RaceFace Prodigy XC crankset

[Cookielad]

Hi all,

I've been offered a Raceface prodigy XC crankset for a decent price, but can't seem to find any reviews or information about them.
Are they any good? Do they have any faults?

Any advice will be helpful!

Cheers Retro bikers

 

[Liam1611]

Re:

Raceface produce pretty bullet proof cranksets, however if it's an ISIS drive crank, which it most probably is, expect to replace the BB every twelve months or so, as the bearings tend to wear very quickly due to the tiny ball bearings used. I use to own a Raceface ISIS drive crank and in the two years I owned the crank ended up replacing the BB twice. I sold the crank after the BB failed again and went external. A half decent triple bearing ISIS BB will cost in the region of £30 - £50.

Kind Regards

Liam

 

[Cookielad]

Thanks Liam for the information. It is an Isis BB type. I'm swapping over from a square taper Specialized crank/BB combination so I'm not to sure on the Isis type.
Generally I right light trails so hopefully it will last?
For BB I have seen a decent priced FSA option but again I'm not to sure what make might be best?
Cheers
James

 

[Liam1611]

Re:

Personally I'd figure out how much the Crank and BB are going to cost you, then look towards buying a Hollowtech II Compatible Crank & External BB. If you are looking at sticking with Raceface, then you should be able to get a crank for around £30 - £40 and an External BB for another £10. This will probably work out cheaper, if your just doing light trails, you may not need something that's as heavy duty and Shimano may fit the bill, Hone or Deore perhaps. I am sold on Raceface though as they do make very good cranks that will probably outlast any of my bikes although they are slightly heavier than most stuff from Shimano. If you do go external it will be far cheaper in the long run as you can drift out the old bearings and replace for about £8 or just buy another external BB. I'd avoid ISIS as the crank & BB were on my "weekend" bike and I probably rode it about 2 - 3 times per month for about 4 - 6 hours per time. The first BB I fitted was a Raceface ISIS SRX (not cheap) lasted just over 12 months, I then replaced it with a slightly cheaper BB which lasted as long. Needless to say I was a bit narked at having to replace the BB every 12 months and decided to go external. The problem with the ISIS BB's is the spindle is so big they have to use smaller bearings which wear quicker, so even if you buy a 2 - 3 or 4 bearing BB it will still wear out far quicker than a Square Taper or Octalink equivalent due to the spindle diameter.

If you still want to stick with ISIS here's a positive review of one BB.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -10-35491/

Available here:

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... ucts_id=31

Mindmap was selling a Raceface Deus XC crank not long back for £30

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=288278

And Chain Reaction are selling Deore BB's for less than a tenner.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... -prod34674

Kind Regards

 

[Cookielad]

Hi Liam,

Thank you for the heads up.
The Prodigy crank is available for around £30, so with a ISIS BB like the superstar one it's going to cost me about £60 overall so from what you have mentioned its definitely going to be close on price between this and an Hollowtech compatible option with external BB.
Just like yourself I'm quite sold on Race face with having a Race face stem, seatpost and up until recently Bar too and I must admit I can't fault them at all, plus I do think they look the part!

Cheers
James

 

[Liam1611]

Re:

Raceface Cranks

Respond 170mm

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1531327/

Diabolous

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1258106/

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1532834/

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1444113/

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/883136/

A quick touch up with some Matt Black Paint and they will look like new.

Check the BB shell size with the any of the above Sellers who don't detail it within their listing, any that don't show pics ask them to e-mail you, always pay with Paypal and don't use the Gift option as you will not have Paypal protection if the sale goes tits up when paying by Gift.

If you do end up buying a Hollowtech crank but don't have 104bcd chain rings, drop me a PM as I will have some which will be available soon.

Kind Regards

Liam

 

[r32]

Raceface Prodigy AFAIK were supplied OEM on some low-mid range bikes in the early noughties. My 2000 Kona Roast came with a set (square taper BB) which I use to this day. I would guess they were Taiwanese, not Canadian in origin like their Turbine brothers. Can't tell if they were cast or forged but they weren't machined. The markings were printed, not laser etched. After a decade, the markings are fading on mine.

But they are decent cranks though I wouldn't associate them as being high end just because of the brand.

 

[Cookielad]

Re: Re:

Raceface Cranks

Respond 170mm

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1531327/

Diabolous

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1258106/

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1532834/

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1444113/

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/883136/

A quick touch up with some Matt Black Paint and they will look like new.

Check the BB shell size with the any of the above Sellers who don't detail it within their listing, any that don't show pics ask them to e-mail you, always pay with Paypal and don't use the Gift option as you will not have Paypal protection if the sale goes tits up when paying by Gift.

If you do end up buying a Hollowtech crank but don't have 104bcd chain rings, drop me a PM as I will have some which will be available soon.

Kind Regards

Liam

Thanks Liam! I think that's now the way to go now! For the value it seems to make more sense to go down that route for longevity and value for money!

If I find the right set that would be get, I'll PM you.

Thanks again
James

 

[Cookielad]

Raceface Prodigy AFAIK were supplied OEM on some low-mid range bikes in the early noughties. My 2000 Kona Roast came with a set (square taper BB) which I use to this day. I would guess they were Taiwanese, not Canadian in origin like their Turbine brothers. Can't tell if they were cast or forged but they weren't machined. The markings were printed, not laser etched. After a decade, the markings are fading on mine.

But they are decent cranks though I wouldn't associate them as being high end just because of the brand.

Thanks R32,

I've had a look at the crank and your spot on, definitely not machined and they do look cast with the printed numbers.

I really wasn't sure where they fit into the Race face range.
My bike is full XTR transmission wise apart from a specialized crank so I would like to have something higher end to complement the rest of the group set.

Cheers
James

 

[r32]

I had the crankset with my M952 XTR derailleurs, XT cassette and XT chain with no problem at all. However if it is complement you're after, its hard to look past a matching XTR crankset in my opinion.