Truvativ Rouleur Carbon

Price Paid:  $0.00

Bike Setup:
Cannondale - CAAD 8 R1000 with Mavic Ksyrium Elites and ZIPP 404's

Summary:
This cranks came with my Cannondal CAAD 8 R1000 Road Bike which i got in May 2005. This bike did only 1000km before it was rested until recently (Dec 08) due to uni and work commitments.

In Jan of this year (09) and after another 1000km on the bike the left crank fell off whilst riding. The reason for this was due to the bolt (which holds it on) breaking. I put this down to the fact that it is 4 years old, and was lucky not to come off and was only riding on the flat. I got this fixed at a LBS and again after another 1000km, the same thing happened again, the same bolt broke in the same place.

Having had this happen twice with approx 3000km of usage i decided to head back to revert back to Shimano.

This bolt is very soft and dare I say cheap aluminium and for the same thing to happen twice is not good, I was just lucky I was not under a sprint or climbing as the consequences could of been pretty nasty.

Strengths:
Not much anymore. Did like the look of the carbon arm.

Weaknesses:
Breaks (dangerous) - see above, hard to clean, not as stiff as other brands (eg Shimano)

Similar Products Used:
Shimano Ultegra, Ultegra SL, 105, Dura Ace

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Came with Bike

Bike Setup:
All Dura-Ace now :)

Summary:
Absolutely horrible chrome finish on the chainrings and spider. Unless you lack sweat glands DO NOT BUY THIS CRANK!

Strengths:
Stiff external bearing Giga X design, carbon looks spiffy.

Weaknesses:
The chrome peels almost instantly off the chainrings (teeth first, then by the bolts, then everywhere else) and eventually off the spider also. Like the other reviewer I replaced the chainrings (with Dura-Ace 7800, awesome shifting) but now I may have to sandblast/anodize the spider also. The chainrings shift ok, but aren't a very good ramped design. I would call the chainrings cheap. I will keep it as a spare but for now I just installed a whole new 7800 crank.

Similar Products Used:
Dura-Ace and Ultegra cranks (incl. Hollowtech)which are far superior for the $.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at with bike ebay ;)

Bike Setup:
felt f35 full ace 10sp

Summary:
great crankset, i have yet to slip a ring or get in any trouble with these smooth, works very well with 10sp ace, the rings are just starting to loose a bit of their platting, but still looks quite nice and these pups are STIFF mated with the Giant pipe BB they are fantastic for sprints.. there is a lot of pissing and moan about the finish on these but if you bother to wipe down the bike after the ride with some mild cleaner every thing is really cheery. i can see the need to replace the rings in a year of so but thats maintance. rings will wear out as a chain and cog set does. 5stars

Strengths:
loook snazzy
strong, great for sprinting out of saddle
sorta lite

Weaknesses:
rings are pretty but will loose their shiny plate a bit quicker then cnc alum rings

Similar Products Used:
ultegra
record
105
ermmm..
exage

Price Paid:  $650.00 at Bicycle Superstore M

Favorite Ride:
Anywhere as long as it's not raining.

Bike Setup:
Merlin Cyrene with Deda fork, Campagnolo Record ensemble, Deda Newton bars & stem. Mavic Open Pro rims & Time RSX carbon pedals.

Summary:
I purchased this crank assembly due to the lower cost compared to FSA and the want for a stiff external bearing crankset that campagnolo did not make at the time. Not long after fitting the cranks the nickle coating on the chainrings started to peel so I replaced them with ones from BBB which I must say are excellent when shifting gears. The coating on the spider has started to blister from some energy drink I dripped on to them during a ride. Other than those issues they are quite stiff, very simple to assemble and do there job. I wonder if Truvative have a replacement or warranty policy on the crank spider as the same problems have been mentioned on a test in UK magazine 'Cycling Weekly'. I think I'll stick with my square taper Campagnolo BB and crankst.

Strengths:
Reasonably stiff, low cost, easy to assemble and no issues with creaking etc.

Weaknesses:
Nickle coating on the chainrings flakes off after a few rides as well as the spider.

Similar Products Used:
Campagnolo Record & Chorus aluminium cranksets.