We all like to reminisce about ''the good ol' days,'' whenever those might have been. Maybe you miss the simpler times before 12-speed and down-country bikes (relax, only joking), or when there were fewer channels, no cellphones, and everything seemed more wholesome. Me? I miss the mid-2000s Kanye when he was still making good tunes before losing his marbles, and I miss the 90s because that's when companies still did some crazy, unexpected shit.
Unexpected like a company well-known for their suspension offerings releasing a set of mega-light, mega-posh titanium cranks? Yeah, like that. Cane Creek's new eeWings (say ''/ee/-wings'') crankset features titanium everything - the arms, the 30mm spindle, the pedal insets, and even the freaking fixing bolt and washer are made from the pricey grey metal. And pricey they are; all that adds up to 400-grams (without a bottom bracket) and $999 USD, which is twice the cost of many high-end carbon cranksets.
Cane Creek eeWings Details• Intended use: trail / enduro
• Grade 9 Ti-3Al-2.5V titanium crank arms
• Grade 5 Ti-6Al-4V titanium spindle, Hirth joint, chainring interface, pedal inserts
• 30mm titanium spindle w/ Hirth joint
• BB compatibility: BSA 73mm, PF92, PF89.5, BB30 (external bearing only), PF30 (external bearing only), 392EVO
• Chainring compatibility: X-Sync
• Lengths: 170mm, 175mm
• Warranty: 10 years
• Weight: 400-grams (arms, spindle, preload assembly, fastening bolt and washer, 1.75mm spacer)
• MSRP: $999 USD
•
www.canecreek.com While the impressive 400-gram weight is in the same ballpark as some carbon cranks, Cane Creek says that the eeWings, which are designed for trail and enduro riding, are 20 to 30-percent stiffer and incredibly durable. They come with a 10-year limited warranty, too.
''Through the course of aggressive riding, you invariably hit your cranks against rocks and other trail features which can cause structural damage to carbon cranks, and can lead to them breaking,'' said Sam Anderson, product manager for Cane Creek. ''Titanium just brushes those hits off, so the eeWings can withstand a lot more abuse than other high-end cranks and not end up structurally compromised or broken,'' he went on to say. ''At the same time, they are incredibly stiff, so more of the energy you put into each pedal stroke makes it to the back wheel and helps push you up and down the trail.''
Titanium (nearly) everything. The arms, 30mm spindle, fixing bolt, and even the washer under the bolt's head are all titanium. The preload adjuster ring is the only aluminum component on the entire crankset.
Because it's what a lot of us do as mountain bikers, it's time for some comparisons. Race Face's Next SL G4 setup is said to weigh 430-grams, including a 32-tooth direct mount chainring but no bottom bracket. Keeping things non-metallic, SRAM's XX1 Eagle DUB SL arms tip the scale at a claimed 420-grams
with a chainring.
If carbon isn't your thang, Shimano's XTR arms might be. Their XTR Race 1x crankset weighs a claimed 474-grams (without any hardware), and are forged by machines way bigger than your house and that sound like angry monsters. And guess what? All three of those options cost less than the eeWings. A lot less. But as with anything, the cost is subjective, and there will be many riders who don't care about the $999 USD price tag.
In fact, Cane Creek says that every last one of the eeWings cranksets made so far has been snapped up by distributors who clearly don't expect to have any trouble selling them, and that's expected to continue for the rest of crankset's low-number production run.
The eeWings look a lot like the Sweet Wings crankset from the mid-1990s, and that's not a coincidence, either.
So, where the hell did these titanium cranks pop up from? Their story can actually be traced back to some wild looking road bike brakes, and long before that, a set of two-piece steel cranks from the glory days of the 1990s that bear a striking resemblance to the eeWings. Back in the mid-90s, a guy named Craig Edwards came up with the Sweet Wings two-piece crankset that weighed 520-grams (very light at the time) and employed a press-fit spline on the spindle and an axial bolt to hold them together. They were exotic, rare, and expensive. Later on, Edwards also designed the eeBrake road stoppers, and Cane Creek took over the production, distribution, and sales of the brake in 2016.
