How do these hold up under a moderately abusive rider? Not talking about mega-hucks, more whether they are able to cope with general cackfootedness.
I'm attracted by the idea of lightening up the bike a bit, and their stuff has a great reputation, but I've just stripped the threads out of a set of the "all mountain" SLXs with the steel insert, so wondering whether going back to an all-alu crank is a recipe for heartbreak.
They're guaranteed - even for use in competition, so I guess Middleburn are pretty confident they're tough enough...
I have two and have bent neither. I'm not exactly gentle but neither am I a riding-goddess, able to leap a building in a single huck!!
Rachel
The cranks I've broken all seem to go at the splines or the pedal threads - pedal threads in particular. I've heard that removing and refitting pedals can shorten their life by quite a bit - wasn't sure but after this last incident I may be a bit more cautious about it.
I'm sure Middleburn cranks will be strong enough as long as they and your pedals are installed properly. I don't think they are really any lighter than XT or SLX though
I've just stripped the threads out of a set of the "all mountain" SLXs with the steel insert
How do you strip a steel insert?
On bike and hence riding damage or workshop related?
RS7s on my DH bike, many others also use them for that. They were the dh crank to have for a while.
How do you strip a steel insert?
Absolutely no idea how it happened - riding the last lap of 24/14, popped off a very small step, there was a loud bang and my pedal flew about 20 feet and got stuck in a farm gate!
I was able to screw it back in and carry on riding, but both the pedal and crank threads had suffered quite a bit of damage and later in the lap it failed in a more conventional fashion.
I've had both cranks and pedals for a couple of years and while I wouldn't class myself as the most amazing or abusive rider, they've had a fair bit of use. I also lost the washers some time ago, although I would have thought this meant more of the thread was used and therefore stronger.
Vaguely wondering whether to go for some Saints or similar next, but it seems a bit OTT on an XC bike, for a 12-stone rider whose hucks are usually measureable in inches rather than feet.
Sounds bizzare - are the threads worn? I've seen steel inserts that have been looser than alloy threads. Once tightened up they seem to hold fine but it did make me wonder if it was right? Not sure what the washer you lost is there for... perhaps it's to stop it coming loose and spitting the pedal 20ft to get stuck in a gate 
(but I can't see how).
I used to break things and upgrade to stronger "DH" type equipment... problem with this is that you end up with stupid heavy bikes (I had Diablus cranks on my hardtail FFS).
Recently I've just been trying to lighten things up and treating my kit a bit better - I check things over after crashes and spend a bit more time in the garage checking them over; my bikes ride better for it.
I'd go for SLX again or try the Middleburns - but ditch the pedals as the threads are probably fooked.
Mulling it over, it's quite likely that the pedal came loose and was nearly all the way out by the time the stripping happened. I didn't feel any looseness or rattling prior to it happening, but then I was virtually hallucinating from tiredness...
That does sound more likely than an instant failure scenario 
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