2011 Race Face - Eurobike 2010

Sep 10, 2010
by Alasdair MacLennan  
The Turbine name makes a comeback as Race Face debuts new cranks and a stem bearing the popular moniker from the past. They were showing off the new machined bits at Eurobike 2010, as well as their carbon SIXC and Next SL cranks. Inside you can find all the info and photos.

Read on...
Race Face Components

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The SIXC and Next cranks may be the attention getters, but there was some eye candy in aluminum as well. Race Face's Turbine cranks - you may recognize that name - replaces the Deus in the line up and certainly has some of that unique Race Face look from back in the day. Coming complete with their matching Turbine rings, these cranks are available in both triple, double and two ring and guard combination options. Riders can choose between a 6AL-4V titanium axle that has been sourced and and machined in North America or a more economical steel spindle version. Claimed weights range from 755-780 grams, which includes bottom bracket and puts them firmly in the ballpark of SRAM XX despite the aluminum arms. Expect the new Turbine parts to be available late this year.

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Another shot of the Turbine cranks. Color options are black, red, and the Pewter seen in the earlier photos. The other bit of news with these cranks, as well as the Next and SIXC, is the new bottom bracket which comes in at a scant 85g. The cups feature some interesting extreme machining and are loaded with Race Face's titanium coated bearings which are serviceable with RF's own tool.

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SIXC cranks. While not a new product for 2011, these beauties deserve some attention regardless. Aimed at the lucrative and ever demanding All Mountain market, they are made using Race Face's Optimized Carbon Technology and fitted with a steel axle. The ring options on these are 22/32 combo, a 24/36 and bash guard for those looking for a bit more ground clearance and not the top end gearing, as well as a model with a traditional big 'ol 44 tooth ring. Despite being designed to easily stand up to anything that you'd ever want to do on your 6" travel bike, the triple ring version weighs just 760 grams. Looking like a great option for those who are looking for some carbon for their do-everything bike.

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Keeping on with the carbon theme, the Next SL cranks feature the same rings, bottom bracket and titanium axle as the new Turbines, but come in at meager weight of only 652g for the triple set up shown here. For the lighter 2x10 options this weight decreases to between 595 and 625g, not forgetting of course that this includes their ultra light 85 gram Turbine bottom bracket! A slightly cheaper option for those looking at carbon cranks is the "standard" Next model which features a steel axle and is not much heavier, being around 700 grams depending on ring choice. I want.

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Chainring options abound for these cranks, with ratios in line with what has become the accepted norm for 10 speed double ring setups. That means 26/38, 28/40, and a tall 30/42 for those who can push it. The All-Mountain option features 24/36 and Race Face bash guard. These cranks use the now standard 10 speed 80/120 mm bolt pattern so no fretting about compatibility issues down the road either. Riders who want to run a traditional 24/32/42 combo are not left out either.

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These are Race Face's mega light downhill rings. Mega light as in 40 grams! Machined in their Vancouver facility, these feature a 4 mm cross section as opposed to the standard 3 mm found on most other rings. Options include 32, 34, 36, 38, and 40 tooth, all in 104 mm 4 bolt pattern. There are a bunch of neat colors to pick from Rum Red, Tooth Blue, Bad Ass Black, and Gold Member. All of these rings are reversible, as well as compatible with both 9 and 10 speed setups.

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Stealthy. Not much change to the Atlas riser bars, but this new stealth finish looked too nice not to show you. With a shotpeened finish inlaid with gloss markings and black anodizing, it was subtle, but oh so neat.

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There is no excuse for making a mistake here. Cut line graphics mean that you have even less chance of screwing up when trimming your bar, but you'll also know how much the weight loss will be. More neat than useful, but cool regardless.

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This is the new flat Atlas bar. It may have taken Race Face several years to get in on the truly flat bar market, but this is their offering and it's a good one. Utilising the same sweep as the much liked riser, but without the rise, this is sure to be popular with those looking for a bit less height.

