I have Bought a 2000€ Crankset - Is It Any Good?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- ronykuba.com/
I have been eyeing the super sleek Wattshop Cratus cranks for quite a while now. For this year, I have finally decided to go ahead on them, with the appearance of new power meter options that made the switch possible. However, it was not a simple upgrade by any means.
Nice job Ronnie. It’s athletes like you that have to be appreciated for their level of passion for the sport. As a result we all benefit. Naysayers are everywhere. Keep the power on. You are the boss! 🙏🏻
Thanks for the support!
You have a great amount of determination and passion for cycling, you deserve just as much credit as energy that you put into these projects. You should be proud, I applaud you.
I appreciate that!
What a crazy ride for you getting this working, sorry for the troubles, but at least you got to make a video about it. Do carbon chain rings wear out really fast or is that just a myth? I haven’t watched your videos for a while, last time I watched, you were riding Specialized, but this is such a great looking bike. Hope you have a lot of success with it.
I have ridden carbon rings in the past, without any problems. Thanks for the support 👍
What a nightmare and impressive determination from your side to make it work eventually - I was thinking sunk-cost fallacy more than once during the video when another problem occurred.😳
I hope that the increase in stack and saddle height, respectively, does not cancel out what you gain through the narrower stance.
Wasn’t anywhere near as bad as some issues with other products
it was like you filmed this at sea 😂 great insights though still a heafty lump for marginal gains
Could be significant actually. We will see soon
Kudos Ronald, you made it fit.
Must have been quite a puzzle. A proper technical drawing of the crank would have saved you a lot of time, money and work but wouldn't have made such a long video 😂
My takeaway is that Wattshop products are not for everyone.
Absolutely true. As I said - the more speciality stuff, the more complicated it gets
It must have been difficult, especially mentally, to solve such problems on such expensive components. I wish you that everything works well!
It is not the first one, and certainly not the last one, so I don´t get too worked up at this point.
Nice vídeo, nice specs.
Good explanition keep doing this vídeos
Thanks 🙏
Pleased to see I'm not the only one to experience all these frustrating issues! I got mine a couple of months ago.
I had to run a YBN chain to solve the chain mesh issue, which has worked fine and is reported to be a bit more efficient by ZFC anyways, but I would have preferred to keep the Shimano chain for shifting performance. I discounted using KMC due to reports of poor wax adhesion.
The pedal arm chain strike issue was resolved by a 6 mm longer spindle and moving most of the spacers to the drive-side. I'm running a 24 mm spindle. Quite disappointing to make such a concession with the q-factor. I also had to abandon my Garmin Rally dual side power meter pedals due to the protruding electronics, so now I'm running Assiomas, which are very reliable.
I have not actually been able to run this crankset since getting the new spindle, as there's an issue with the tolerance of the steel axle, which is a very loose fit with the crank arm. The old, narrower steel axle is a much tighter fit. Hopefully they'll be able to solve this QC issue, but I'm not too optimistic after all this.
Currently back on Shimano cranks with a Digirit carbon chainring, which actually has a nicer finish than the Wattshop chainring and has seemingly no issues with Shimano chains. It also has a low friction additive, so performance should be comparable.
I am running the new Wattshop Anemoi Mk2 extensions, which I'm quite happy with, so they clearly still make good products - it's just that maybe drivetrains are not their forte.
Damn, that sucks. We already have the tooling now, so we can modify your chainring if you want.
@@ronykuba I'll keep that in mind if I get the issue sorted out.
Looks great and thanks.. but don't get to hooked up with upgrades sickness, better to focus on training and share its performance gains.
Performance optimisation is my main source of income.
Did you ask Wattshop about the chainring not meshing with the chain? Did they have any idea what was wrong? Well done for finally getting it going again!
Yes. They told me to use a different chain
@@ronykuba yeah I saw that later, should have finished the video first!
They should also say that on the website so you know before you purchase.
I do like the look of the crank - will you wind tunnel test it?
@@aarondcmedia9585 no, we generally do outdoor testing
@@ronykubawhich one?
This crank IS design for track bike. Not for speed raod bike.
The more it cost´s, the more you need to DIY ;-)
True!
Hi. Is it possible to remove the left crank arm and put on a crank arm with a power meter?
Sure, it is possible to remove. Otherwise it would not be possible to install the crank. There’s no power option.
