Is it ok to run XT cranks on an Orange 224, it is 73mm BB so they will fit, but will I die? 😀

You’ll be fine

I pulled a pedal out of an xt crank by catching a couple of rocks – some other cranks have reinforced threads but I don’t think any xt model does (?)

Will this DH bike be used for DH, or just mincing down Spooky Woods/Llandegla red?

They’ll be fine. I ran a set on my mondraker summum last year for 9 months with not a hint of complaint. If you do manage to strip a thread out you can always get them helicoiled to make them stronger than new.

I ran SLX on mine for a while, no bother. XT lacks the steel pedal threads but tbh I’m not convinced it makes much difference, you rarely see a damaged thread and most times I reckon it’s crossthreading anyway.

Put it another way, I reckon today’s XT is probably stronger than the best options for downhill not so long ago.

I had a set of SLX on my Demo 7, and the threads did give out – if you can get the SLX double with the inserts, they’re probably better suited for less money, or the Zee. If you already have the XTs, bang them on.

Ok sounds good to go , erm as for where I’m ridin will be,
Llangollen, Antur Stiniog, moelfre and all the other local tracks, tis my first DH bike, going to book on with ,Neil Donoghue see if I can learn how to ride properly, instead of just mincing along 😀

SLX double has steel inserts and is barely any heavier than the XT

I should give a bit more detail , I have a trail bike with a 2013 XT groupset, so was just thinking of swopping it all over, XT brakes, cranks mech, shifter etc, it is already set up 1 x 10 with e-13 ring and chain device, , then all I need is forks and wheels , I have a front one just need a 150mm rear, my disks are 203 front and a 180 rear so they should be fine. 😀 will my Hope Hoops with FlowEX be ok on the front and what ever I can get for the rear.

Winstanleys have the Flow EX with 150mm Hope Rear in stock

Not strong enough stripped the threads on mine.

somewhere out there in cyberspace i have seen a pic of a snapped slx crank arm , they are thinner than you think.

theirs a good reason why those in the know make stronger saint type cranks.

Ok mixed feelings on the XT not sure I would break them by riding soooooo fast, but maybe falling off or bad line choices, never broke any thing on my bikes component wise so maybe I am a mincing rider, snapped my swing arm once mincing down the black run a Llandegla.

Duane, only time the DH bike would go to llandegla is for work in the shop, quite happy mincing round on my Blur 125mm , more than enough for the trails at Deggla. Fastest mince round the old Red 49mins 53 secs, new Red 52mins 51 secs both on my 80mm travel 29er , on my 150mm bike 54 and 57 something… nearly killed me , sadly over half a century old so struggling to get better.
And try some DH before I get my pension. 😀

Now looking at Zee , 🙂 or 2nd hand saint , I am 95kg so not too light.

iirc many pro downhillers on Super 8, intense m1, gt dhi era bikes used to use square taper xtr when I started paying attention to that sort of thing. But perhaps they broke them and replaced them a lot?
eg:

I have original shape 170mm ht2 xt on mine and 3 years in, so far so good.

I wanted that bike so much…

in fact I still do.

op from what i read your saying you need a 150 rear wheel but your 68/73 cranks will fit? are you sure?

+1 are you sure its not an 83mm BB? If so I’ve got a lovely set of Saints in the garage…

I’m no DH pro (by some margin) but I’ve bent XT HT2 crank arms on a DH bike before. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great cranks, but they’re suited more at the XC/AM spectrum than DH.

They’re light and they’re stiff, but if like I did, you smack your pedals into the ground on occasion, you risk either ripping the pedal out of the thread or bending the arm itself like I did.

Personally, if I was building a DH bike again, I’d choose something either significantly cheaper or significantly stronger (or probably both) for the cranks. Crank weight is down low anyway, so in the grand scheme of things it’s less important that saving weight higher up the bike, or rotational weight in the wheels. If you’re not worried about cost and can afford to replace like with like if you trash them, then fine, run them, but I’d run something beefier myself given the choice.

FWIW, you will not die running them. They are good cranks. I’ve never seen one fail spectacularly, they either bend slightly or the pedal thread fails, that’s all.

In regards to the “they used to use square taper cranks – perhaps they broke them and replaced them a lot?”

Middleburn RS7 – ’nuff said.

@julianwilson. That Specialized does NOT have a Square taper chainset.. It’s Octalink V1.

You’ll be fine. I did manage to rip a pedal out of an XT crank in the Alps but it was getting on – the same cranks had been in a big hit and a bullit before that.

you should be fine unless you’re built like a shire horse….i use LX cranks on mine without any problems…

a mate ripped a pedal clean out of an XT crank (hollowtech mk I i think) – helicoiled and then worked fine. i run cranks with steel inserts so haven’t done that, however i’ve bent several dmr v12’s trying. reckon you’ll be ok as long as you’re not a pedal smasher 🙂

even if you are gentle on the pedals why waste money on a shiney new xt crank to put on a DH bike ? new xt crankset is about £150, new zee crankset is about £80,,,, i would get the cheaper DH specific zee, its a no brainer.

or if, like me, your a penny pinching miser when it comes to buying things that take loads of abuse, buy second hand.

i put a £30 second hand old style triple saint on my first new dh frame and ghettoed them to work as a single ring up front, the cranks showed many a rock strike when i bought them and have had a fair few since i started using them 2 years ago. i DH 3 times a month on average all year round, weigh 15 1/2 stone and i am a clumsy verging on dangerous type rider 😳 i reckon they have a good few years left in them yet, never had a problem with them and they have been worth every penny 😀

im not trying to be awkward but i disagree with northwind about new xt being better than old saints for example. im sure new xt is designed to be as light as possible where as old saints are heavy but built to last, i know what i would prefare on a DH bike even if i was just mincing down antur, that place can destroy bikes.

PS if your bothered about the scruffy second hand look , dont be, a bit of touch up paint and a couple of slick graphics and they can look mint again.

jam bo that bike ie: Palmers Specialized bike was for sale a while ago with a couple more bikes he had. I wish I could have afforded them. He is a leg.

Measured BB yep 73mm 150mm backend 🙂

@gmez619, blimey, i’d forgotten there were even 2 octalink ‘standards’ 😳

Still, the point stands about people fitting undoubtedly lightweight cranks on 7″ travel world cup dh bikes, and I wonder how many not-ht2 xtr cranks palmer etc munched their way through. (actually given the money in DH in those days, perhaps that is exactly what they did in the pursuit of half a second here and there?)

julianwilson – Member
iirc many pro downhillers on Super 8, intense m1, gt dhi era bikes used to use square taper xtr when I started paying attention to that sort of thing. But perhaps they broke them and replaced them a lot?

remember watching palmer on eurosport WC limp over the line having snapped a crank off at the axle back in the 90s

i ran some deores on my dh bike for over a year, welsh uplifts, couple of alps trips etc

eventually threads ripped out on pedal strike

julianwilson – Member
@gmez619, blimey, i’d forgotten there were even 2 octalink ‘standards’

Still, the point stands about people fitting undoubtedly lightweight cranks on 7″ travel world cup dh bikes, and I wonder how many not-ht2 xtr cranks palmer etc munched their way through. (actually given the money in DH in those days, perhaps that is exactly what they did in the pursuit of half a second here and there?)

They’re still at it – check out Barel’s Mondraker – 73mm BB, XTR cranks.