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Lots of stealth looking parts coming for 2011. This Atlas FR Direct mount stem isn't new, but the finish is. It is also one of the best looking direct mount stems currently out there and carries some tidy tricks up its sleeve so we have no qualms about showing it again. Available in one iteration, it covers two sizes, a 30mm with minimal rise and 50mm with a 15mm drop simply by flipping it upside down. Its at the lighter end of the pack as well, which makes it great for the weight weenies, while still packing the punch for those who take the big hits in their stride.

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Turbine extends past cranks. Here is the new stem with machining work aplenty. No exact weight without the Pinkbike scales in hand, but it feels damn light. The interlocking face plate is a design seen on Race Face stems in the past and aims to provide even clamping forces around the bars and minimize stress building in one specific area.

Check out the Race Face website to see their entire lineup.

Stay tuned for more Eurobike coverage!


Author Info:
cloverleaf avatar

Member since May 26, 2003
178 articles

39 Comments
  • 8 2
 What is with the photos?
This is a product article, I would like to see the product, not just a small part of the product in focus.

Not the same quality snaps as your dad takes Ali.
  • 8 0
 those atlas bars look sweet, super clean
  • 4 0
 wow, the weight on those cranksets are amazing. the evolution in mtbing continues, I'm happy to see a Canadian company keeping pace.
  • 14 2
 Setting the pace.
  • 3 1
 I am wondering whether CF is any good for MTB cranks. Weight saving is very little comparing to XTR crankset while the price is higher. In general CF seems to me being not the best material for small things: stems, crank arms, brake levers etc. THese cranks along with SRAM X.X and X.O look great but not sure if it's worth it. Maybe stiffness strength is better I dunno. The weight though does not convince me to spend more than on XTR, the GOD of all cranksets in my very own opinion. And I guess XTR is strong enough for most people in most applications.

Just to explain myself: "I believe in carbon fibre" - as some might have noticed from my previous spamming of comment boards. I'm totaly with that material but for big things i.e. frames, rims, handlebars. Would be interesting to see a one piece CF fork uppers crown and steerer.
  • 1 0
 What do you think the long term durability is of a carbon crank arm versus alloy? Especially with the inserts they have to bond into them. I dont know about them yet either Waki. Def. tasty looking though, and I really think Race Face has stepped up their aesthetics lately. Its like it used to be back in the day!
  • 1 0
 WAKI, you say "I'm totaly with that material but for big things i.e. frames, rims, handlebars". These cranks weigh over 100g less than new XTR. Carbon bars don't save that much weight and they are not rotating. Saving a 1/4 lb over XTR seems like a big deal!
  • 1 0
 WAKI, I have SixC cranks, and the trails 1km from my house are more rock than dirt. The cranks are having no issues at all with the rocks - no fraying, no split carbon, no bent or crooked pedal inserts. They come with little plastic caps that protect the ends of them from rock damage as a bonus. I also weigh 200 lbs, and have had no issues bending chainring tabs either, almost clearing rocks (it happens).

For what it's worth I bent an XT left crank arm there earlier this year, and I think of XT as a benchmark for AM strength/weight. Carbon isn't scary if done well.
  • 1 0
 Oh, and Rock Shox had a one piece crown/steerer for SID's in 2001 or so, apparently they were stronger than the aluminum ones (according to the RS rep at the tech seminar).
  • 2 0
 Thanks for the reply hustler, you seem to be using them in something similar to what I have in my "backyard" The whole point of my comment was to learn something about these cranks Smile I'm not against, just interested with a bit of scepticism. If I hear more good stuff about them and get some money I might even give them a try. For now I ride SLX with no probs, but dropping 200g on something rotating, makes me very interested Smile some 350g pedals would make my traildays brigther too Smile
  • 1 0
 one more question. How do U think Next SL is able to withstand bikepark riding? I do mostly aggro XC trails but sometimes (like 3 times a year) I go to bikeparks and do the normal park riding, some jumps, some more DH trails.