Did anyone ever try to install the Speedplay aero pedal pods on the Speedplay PM spindles? I would guess the internal axle design of the standard pods and the aero pods might be identical
No, it’s not. The PM version has a larger diameter spindle to house the electronics.
Campagnolo has Bora Ultra TT crankset which looks very similar.
They don't have the narrow q factor
Yep, plus it’s unfortunately only made in ancient lengths that nobody uses anymore
not sure i'd try black cleats can resulet in a lot of knee pain
…when your position is not correct, yes. Not my case though.
I've also had a few thoughts about the cratus crank and I'm now quite sure that I should keep my hands off it. Simply for peace of mind. Anyway: I've seen some new black stack spacers at the front end?! Keep up the good work!
Yep, I have a few more variations for the stackers to test
why not use the SRM Wattshop crankset?
Wouldn’t be too much of a difference compared to the previous setup
Clearly this is why UAE aren’t using cratus cranks on their Colnago TT bikes! If this shit show happened to me I would have been far less tolerant and would have been straight on the phone to Grant Bigham at Wattshop for a way to solve all the problems with the bearing dust covers, machining the bearing flanges and the chainring in a proper way and without taking so much time. They are normally very service oriented, so I am very, very surprised you had to get the bearings and chainring machined yourself, you’ve probably reduced its longevity as well by doing this.
By this time I had learned that it’s quicker and easier to do it my way, as I have the resources.
Machining the outer lip of the BB cup won’t change anything in terms of longevity.
That sounds is you using 54t teeth?
Nope, it’s a 60t. The smallest chainring for this crankset is a 58.
No wonder is so loud
@@vuiminglee5709 why? I don’t quite get that
I'm mean the 60t Is so loud but I'm like it
But also rolling resistance is more longer spin right?
the chain is in wrong position
How is that?
@@ronykuba I may be seeing wrong but it seems that one of the sides is flatter and that is the one that is in contact downwards
@@loterco well yes, that is wrong
It’s a narrow wide chainring. You had the narrow parts of the chain on the wide teeth of the chainring. Used error im afraid
Look, I am make my living out of bicycle perfořance optimisations and I know what a NW chainring is. I am not an idiot. The wide teeth were TOO WIDE for the WIDE links, around 0.9mm wider than what most brands use. But all that is said in the video, so maybe try listening better next time 👍
@@ronykuba at 17:50 you clearly have it incorrect
@@oliverlennard I’m sorry, you don’t even understand what you’re seeing.
The girth on the wide teeth is too wide, so the teeth don’t engage. When forced down on the ring, the chain engages but can’t come off - which is seen at the bottom of the ring as I rotate the cranks. As the chain is half engaged on the chainring, at one point it starts riding up on the teeth instead of engaging. This can be observed at the upper half.
If it was the case that you’re proposing, then:
A - the chain wouldn’t engage anywhere on the circumference of the ring and would come off easily at the bottom section, most likely jumping off the ring altogether, or skipping back into place in a luckier case
B - the machining that we have done wouldn’t have helped
Please do yourself a favour and don’t make a fool out of yourself by trying to school me about things you don’t even know that you don’t know.
@@ronykuba it’s too wide when you miss match the narrow chainring with the narrow and wide parts of the chain. Yes that’s true.
Don’t worry we all make silly mistakes
@@oliverlennard that’s not what is happening, as I have described above. Again, it’s specifically the wide teeth that were too wide for the chain. The narrow teeth had their clearance spot on. This is also visible in the video, as I force the chain on.
If what you are suggesting would be true, I wouldn’t be able to do that. The width of the wide tooth is 3.1mm (now after the machining). The width of the narrow chain gap is 2mm. It would not be possible to force that on. Even if I was strong enough, the chain would just break.
The wide chain gap is 3.9mm. The width of the wide tooth was 3.9mm before machining - hence the binding.
It looks like everybody else understood that in the first place, hopefully now you do too.
-2k xD
?
Useless !
We will see about that 🤷
What a pain in the arse. 10/10 for sticking with it. Really interesting video.
Not as bad as some other issues I have worked on recently.
Thanks for making this video! This was both entertaining and informative! Pushing boundaries does often come with some unique challenges I guess. 😅
Cheers 👋 that is absolutely right
Great trying to optimize and it looks super "bling", but I'm willing to wager the EUR2,000+ and countless hours spent for this setup has bought something that's within the margin of error no faster than the Aerocoach ring / Rotor crank you replaced (excluding the removal of the FD). Look forward to seeing the aero testing results tho!
