Race Face have had the Next SL crank in their line for quite some time now. Currently, the cranks are in their fifth design generation. The 428-gram crankset sells for $429.99 USD.
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Race Face is a stone's throw away from the famed North Shore and surrounded by some of the best mountain biking in the world. The Next SL cranks are made by hand, in house, with carbon that is sourced from the United States.
The cranks use Race Face's Cinch BB interface and are available in 170mm and 175mm crank arm lengths. They are compatible with both Race Face's SRAM and Shimano 12-speed chainrings which are available separately.
Race Face Next SL G5 Details• Intended use: XC / Trail
• Carbon construction
• Spindle sizes: 134, 136, 149, 170, 174, 190mm
• BB Compatibility: BB92, 68/73 BSA, PF30 (across various spindle lengths)
• Chainring compatibility: Cinch Direct Mount, 64/104mm Cinch Spider, SRAM and Shimano 12-speed.
• Compatible with Race Face's Cinch power meter.
• Lengths: 170mm, 175mm
• Warranty: 3 years
• Weight: 450-grams (arms, spindle, preload assembly, lockring, 32t chainring, boots)
• MSRP: $429.99 USD (arms only)
•
www.raceface.com Light weight, but at a price - $430 isn't exactly cheap.
ConstructionThis fifth generation of the Next SL is said to be lighter, stiffer, and better in every way from the previous version. Race Face say that they updated and improved the carbon layup and manufacturing process for better power transfer and more stiffness. Riders can run a variety of spindle lengths and have the option of different chainrings/offsets including using a ring from Race Face designed for Shimano's new 12-speed drivetrains.
Race Face say that the design intent for their latest cranks wasn't solely focused on being lighter than the G4 Next SL, but also stronger. The G4 had some issues with strength, especially with the pedal thread inserts pulling through at times and impacts on the ends of the crank arms - this is coming from my personal experience so, logic would indicate that this issue has been addressed in some manner.
The carbon layup in the crank arms now consists of more layers in higher stress areas and according to Race Face, every single designed piece of carbon used in laying up the G5 is new compared to the G4 with the volume of carbon fiber in each zone varying to achieve what Race Face have determined to be the best overall performance. The curing process for the cranks was also changed to increase strength and fatigue performance.
In this development, Race Face made some changes to their testing methods to ensure that the updates to the crankarms netted positive results in real life. In the end, while the weight from the G4 to the G5 only decreased by a couple of grams, the strength of the cranks has substantially increased.
Shimano doesn't make a carbon crankset so the Race Face cranks have become a popular combination for those wanting to use a Shimano drivetrain and then also have carbon cranks. They've also been a common spec from companies recently as Shimano have had issues with delivery of their XTR crankset, something worth noting.
InstallationInstalling the cranks is a very straightforward process. Riders choose the appropriate Race Face Cinch bottom bracket to fit their bike and follow the instructions. Spacers are included to get the correct spacing for whatever spindle/bb/offset combo is needed.
It is worth noting that you do need a Race Face or 30mm BSA bottom bracket tool if you're installing on a threaded BB, and you'll need the appropriate BB tool for the chainring lock ring as well. While these aren't hard to find tools by any means, they are not necessarily in the toolbox of every home mechanic.
Race Face's Cinch system allows the use of different length spindles and different chainrings for maximum compatibility with different preferences, drivetrains, and chain lines.
PerformanceThe cranks installed and set up as advertised and I've had no issues with creaking, popping, or any untimely bearing wear. There were instances in previous generations where several riders, including myself, had issues with the pedal thread inserts coming loose from the carbon or coming out. This has not been an issue with the latest generation and everything is holding up as it should be.
Deciding that one high-end set of cranks is stiffer than another is a job better left to Olympic athletes and calibrated testing equipment. The Next SL cranks seem every bit as stiff as they need to be, certainly no less stiff than the previous generation, and I have had no complaints with them in that or any regard during my time using them.
Looking at the G5 Next SL compared to SRAM's flagship XX1 Eagle DUB SL cranks, the numbers are close. The Next SL G5 cranks, chainring, and crank boots assembly weighs in at 450 grams, this is a little bit more than the SRAM XX1 Eagle DUB SL kit which tips the scale at 436 grams, also with a chainring. The G5 Next SL cranks cost $430 for the crank arms only. A chainring is going to run you an additional $65,for the 12-speed NW SRAM style chainring or $78 for a 12-speed Shimano ring, and then the BB is about $60. This brings the package total up to a price of $555. The SRAM DUB SL cranks include a chainring and sell for $515 and a BB will cost you $38 more, bringing the total for the SRAM kit to $553...a mere $2 less than the Race Face Next SL in price but with a 14-gram weight savings. At this point, we're splitting hairs and it comes down to brand loyalty and cosmetics.
Pinkbike's Take: | After months of riding in wet and muddy conditions, I've had zero issues with the Race Face Next SL cranks. They are no doubt a premium product with a premium price tag, but the price and weight are within a few grams of SRAM's DUB SL crankset. For Race Face loyalists and those who want a product handmade in Vancouver, the Next SL cranks are good candidate.—Daniel Sapp |
The e13 cranks didnt break, just needed an angle grinder to remove them!
Sample size of 2 is statistically huge.
Carbon crankset, never again for me.
Now I went for Fovno CNC alloy crankset:
www.aliexpress.com/item/32949231717.html
We have a dude on our race team who's pushing 270lbs, absolute beast of a man, and he's been on a set for well over three years. The difference? He's an XC dude, not a enduro shredder. Be realistic about your riding.
Also that said, Sram carbon cranks do come on everything from XC to enduro bikes and seem to hold up, are lighter, and are less expensive. Seems like an obvious choice.
If it wasn’t a problem, they wouldn’t have mentioned it in the press release lol.
And yeah, I am just going to run a boring set of Shimano XT cranks from now on. Boring, light-enough, and I've never broken a pair of Shimano cranks.
Anybody remember the bad old days of square taper cranks? Raceface are just as fragile, but on the opposite end of the crankarm.
I’ve never actually broken a set of hollow tech cranks but I’ve bent every single pair I’ve owned granted I’ve not owned a set for a few years now but they’re super cheap and you don’t notice you’ve bent them until you get on someone’s bike with straight cranks so it doesn’t really matter. Ha
This whole comment thread makes me feel like I must ride smooth as shit because I have no idea what you guys are doing to break all this stuff
Did y'all send that kid the cranks he was after with the correct configuration, or was the claim incorrect from the get go?
Here's a link to the comment chain and the company claim, as well as the user's profile proving the claim to be incorrect; www.pinkbike.com/news/race-face-launches-aeffect-r-cranks-dropper-post-and-lever.html#cid2342377
I love your company and want to support you desperately, but instances like this really make me rethink purchases as there seems to be a disconnect. Pretty please guys, you're capable of the dopest shit!
Funnily enough, when replacement set failed in exactly the same way, they were replaced without issue
XC is pretty big here, and the chill dudes that go without teams here are pretty shredded, and you have people pushing 270 lbs on race teams over there?
Gad daym!
For big ticket items like wheels forks and frames, yes.
Anecdotal? Yes. Presumptive? Somewhat? Validation of ineptitude for me? Definitely yes.
Hi can I ask you you say you know someone that had the Race Face SL G5 or the G4 is that came apart I'm looking at getting the G5 due to they say they fix them any help you could give would be grateful
Hi can I ask you you say you had good walk with these pedals the SLG fives or the G4S I was thinking of getting the G5 due to they say they're not having a problem with them coming apart but I see a lot of people here complaining do you have any input on that or do you know anyone that has that a problem with the five eyes
Hi sorry I accidentally hit send can I ask you a quick question about your pedal I am thinking about getting the SL v v I know a lot of people had problems with the fours I see you had problems was that with the fives or the fours and he helped on the five this would be grateful not sure if you know anyone that has had issues with the pies
Shimano letters exists
Shimano cranks: aight imma head out
Hope? It is a 30mm axle it works only with outboard bearings, for PF it’s a big no no. System is stupidly overcomplicated, heavy for the money. DM mount is stupid Had it. Never again.
Shimano pinch bolts - fiddling?! Try to install Hope!
HadXX1 cranks, they were wearing out at horrific rate in my area. Lost plenty of paint on them, then they all require
All current alloy sram cranks are pile of crap, horrible quality not worthy even alivio, and they have29mmsli dlikeHope. No go for PF.
The only thing Sram got right is introduction of NW and their dm chainring interface
I found NZ easy on cranks. I had more pedal, crank and ring strikes on my first ride on the East Coast of Canada than I did in 8 years in Wellington.
Sweeping generalizations are still a scam.
I've had trouble with the cinch interface creaking and chainrings working themselves loose though, even when using loctite read on the threads...
The reality is 30mm spindles are much more likely to fail than 24mm spindles. It greatly depends on how frame is built and whether you face them. i know that. Nothing explains 24mm shimano for 20€ no probs for a year+ on every damn frame I owned, time and time again, then RF, creaking after a month or less. I mean... nevermind
That 30mm aluminium made spindle craze is stupid. Why on earth the two most experienced companies in cycling (Campagnolo and Shimano) still use 24 and 25mm spindle ?
There is no way to make a BB86/92 frame works great with a 30mm spindle, harsh reality here folks!
@blast-off: The problem ain't Wheels MFG or Enduro BB Bearings here. And to the same extent, a CK bottom bracket will not make more sense. Even worse, a CK won't make any sense at all because it's too expensive for what it is and it won't fix your issue. Using a grease gun to make it noise-free doesn't fix anything at all.
Keep your Wheels MFG. Resurface and re thread your frame with the proper tool. Then instead of wasting your money on CK, replace the Enduro Bearings with some NTN bearings.
If you want to spend money, just go back to a 24mm spindle crank.
Shimano BB runs over a plastic shell,that why it can work better whit worst tolerances in the frame.30mm spindle/interface is more rigid by design,so it works very bad if the BB holes are not perfectly machine&position. It is that simple. Cannondale BB are bad cos their bikes in general sucks,it is a poorly made product low quality control.
I've ridden G2, axle interface started to get play in a few months. Got warrantied, sold the replacement, guy who bought them got pedal insert failure soon after.
I never had issues with any of my cranksets ever (Shimano, SRAM either carbon or aluminium).
Why wouldn't you match Shimano drivetrain with SRAM cranks? XSync2 is great and very long lasting teeth profile not to mention you have plethora of chainring options with SRAM and you can get great, cheap rings from aliexpress.
I'm currently running SRAM X1 DUB carbon cranks, they're very light (total weight including everything and 32t chainring is 550gr) and cost me 150€ as a take off.
Working in a shop we had to warranty so many of these cranks, and each time we had to warranty something we could expect at least a dozen emails with their department. Asking for photos, then videos, then a differnt angle, then asking if we were sure. Seriously... we're sending back the product, its not like were after anything for free, we just need to replace customers' stuff, we're professionals, we know when something fails, we especially know if we've seen it fail a dozen times in the exact same way.
TL;DR don't buy raceface. anything.
Since you seem to be local to our facility in Vancouver maybe you would love to come through and see how we produce our carbon cranks in-house and we can also discuss your opinions on RF products and how we can do better in your eyes.
Just need to get the kids out of the damn house so I can afford a pair.
I would say taking a dump before a ride would have more weight saving benefits. As for safer ankles, I just don't know, I've never hit mine on my burly atlas alu cranks that I pedal for hours at a time.
The early(ish) 2014/15 Next SLs (G3?) which came on my 2015 Jeffsy Pro died 2.5 years in, and were warrantied with no quibble - I received a set of Next R 48hrs later.
These Next R have been solid for 2.5 years now.
I also have Next SL G4 cranks on my hardtail, these are now over 2 years old and are solid still.
So, the Cinch preload collar, omg. Please make it stop backing out. Oh wait, nobody can because it's pressing against the seal which occasionally binds against the BB and steadily backs-out that collar. Good thing it's nylon and uses a 1.5mm screw, otherwise you might have been able to prevent friction from backing it out. Nevermind the occasional bashguard stall.
Also, their Cinch BSA BB-cup ovalized. Coming from HTII that was something new to me. A bit of the ol' clik-clak fix-it goop seems to have resolve that (for now).
The ovalized BB cup sounds a bit weird....would also suggest chatting that through with our dedicated service team as there may be other things in play here .
Send them a message at service-ca@raceface.com and they will work on getting you stoked on RF again!
BTW - the replacement cranks eventually failed at the pedal insert. The second warranty scenario resulted in RF sending me the “R” cranks - which are much heavier.
Don’t even get me started on the POS RF dropper. I blame myself for giving RaceFace a second (third and fourth) chance.
On my own bike I run Truvativ Ruktion cranks on a Howitzer bb which replaced 2004 LX cranks (and a left non-series crank from 2008 or so). I think the Truvativ cranks are heavier but I haven't experienced any downsides. That said, I don't do gate practice. On level or descending sections I typically put in a few short stomps and pumps but nothing continuous. I do pedal continuously on the climbs but that is a much lower cadence so I'd say rotating mass wouldn't matter that much.
References to reports proving that so much lighter cranks will save you so and so much power are welcome too.
I can't speak too much about the pedal inserts coming loose, but I'm convinced that a lot of the failures that occur in the middle of the crank arms might be caused by the outer face of the crank arms being ground away by shoe rub. If you've ever seen a cross section cut-away of the SixC crank, it's pretty ridiculous how thin the wall is. Because of this, I've been pretty religious about keeping the 3M tape scuff guard intact on the crank arm. I've made a simple template of the original shape, and when I notice that the tape is damaged or wearing off, I replace it right away. Takes a few minutes, and I probably do this about once a year. I've seen some other Race Face carbon cranks where the 3M tape is completely gone, and the rider's shoes have worn through a considerable amount of carbon on the outer face.
Granted it is my fault for losing the email which contained the sales receipt. But it still sucks to be out this many hundreds of dollars.
Had some creaking in with the Turbines, 5 minutes and an allen key made short work of it.
My hardtail, on the other hand, is on its third set of Next SL cranks. First set failed/developed severe play at the spindle. Second set had the pedal insert come loose. Warranty service the first time was a pain and took two months plus many follow-ups just to replace an obviously broken crankset. Third set is holding so far. RF needs to work better with their distributors on that.
I also respect Race Face on this forum for attempting to take responsibility and help rectify and solve any problems people have had with their product(s). They are a good Canadian company trying to make very cool MTB stuff.
I also have about 6 months on SRAM XO1 cranks on my 2019 Trance Advanced Pro 29 and no problems either.
(Granted there are a few lemons and outliers)
Nice honest review... Thank you!!
I went straight out and sold that replacement, bought X01.
F*** that.
They look like a sweet piece of kit though.
RF chainrings have never been good (and I'm going back to Turbines on a square taper bb on this assertion), their bottom brackets have never held up (remember ISIS spindle threaded bb's anyone?) and their carbon cranks seem to be made of papier mache (but more layers-yet somehow lighter??).
If you want Gucci cranks-get Hopes. Otherwise, both Shimano and SRAM make better options for less money than RF (or anybody else).
And yeah carbon cranks could not beat Shimano
So far, I have not seen the 2019 versions snap though (The DUB versions).
Thanks!
For anyone wondering, they did not leave me hanging. I was told I didn't qualify for warranty under current policy. I'll be pleasantly surprised if they make an exception and convert me to back to RF again!
Will not sell one now without pulling the lowers and redoing the oil.