[Closed] Middleburn & royce or xt & hope crank/bb?

I'd be interested in peoples opinions on this as well because i've been wondering them same over a potential future build. It would be for a more am build and I wondered how a square taper crankset would hold up with the rougher stuff?

What type of build/travel is it?

General xc 100mm fork steel hard tail but want to keep it as light as poss.

Middleburn.
If I could justify it, Id think about a royce, but probably go fro a Phil woods. As it is, Im on the last of my UN72 in one, and UN54 in the others (5x bikes on sq taper)

IMO Middleburn cranks are lovely to look at and much nicer to look at than XTR. In terms of effectiveness.... pass. Except they also go round and round in the same shape as the XTR's in probably the very same way. If you can detect .04mm of flex, then, go you 😉

As for square taper cranks.... they were doing very well for themselves for many years until the bike industry wanted to introduce a plethora of new 'standards'. My square taper BB's outlast all the new fangled/octangled/externalled/isisangled/buttangled stuff by years... 😆

An addendum to my previous post would be to consider crank rings, do the Shimano rings shift better than the Middleburns?

Does the Duo set up have a BCD to suit Shimano rings?

I understand that the hard ano finished Middleburn rings are good for longevity but have no experience myself.

I've got a Royce Ti/Middleburn Uno combo, and a Hope Ceramic/XTR M970 combo. I like them both very much 😀

Surely Middleburns are flexier than any recent Shimano Hollowtech offering?

I had some Middleburns and they were nice to look at. But from my vague recollections of my uni mechanics lectures, a hollow tube will always be stiffer for the same amount of material than a solid one, even with the funky sculpting that goes on with the M/burns.

So, if all you care about is looks, then whichever pleases you the most. If you care about going faster then sad to say, the Shimano cranks.

I replaced mine with some Shimano hollowtech cranks and at least in my head, they are stiffer and better able to transfer power to the rear wheel.

I had a pair of Middleburns with a Royce bb and functionally they were brilliant and I really liked the look of them. But I had to remove them for my own sanity as I had the dreaded creek! Drove me round the bend in the early hours of Mountain Mayhem. I replaced them with a pair of XT's which just get the job done with minimal fuss. In fairness the creeking might have been my fault for not following the whole running in and torqueing up process to the letter which is important. The chap at Royce is very helpful.

They can creak. Royce advise no grease but LBS advised +++ grease and this solved the problem.

And I recommend following the instructions, as long as your cranks are ok they don't creak.

The first time I used Royce bb and rs7 arms nothing but creaking. But that was
Used parts.

Got a good deal on a new pair of rs8 duo and a new Royce bb followed the intrusions to the letter
Which is a bit o a pain but no more noise.

I can't tell the differnace in the flex when I ride the middle burn or my modern xx cranks

I've got Royce BB & Middleburn cranks on one of my SS, I fitted then as per Royce's instructions, using a torque wrench and no grease. No creaking for me. 😛

What about the Middleburn HT variety cranks and Hope BB?

I don't think that the Middleburn rings shift as well as Shimano ones, but their longitivity (and half-price) outweighs that for me.

I currently run XTR 960 c/w Middleburn rings and a Hope ceramic BB.

Either.

Alternative could be XT cranks with Phil Wood outboard BB - best of both worlds?