I'm 200lb too ride trails that seem sometimes to be made of rocks and roots rather than normal flat path.
  • 1 0
 Next would prob hold up fine for a couple of park days, but sounds like SIXC would be better...SIXC is same weight as XTR but meant for light freeriding (according the the RF website)
  • 1 0
 A screw it, just checke CRC for the price on SIXC and Next SL, and I prefer to eat healthier, protein rich food and use my road bike more often. I'll stop with headset spacers regarding carbon department...
  • 1 0
 WAKI, I'm running SixC cranks, a shaved down thin Blackspire bash, and MG-1's with Ti axles. She doesn't get much lighter than that.

I would go SixC for your description. Sounds like we ride similarly, and I like the additional stiffness of the SixC compared to the NextSL (which I have also ridden on a demo bike). The SixC handlebar is exceptional too, perfect rise/sweep/width for a real AM bike.
  • 1 0
 Not bad, but I wouldn't go up against Shimano cranks.
They look better, are lighter, stiffer, last longer, have much more high-tech (like hollow forging) and even cost less.
What have Race Face got to offer in comparison to that? Marketing I suppose, but its not much
  • 1 0
 Haha. Not sure what you're talking about. It seems every RF crank is lighter than it's Shimano counterpart, and often much lighter. Looking better is a matter of opinion, but I also question the "stiffer and last longer" comment. Also, the Next and SIXC cranks are completely hollow carbon arms. I'm not sure anyone else is doing that with carbon right now...
  • 1 0
 .... The current 83mm BB offerings from RF, have a better Q factor than Saints do. I use RF on my 6 point for this reason, I have Saints on my Sunday. Given the choice, I would have Atlas on both. Saints - you have to buy ones with no granny ring for a single chain device, the holes are not threaded either, if you buy the threaded version then you have to grind the granny ring tabs off to use with an LG1. The Atlas ones come with threads, spider and work with single or granny ring with no adaption. 2 simple reasons why to buy RF over Saint when it comes to big bikes.
  • 1 0
 Those are fantastic looking parts for sure. I've been running the SixC bars on my AM bike for a while and they look and feel great. I'll definitely be picking up another for my Tallboy.
If they happen to make the Turbine 2X10's a 180mm lengh those will get thrown on the Tallboy also.
Any more specs on the Turbine cranks or pics of the BB?
  • 1 0
 Cool to see more companies embracing double cranksets. They are the future. Another miss by Shimano for only doing double XTR.
  • 1 0
 Actually, shimano is offering an XT dual chainring crankset...
  • 1 0
 XT will have a 2 ring setup, but not a 10 speed 2x10 (like XTR, XX, X0, Next SL and Turbine)
  • 1 0
 @ covekid check this out then, you may count the cogs on the rear cassette if you really want to make sure, but this XT groupo is 10 speeds...

bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/mountain/deore_xt_with_dyna-sys.html
  • 1 0
 Yeah but it's still rocking a triple up front...
  • 1 0
 Maybe I saw wrong, I thought I heard about a 2x10 setup from XT groupo... I'll sneak some infos on that
  • 1 0
 Simano are doing an slx 2x10.....
  • 2 1
 Loving the flat bar. It will fit nicely on my XL Trance-X with it's rediculous 7.5 inch headtube!
  • 1 0
 Man... Those carbon cranks are mouth-watering. Loving the 2 chain + bash config. Wink
  • 1 0
 i really like the look of those turbine components especially those cranks. its like teh sixc except not carbon.
  • 1 0
 I like the look of the sixc
  • 1 0
 Does anyone know when the chainrings will be hitting the stores?
  • 1 0
 carbons look just a bit sick. any idea about pricing though?
  • 7 22
flag arciqbaw (Sep 9, 2010 at 13:12) (Below Threshold)
 ChainRings look exactly like weeze's
  • 68 3
 yeah, and all chainrings are round and have teeth on them. what a coincidence.
  • 1 0
 weezes look lighter but racefaces look beefier tbh
  • 1 0
 only similarity is there are holes machined out of them, and thats not uncommon
  • 6 1
 [Quoten]Lots of stealth looking parts coming for 2011.[/Quoten]

Black is back! lol These other color fads may come n go, but Black is here to stay!
  • 1 0
 thats just sex!
  • 1 0
 YEE raceface!







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