu 42T ring on the SRAM cassette I use).

Id like to do the same thing with the Tracer which is a bit of a boat anchor – but not spend as much money. Think I’ll keep the granny for now – its perfectly adequate – just seems a while since I bought any bike bits 🙄

silver cranks all the way for me.

He falls off, especially in the snow on Long Myndd

That was 2 weeks ago but does rather prove the point – me and my bike both fell quite a substantial way off the side of the Mynd….the paint-less bike has not a mark on it where as I still can barely walk!…. Hence the pointless browsing of parts I don’t need to alleviate the boredom!

The wrong type of silver?

Mainstream bikes and components are overstyled to appeal to the various market segments marketeers have deemed them suitable for – all mostly newcomers to the sport

Hence this is my crank of choice

I like polished – it lasts and looks like bikes used to!

Hence this is my crank of choice

Now there’s a thought…

I need a silver chain stays as both sides of mine are back to bare ally. Looks great on a black bike 🙄

Solved, not an issue

crank protection

not a mark on mine using this

Silver powder coated cranks look just as shit once scuffed.

It’s far less noticeable than scuffed black.

crank protection

Inadequate solution to a problem that shouldn’t exist
..costs money
..will get scuffed and need replacing
..looks crap IMO

42T

And a 30T? You must have Peter Andre’s legs 😉

tut..lets not start the whole “its only macho if your pogoing up and down whilst coughing up chunks” debate. I’m perfectly capable of doing this if I want to…and sometime do by selecting a harder gear from my many gear options 😉

Silver every time. Agree that black cranks look crap in next to no time.

I’ve stuck with the silver xt 104bcd cranks on my 301 and settled for a 32t oval (works components).

The 601 came with X01 carbon cranks. Great because you can stick a 30t spiderless oval on there. I suspect they may not be so great looking though once they’ve been battered to hell and back.

Hence this is my crank of choice

Agreed. The correct answer to any issues with the looks, minimal ring size choice or daft BCDs of many current cranks is Middleburn.

Do you lot actually ride your bike or sit at home looking at it 😛

I like it when black cranks get the finish rubbed off in certain areas.. You can tell been it’s used as intended!

Pristine paint jobs look silly.

I’ve never understood black components. Bare aliminium always looks great and can be made new again with a few minutes polishing if you want to. Black anodised or painted stuff always look cack after a few rides. You would have thought they would consider what the components are being used for and not give them such a shoddy coating if they want them to be black.

And why paint something which won’t rust in the first place? Yeah paint steel but why bother with alloy?

Totally off-topic, but someone needs to fire the web designer on that Invisiframe page – the zoom viewer actually makes the image smaller