I quite like the look of them, the RF website says they are XC/AM and they are in my pricerange ~ 100.

Can the STW masses advise me whether to

a) get them.
b) hold out for a shimano XT crankset
c) consider something else

They are for my Kona Dawg which I use mainly for trails/paths.

i have one on my orange 5…still looking decent after 10 months .. i ride alot !

Cheers elaine – any comparisons to previous cranks you've owned?

Cranks good, there is some evidence that the bb bearings are not up to scratch, lots of forum chatter here and elsewhere, mine failed after a short period, got an early hollowtech 11 on tother bike still going strong despite lots of abuse.

BB's are rubbish, they weigh a ton (as more or more than Saints) and the fitment method is rubbish compared to Shimano. Apart from that they are fine.

BB usually lasts 6 months, though I believe they have improved in recent years. Budget £60 for a Hope one to replace it. My Evolve cranks died after 2 years after spline wear made the RH arm wobble.

Now use SLX. Not as bling but feel more solid and will probably last much longer.

Not wishing to be negative, just my experience.

Rob

From personal experience and as a mechanic I think they are pretty reliable cranks in the mid-price bracket. They keep their appearance better than the Shimano alternatives and the rings last loger, but the bearings are even more rubbish than Shimano.

Careful fitting is paramount. You must face the BB and use real force to bottom out the splines on the first fitting. I use a 2ft breaker-bar to do this!

I recommend the Hope Stainless BB's having tried Acros SS & Superstar. The only original fit system to come close is the Truvative GXP, but they're not compatible.

If you wear your rings fast, buy the RaceFace, otherwise use Shimano or Truvative, but be prepared to buy Hope BB's

Andy

PS. I am using a Deus set on one bike and a Bontrager Carbon (Truvative GXP) on the other. Campag have the best design, but that's on my road bike!

I've got one on my Handjob, it's done 2 winters and is great.

The BB is utter poo though, ride it 'till it falls apart and then put summit else in there, currently on a pro-lite stainless one and that's working fine.

The cranks themselves are really nice looking, rings last ages and the finish is really good, doesn't scuff up like shimanos

Deffo agree about the B/Bs .They are shite .Also get the silver one .I got black that looked good for about a month then started rubbing through .

n.b. those of you who wore out the axel and had to bin them

Why do you still recomend hope BB's which casue this by resting the axel directly on the bearing rather than a sacrificial bit of plastic???

I ran these for 18 months and can quite confidently say that you'd be far better served with Shimano SLX or discounted XT.

Mine killed a bottom bracket in just six months of extremely fair weather riding. After a year or so the cranks began to inexplicably loosen after a few miles and sure enough the splined axle interface had worn out.

For the £150 I paid, I expected far, far better than this.

The unhelpful customer support sealed the deal for me, no more Race Face on any of my bikes.

I'd go SLX too, RF chainrings are great but the fitting is just too much of a faff and the finish on the Evolve didn't look all that.

Ironically (because I've dissed their BBs before) I seem to have got the only good RF BB, but I've had another of theirs fail as quickly as expected.

Mine are great ( agree about the silver ones tho the black ones look worn quicker )

lasted about 3 years so far no probs, bb has only just died….

They look better than xt IMHO and weigh 900g incl bb which isn't far behind xt?

had a set for maybe 4 years and aside from the shizzle BB's the cranks themselves have been fine. I think the CNC'ed logo looks classy and the sides of the arms are totally unmarked (unlike my scuffed/polished XT's on my other bike). Had no problems with the cranks themselves and like the self extracting bolt design (had a chain fall off and jam, not sure I could have got a shimano crank off on the trail without hitting it with a rock).

If you get one the bearings in the BB's can be swapped relatively easily for around a fiver. There are stacks of threads on this.

like here

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/external-bb-maintenance

+1 on the chainset – mine's many years old – maybe five years now? Original rings as well, and it's been on and off bikes fine. The original BB didn't last at all well, but the current one is a recent Deus one that seems (touch wood) to be peforming a lot better. Even when the black cranks are scuffed, they still look quite nice – the CNC'ing is a bit different to the regular Shimano look of things.

Mine are in the bin due to spline damage, BB was in the bin after 6 months. I'd go for SLX personally.

cranks are ok'ish
bb I had with it lasted 3 weeks
replaced it with xt under warranty still going strong now 5 years later

If you look around you can get an XT for £120 with BB

I'd pay the extra £20 or get an SLX