That connection between eeCycleworks and Cane Creek was the genesis for the 400-gram eeWings crankset that, while being titanium instead of steel, sure look a lot like those original Sweet Wings arms. It explains the eeWings name, too, with the twin 'e' standing for Edwards Engineering and the rest being a nod to those old cranks.
All the parts, pre-welding.
The arms, which can be had in either 170mm or 175mm lengths, are made from Grade 9 Ti-3Al-2.5V titanium, while the 30mm spindle, chainring interface, pedal inserts, and Hirth joint are all Grade 5 Ti-6Al-4V titanium.
A Hirth joint, in case you're curious, is a way to join two ends of a shaft, usually via tapered, radial teeth. Campagnolo's been using a Hirth setup for ages as it's a very compact method (it needs to fit inside a bottom bracket shell) of joining the spindle by applying an axial load (via the crank bolt) that can handle relatively high torque loads.
The eeWings' Hirth joint in action.
The 30mm spindle will work with BSA 73mm, PF92, PF89.5, BB30 (external bearing only), PF30 (external bearing only), and 392EVO shells, and the chainring interface fits the three-bolt X-Sync pattern. In other words, you should always be able to find a bottom bracket and chainring to fit.
The preload assembly is the only part of the entire crankset that isn't titanium, but it's also not plastic like found on some other high-end options. The CNC'd aluminum adjuster sits on a threaded ring up against the non-drive side arm, and it requires a 2.5mm hex to adjust. The preloader can also be used on SRAM or Race Face 30MM cranks, and Cane Creek sells it separately (with a titanium bolt, of course) for $29.99 USD.
The chainring interface, which is also machined from titanium, is made to work with X-Sync 'rings.
Even the fixing bolt and washer (left) are titanium.
Cane Creek is selling the crank's preload assembly separately for $29.99 USD, and it'll work on 30mm cranks from Race Face and SRAM.
I only just installed a set of the eeWings on my Blur test bike using a Race Face threaded bottom bracket and 34-tooth X-Sync chainring. The job was as easy as installing any crankset, but you'll need to slather on the ti-prep, which is required and very different than normal grease. If you ask me, the brushed titanium arms look refreshing and simple compared to carbon, almost like a throw-back, while the subdued laser etching should still look sharp down the road.
The eeWings will see a load of miles over the coming months, after which you'll be able to read about how they fared.
The eeWings mounted up on Santa Cruz's new Blur.
2. The leather banana hammock
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3.?
Then they'd be $1400 ti cranks
They cost less than a third of these.
If I'm not mistaken the more flexible alloy is in the arms. Be cool if they had elastic power producing properties and helped soak up impacts.
I've got to say I did consider having a bike built by you too. I am at the point that pretty much everything on my bike is outdated so there wasn't much to be transferred to a new bike. So obviously the gearbox became an option too. It was between the Portus Cycles Krowd Karl or Olsen (Pinion), or BTR or 11ants (Pinion or Rohloff). Eventually I decided most of my riding just isn't that pedally nor do I require the wide gearing. So I went with conventional gearing again on a BTR. But yeah, 11ants was on my shortlist. We'll meet on the trails someday and I know you'll be laughing when you blast through a loose section whilst my sandy chain grinds my old fashioned cassette .
well played.
www.dailymotion.com/video/x2n7rgb
Replace the bolt with a 25c steel or $1 titanium.
The preload nut is made of nylon because it gives better feedback than metal, and it makes it easier to adjust the preload. A metal ring is more likely to be over tighten. Same difference between using an hammer or a mallet.
Shimano has a plastic preload for the hollowtech cranks for this exact reason.
You rather replace the nylon piece for $3 every time you change the BB or prematurely wear a $50+ BB?
Moreover, most people issue is the bolt rounding up. It is not the threads stripping.
If you are stripping the threads, you may want to get a torque ranch and set it to 2Mn.
If the nylon piece strips and/or the bolt rounds off, it is an easy fix.
Just carefully cut the nylon piece enough to get the bolt loose.
If the metal piece strips and/or the bolt rounds off, it is a difficult fix.
You also may damage the threads on the crankset.
On that size of bolts, it takes the very similar force to strip the threads regardless if it is nylon or aluminum.
You can also strip the crankset threads if not properly cleaned or over tighten.
I split mine by over tightening the lock screw and it split the screw hole open (heheheheh). It was dusty and was hard to gauge the tension. User error, I'll admit, but a metal collar, or at least a metal insert for that screw would be a worthwhile improvement.
I have a couple but never had to replace mine. Just the bolt.
Metal insert would be nice!
The problem is tightening on nylon gives different feedback than metal.
Metal you know when you meet the right torque. Nylon keeps giving until it too late.
Beautiful conversation piece .
@sickbicycles
Sure, Ti is out of budget for most people.But it is not as expensive here in the USA as some people like to think. I had to look up the Ti chain rings amrskipro pointed to at www.carbon-ti.com and I discovered that the Ti ring for my road bike is about 80 euros with VAT.
That is comparable to what I was about to pay for a Rotor Qring. It is also (an insignificant) 2 whole GRAMS lighter than a Campagnolo SR chainring for a little less than double the price.
I don't really think I meet the description of "Big shot avantgarde". My most expensive bike is a steel adventure touring tandem. I guess that ticked off a bunch of hipster boxes. My MTB and Road bike were less than half the cost of the tandem. I spent less than $3,000 on each. That is squarely in middle class for a year round bike commuter. Or for an over paid engineer.
But now, could you just f*ck off once and for all with your stupid comments and opinions no one f*cking cares!
If they could bring a high grade steel (stainless?) version to market for $300 or so, I'm sure it would do extremely well.
I would seriously consider buying these new Ti cranks for $600-$800.
Retro Question: Why does reading about the old Sweet Wings cranksets remind me of the old Grove X hardtail?!
Porsche? Check.
E Wings? Ordered.
an xo eagle crankset is around $400 right now...how long will they last??
groovycycleworks.blogspot.ca/2017/07/titanium-hot-rods.html
I like the spindle interface better too. I don't know if that joint on the Cane-Creeks will be as durable as a spline or lobed interface when it comes to side-loads, off-axis torque, and impacts.
I'm sure it's secure but man I'd be re-torquing the drive side arm before every ride as well.
But yes, I want one...
Id like to see a stiffness comparison test on all the high end cranks. All companies say theyre cranks are the stoffest, or 20% stiffer than the cheaper version they make, but im not buying it. Gonna need some facts. 400g is really light ad just hard to believe this... saints are stiff AF and 800g. Just seems a but too good to be true.
Like any material it's tough to use a blanket statement to cover all of it's possible applications.
The large majority of thru axle cranks all have very similar stiffness, in about a 20% range. Carbon or AL, 24mm or 30mm spindle, from normal weights to fairly light. Isis cranks about 20-30% less, square taper about half the stiffness. DH/FR class cranks are about 30% stiffer.
I'd say it's highly likely these will be one of the stiffest lightweight cranks on the market, and in the stiff end of the range of trail/enduro cranks, but not outside that range. They will not be as stiff as a DH crank.
Since all modern cranks are fairly stiff, I'd say these will not be excessively stiff.
Most people do not the enjoy the feel of flexy cranks when pedaling.
II wonder where are these produced?
Also, wouldn’t be stronger if the spindle meet at the middle like Campagnolo? (best set up I have had)
Chainring lockring and spindle both at the same place seems all the stress concentrated in one area?
I would have preferred cinch style lockring rather than obsolete sram.
Got the crank out of a box we found inside of the control cabinet of a used CNC that my company bought from Syncros bankruptcy sale, so I guess I got what I paid for?
The problem is very few people in the bike world know how to properly weld it. On frames you can get away with it, cranks are way more difficult. I can only think Steve Potts in the states and Nevi in Italy. These cranks are probably going to be made by Lynksey? Hope not in Asia.
Alternatively: when you're done pulling last dollar from the market with carbon fiber and still looking to pull out some more --> Ti Cranks. Just kidding, I'd love to get a pair.
In the real world, where context matters, this crank is idiotic. It retails for $1000 USD. And because it's a high-end, likely "limited production" item, the margins on it for shops will be low, meaning they won't make much (if any) money selling it by the time they have to discount it 20% just to get it to move out the door. A rider could buy two XTR cranks, probably 3 RaceFace Turbine cranks, or even a couple of XX1 carbon cranks, all of which are nearly as light and more than stiff enough. And if you buy the XTR or XX1 crankset you get better BB options that last longer than any 30mm spindle BB will last.
In a couple of years we'll remember the release of this crank as Peak Enduro/Idiocy on the mountain side of the cycling industry. It's all downhill from here, and not in a fun, WB bike park way.
You also bring up the price, failing to understand genuinely how durable ti is compared to aluminum. You'll likely trash three sets of Turbines in the time you'd own these. This is a frugal purchase, not a cheap one.
In reality, how many XTR and Turbine cranks have you seen that have suffered catastrophic failures that aren't due to manufacturing defects, aren't happening to riders who get them for free, and aren't happening through sheer negligence on the part of the rider? Perhaps more importantly, how many XTR or Turbine cranksets worn out due to having been ridden for 50 000 km have you seen in your life time?
I'm going with "none" for all of the above. I'll grant you the odd broken XTR crankset, because making hollow forged alloy cranks is actually pretty involved, meaning it's easy for any one step in the process to go wrong leaving you with a manufacturing defect of some sort. But even that's generous. Broken carbon cranks? Sure, but even those are pretty rare all things considered, and if you're that hard on cranks you have plenty of light enough, stiff enough aluminum options.
If a crank fails due to a manufacturing defect you're getting a new one for free. If you're planning on keeping a crank around through successive bikes good luck, because I can almost guarantee that some sort of standard will have changed by the time you're replacing your frame, meaning your titanium crank won't fit or work properly. And even if it does, the likelihood of having broken a good alloy crank while riding the frame you're replacing is so low that chances are you could have saved $700 by buying a Turbine crank, then bought a new Turbine crank for the new frame at a max cost of $300, for a total of $600 in cranks over two frames. That leaves you with $400 to spend on hotels in cool riding places that are far away from home, burritos, after-ride beers, crack cocaine if you're into that, or about a bajillion other things that are less idiotic than titanium cranks for your enduro bike. So no, these cranks aren't a frugal purchase. Not even close. You'd have to be delusional to consider them a frugal purchase.
The most idiotic thing about all of this though might be the opportunity cost in designing, manufacturing, and selling these for Cane Creek. What could they have done but didn't do while they were putting these together? Who knows, and that's the whole point. They could have done something amazing, they could have done something potentially dumber than titanium cranks, they could have invented another bike component as important as the threadless headset, they could have even revolutionised cranks with a crazy cool, $400 crank made out of an aluminum alloy that is light, stiff, durable, and features their cool spindle design. But instead we got this, clearly a product made by a company in which literally no one understands how to or is willing to say the word "no." As in "No, we aren't producing this idiotic titanium crank that will retail for $1000 USD."
All that said, it's super pretty and I would love a set. But would I buy one? With money? No.
forums.mtbr.com/attachments/vintage-retro-classic/38149d1100040230-onza-ho-titanium-crank-onzati1.jpg
How dumb does this guy think people are? Seriously. Unless those crank arms are solid they can/will break like anything else. They may take more abuse than a carbon crankset, but save your bullshit for your morning dump. A set of Hollowtech Shitmanos are more durable than carbon, and prolly just as durable as these.
They should price these @ $2k so the purchasers feel more special.
aLSO, NEED too, need to make 165mm & 24 Tooth NW CHAINwheel?
PS, RAINBOW COLOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111
“Cane Creek Cycling Components
355 Cane Creek Road
Fletcher, NC USA 28732
Thank you. Your order has been received.“
how will that affect power transfer? 30% more...not a chance
Thank you for helping me spend money!
Not bad considering these Could be the last crank set you'd ever buy