The Q-Factor went down by more than 20m, so that’s not really possible.
An interesting problem! In retrospect, if you machined the full amount only from the outer face of the chainring, you would have doubled your crank-chain clearance increase on the inside. A quick'n'dirty fix would be to adjust the derailleur high limit to lock out the smallest cog ( not ideal) and re-configure your cassette to whatever compromise gearing you need. The BB issue is too complex (your ideal fit should be the starting point), but all you need is enough time and money :)
Crank-chain clearance wouldn’t help much when the chainline is bad. Locking out the RD was not an option, I am not someone who does half-solutions. There’s no such thing as “ideal fit”.
As always with bike companies. Gutter level engineering. You're 100% that this would not fly in any other engineering related sport.
It’s true unfortunately
I didn't think I'd like it, but that looks really cool. I kind of saw that pedal axel thing coming. You almost have to go O'Bree and build a bike for narrower q factor. I get its more aero, but it would be a compromise of my fit to go narrower than a standard road crank. I'm on the cleat in for feet out fit. I'll just admire it on your bike.
I find it really comfortable, hopefully it’s fast too
Those speedplay adapter with extended fore-aft and lateral adjustment are made from "FORM" company, maybe they will be what you are looking for, just to save you manufacturing cost :).
Oh nice, thanks for that!
I’m glad it’s not just me that has the same experiences (struggles) with TT bikes and specialist components and thanks for the detailed breakdown of the various problems. It’d better be faster after all that!
Right on!
Couldve gotten most of the gains with a chainring guard from ezgains without changing any parts
No, not at all. The only “gain” from the cover is added frontal area. Plus of course it’s not UCI legal. With these, you have the aero profile, narrow Q factor, short lengths, chainring integration etc.
I WOULD HAVE BEEN FURIOUS @ the 12s lmao. Great vid as always.
I am past that point, things like this happen unfortunately
Any idea how manny watts did you save with the setup?
We haven’t done any testing yet
Funny. Mine worked fine with 12 sp Shimano. The one trick is that I have to use the SRAM chain link
You’re probably the only one then
@@ronykubait could be that mine was an early model. I have been riding it for about a year and half now. The other explanation could be that I first installed it on an 11sp bike. That initial install may have worn the teeth down enough that the switch to 12sp wasn’t an issue, except for the quick link
@@MichaelWilliams-iv6dj yes, that is plausible
Hey, Ron! There's a hole in the back of your shorts. What if you didn't know) on 13:33
Yeah, they’re workshop shorts 🙃
That's for aero.
Marginal stains.
@@JibbaJabber 😅😅😅
This is what I'm looking to do to replace my powerlinks...with different chainrings😂
Not the easiest way for sure 🤷
@ronykuba I have a similar clearance issue with my Garmin Rally XC pedals. They're fine on my gravel bike. But on my narrow q-factor MTB cranks, even the 1 sided power meter pedals hit on BOTH chainstays. So I actually filed down about 2mm of the plastic on the power meter side and use 2 small washers. I just ground about 3mm off the other pedal to make that work. The Assioma MTB pedals don't have a pod and don't have a long protrusion. I'm hoping the new version of their road pedals have the same spindle and a more aero body like the new Looks.
@@veganpotterthevegan ugh, that’s not ideal. I’m curious about the new Assiomas too, the old ones have been around for ages.
The children in Biafra. ❤️
?
@huaweo755 could've eaten up all of dat carbon fiber damn rony
@@LifeWithoutBeats haha 😅 not very nutritious though
I tried black cleat a year ago, and I never go back
You mean for Look?
@@ronykuba yes..I use assioma, look zero float cleat
Ur insane
I know
How much does the full setup cost?
What do you mean by full setup?
your bike and everything on it..even cycling computer if you have it...pedals bottle cage..
@@luka4044 I don’t keep track of things like that. Around 20k in retail prices I would say.
I like it but is v4rs
Well, this is not a v4rs
@@ronykuba I want to know about tadej pogacar v4rs is what equipment that can make it so fast with his power?
@@vuiminglee5709 the engine plays a big part in that one 🤷
are you going to make a "short" about this
I don’t think that would make much sense
@ronykuba just a joke about the 37 minute video to a tag line hinting that this is going to end with a yes or no answer. Not to be taken seriously, literally or with malintention.
kind of obvious it's for 1/8 track chains if you look at their site.
This is the 1X narrow wide version obviously. If you look at their site...