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Tech review - April 24, 2004
Part I: FSA RD-400 wheels
FSA Carbon Superlight road crank and FSA Platinum Pro Ti bottom bracket
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Weighing in at a feathery 515 grams on the Cyclingnews scale (172.5mm, 53/39 chainrings), FSA's FSA Carbon Superlight road crankset certainly lives up to its name. And what better to go with super-light cranks but a titanium bottom bracket? Their Platinum Pro Ti weighs 207 grams, giving a total crankset/bottom bracket weight of just 722 grams (although claimed is 677g - quite a difference!).
The FSA Carbon Superlight boasts a one-piece carbon-fibre crank and spider and is available in 170, 172.5 and 175mm lengths to fit Shimano Octalink or ISIS bottom bracket axles. Cranks take 130mm bolt circle diameter chainrings (available in 53/39 or 53/42), CNC-machined using 7075 aluminium, and are mounted with 7075 aluminium Torx bolts. The FSA Platinum Pro Ti bottom bracket features a CNC-machined hollow 6/4 titanium spindle, triple industrial cartridge sealed bearings, cold-forged aluminum cups, composite anti-creak sleeve, and improved water seals.
And it's a smart piece of design. As Cyclingnews Tech Editor John Stevenson notes: "Even the strongest titanium alloys are not as strong as the steels used for bottom bracket axles, which in turn explains the alarmingly short life-span of some square-taper titanium axles." Consequently, FSA's 7075 aluminium alloy bolts are 14mm across the threads to allow for a thicker-walled axle than their chrome-moly bottom brackets. Smart move, FSA.
Also, the Carbon Superlight cranks come in two colour versions, depending on where you live. If you're in cycling's heartland that is Europe, the Carbon Superlight has a matte silver outside chainring; if you're anywhere else, it's black. Trivial, but just thought I'd let you know.
For the weight weenies
Now for all you weight weenies out there, going off manufacturers' claims (which tend to be a little optimistic at times as we've just shown), the total weight for these two items compares favourably with the best Shimano and Campagnolo can offer. Their claimed weight of 677 grams is less than Dura-Ace nine-speed (767g), Dura-Ace ten-speed (740g), Record ten-speed with aluminium cranks (822g), and ten-speed with carbon cranks (690g). But seriously, what matters most is not 50 or 100 grams here or there, but performance and longevity.
Out on the road
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I had the bottom bracket and crankset installed the same time I switched over to FSA's RD-400 wheels, so each item went through the same ten-week test period. Now I have to be honest with you here: the most noticeable difference for me was going from a 42 to a 39 inner chainring; other than that, everything else felt pretty much the same. And that's a good thing.
Not that I was expecting it to, but the bottom bracket didn't fall apart or make unwanted creaking noises. Nowadays, axles, bearings, seals and cups on top-of-the-line bottom brackets are so good, they rarely require any sort of servicing, other than a re-grease every six months or so. And not that I was expecting it to, but the carbon cranks didn't snap in half, nor did the crank arms unwind from the axle, or the chainring bolts from the crank arm. So despite being a marginally less strong material, for me at least, the FSA Superlight carbon cranks didn't feel less stiff than my Dura-Ace ones.
Conclusion
With so many recreational cyclists (i.e. anyone who doesn't get paid to ride a bike, roughly equal to 99.9% of the world's cycling population) getting in on the carbon revolution nowadays - this year in particular it seems - the FSA Carbon Superlight cranks didn't turn quite as many heads as the RD-400 wheels, but quite frankly, I was already receiving more than enough attention, anyway. As mentioned before, both the cranks and bottom bracket did their job: they performed well, they didn't fall apart, and from a functional and aesthetic viewpoint, they showed no signs of wear and tear after almost three months' riding. So with no faults or complaints reported thus far, both receive full marks.
Weight:
Carbon Superlight cranks: 515g (claimed 505g)
Platinum Pro Ti bottom bracket: 207g (claimed 172g)
Recommended retail price:
Carbon Superlight cranks: €658
Platinum Pro Ti bottom bracket: €115
Pro:
Carbon Superlight cranks: Very light, very purdy, no noticeable difference in
stiffness/strength compared to my Dura-Ace aluminium cranks
Platinum Pro Ti bottom bracket: Light, smart design, functions well, no creak
Con:
Carbon Superlight cranks: RRP of Price €658 ain't cheap!
Platinum Pro Ti bottom bracket: None
More information: Full
Speed Ahead website
Cyclingnews rating:
Carbon Superlight cranks: 
Platinum Pro Ti bottom bracket:
