Competitive Cyclist Reviews SRAM XX Crankset

[cularu1]

whats the weight with BB?

[MongooseFreeRider]

Does this fit a 83mm bottom bracket

[titanium1228]

XX is good. but ill stick with my XT and XTR components

[BillieJean900]

is sram x7 good crank

[Varaxis]

X-Glide is where the difference is at. '11 XO feels rough in comparison. I'd take XTR or even SLX over XO in terms of shifting performance, but the XX cassette and chainrings really outdoes everything I've ever ridden. If the SRAM 2x10 Experience demo team comes within 200 miles of you, I'd definitely recommend investing a trip out there and ride some high end bikes, unless you don't want to feel compelled to upgrade.

[ryanola72]

@ccmeaston, I'd suggest you go for a test ride and see if you can discern the play from the saddle. If not, have a great season. If so, feel free to send it all back and we'll go another route.

[ryanola72]

@ccmeaston, that should be unnecessary. The ID of the left side bearing is 22mm, the same as the stepped down portion of the spindle there.As long as you've torqued the left side to spec, you've installed it correctly. As I mentioned before, there may be a few thousandths gap in the right side bearing/spindle interface, and that is normal. So unlike bottom bracket designs of old, this minute wobble you feel when yanking on the pedal end of the crankarms is nothing to be concerned with, really.

[ccmeaston]

i'm almost tempted to go the the hardware store and buy a tin strip and fabricate a small collar to eliminate the spindle-bearing race gap...

[ccmeaston]

yes, when i grab the crankset center on its driveside face and try to pull it east-west, there is no east-west play. but when i grab the arms on its pedal ends and move it opposingly, there is that slight wobble. i pulled off the left crankarm and noticed that the splined teeth of the spindle isnt sitting flush on the bearing race - in fact there is about a 1mm gap all around - which i believe you mention below. this gap looks to be, from my view, where the wobble is originating from.

[ryanola72]

@ccmeaston, Double check that you don't have any axial movement. You should not be able to push or pull the crankset sideways through the bearings at all. If this is the case, your left side crankarm is not installed correctly. If there's no movement through the bearings you're in good shape.

[ryanola72]

@ccmeaston, My assumption is that the small amount of free movement you feel when you rock the crankarm back and forth is the few thousandths in the slip-fit between the spindle and the right side bearing inner race. And contrary to the way we used to fastidiously work to just eliminate any free movement in our bottom bracket bearings, this is just not a concern any longer with the GXP system. As long as you torqued the cups and the left side fixing bolt properly, you're ready to ride.

[ryanola72]

@ccmeaston, it sounds like you're done with the installation. It's not necessary to add any spacers to either side at this point. In fact, even if you had room to move the cups out, it wouldn't affect the crank "play" that you feel. The GXP BB system does not rely on a load along the spindle axis to preload both bearings. Rather, it relies on precise bearing tolerances to allow free-spinning performance while keeping any "play" to a mimimum.

[ccmeaston]

ryan - i've bolted everything up - but there is still some slight 'play' in the crankset and I've torqued the left crankarm bolt pretty much at max. I have have a yeti arc frame with 73mm bb width - the gxp bb instructions says not to use spacers with this width.

should I undo the bb cups and add one of the 3mm spacers that came with it ? if so, which side should I space - driveside cup or left cup ? thx for the help

[ryanola72]

@ccmeaston, you'll love your new cranks! Installation is simple. Install the cups in their respective sides (they'll be marked), then slide the crankset in from the right side. You'll install the left side crankarm with an 8mm hex wrench and torque to spec according to the instructions. Then go ride!

[ryanola72]

Hey ccmeaston, Truvativ cranks will not work with Shimano BBs. The difference lies in the design of the Truvativ spindle, which steps down from 24 to 22mm on the left side. It creates a step in the spindle that captures the inside edge of the left-side bearing's inner race. The outside is captured as well, by the left crankarm. The Truvativ design doesn't preload the two bearings like the Shimano design to locate the crank assembly laterally, rather this captured bearing locates the crank.

[ccmeaston]

@ryanola72 - thanks for the info! i've just ordered the sram xx crankset + gxp bb.  would installation for sram xx cranks+gxp bb's be the same format as the shimano/hollowtech method? first screw in left side bb cups - then right side cups - then push the crankset+spindle thru the bb left side - put the right crank arm on and use the autex bolt on the right side crank arm to pull the arm towards the bearings - then lock down the right crank arm. any tips on intstallation appreciated.

[ccmeaston]

do you know if truvativ gxp cranks work with shimano bb's ?

[repairdrive]

I like how the parts show some wear. Shows you actually used it before you reviewed it. Thanks for posting the vid.

[Heartzexplode]

Can't tell if this is a marketing video by a sram employee of an objective review.