I’ve got one foot in the market for some new afternarket cranks for a Crux that have a wider Q-factor. I currently have a somewhat older set of SRAM Force cranks with a 110-BCD pattern. Apparently the Q-factor is 145mm on these. Easton have their EC90 SL cranks that claim 149mm for the Q-factor. Praxis make a Zayante-GR and Doon-GR crank with a claimed 150mm Q-factor.
Any other ideas/considerations for replacement cranks? I’m wondering what has worked for others. And it would be nice to look at other options before choosing between one or the other ideas I’ve come across. Thanks.
+1 for pedal washers if you’re just looking for a 4-5mm increase. For new cranks Shimano GRX and SRAM XPLR will have ~150mm q-factor, probably most “gravel-specific” cranks will be similar. eeWings allroad come in at 160mm if you feel like you just have too much money right now and want to get rid of some.
If you happen to have Crank Bros. pedals you can get their wide spindles for a 10mm q-factor increase.
I needed a wider Q factor and went with EeWings. They are spendy, but you do get 25% off with the membership purchase program.
Previously I ran Easton carbon cranks, which would inevitably break about once a year, and Easton kept sending me new ones until I decided to stop using them (it happened 3 times).
Another option (if you run SPD’s) would be to keep your cranks and just get the new Wolftooth pedals with the adjustable spindle length…
I’ve got two EC90 cranksets. So far so good. Where were your Easton carbon cranks failing? Abt how long ago? I heard they had some issues a while ago but perhaps resolved it.
The pedal inserts on my Easton carbon cranks would fail and if you weren’t carefull the pedal would completely rip out of the crankarm (and then the pedal would fly off your shoe into the ditch and despite you searchingfor it for 20 minutes you never found it). The last set I had are on a spare bike now and probably 3 years old. There are usually early warning signs, the pedal starts to wobble as the insert starts to fail. I’m not small at 195lbs, and I also ran longer spindle pedals - neither of which helped my cause.
But eeWings seem to be indestructible and are almost the same weight…
The test-the-water approaches here sound like the best way to start: 1) see how it feels to add washers (I have the cleats inboard as far as possible). That seems like it would approximate the extra stance provided by the cranks I mentioned. 2) If that’s the right direction, think about the longer axles for the Crank Bros. pedals. It happens that I do ride their Candy 7’s. Good point. And what luck.
Admittedly, I let myself enjoy the idea that I need new cranks to solve a narrow Q-factor issue. Upgrade! But I think these first suggestions above are probably the best first steps. If I’m going to let myself be practical. Darn it.
I’m not feeling like I have too much money lying around. But I appreciate those eeWings. Smart looking cranks. I can imagine them on a bike of mine.
And I’ve heard that, too, about the Easton EC90 cranks going to pieces. But these were stories circulating some time ago. I suspect Easton has worked out the problem, given they’re still selling the cranks (at a premium) at the website. Those are good looking cranks, too.