Price, Stiffness, Looks

Looks (graphics), design

I think RaceFace would have had a winner here, except for a few things I'll point out. Never had myself, but I've always liked the looks of RaceFace cranks on mountain bikes, and thought it was pretty cool that they had put out a road crank (Cadence) and track crank (Decadence).

I snatched up the Decadence with a bottom bracket, but no chainrings. (BTW, I think the graphics on the arm is tolerable, but not the Decadence chainring. Yuck.) Installed on (track) bike without much fanfare, but to find out the chainline in the outer position is not correct for a track bike with a track wheel. And Raceface's claim of 2mm "adjustability" should be taken with a grain of salt, as people don't want their cranks offset (one closer to the frame, the other away). At least I don't. No, this is not a track crank, this is the road crank (Cadence) with different graphics.

But I installed my chainring on the inside position, and tweaked the chainline a hair (with included spacers), and I had a usable crank. I like it just fine, and it is plenty stiff and does it's job well. I would also add the caveat that don't expect your bearings to last very long, especially if your bike is exposed to wetness. Don't know why, maybe not the best seals, but the Raceface bearings just don't seem to last. But I do like the outboard bearing design, and that there are other nice bearing upgrades to be had.

I think RaceFace could have knocked this out of the park, with a couple of changes. One, the crank should have been made with a true 41-42mm chainline. And then a person could use the extra 2mm to dial the chainline to their setup, since there can be some variance. Two, lose the lightning/electricity graphics that everyone seemed to hate. Three, since the whole crank would be a different design and manufacture anyway, go to the 144 BCD, since this is more of a track standard, and more chainrings in that size. But right away, you can see the added expense this would have created, and it becomes apparent why this is just a virtually "same but slightly adapted" version of the road crank.

All in all, I am satisfied with it, and would recommend, too, as long as you know what your getting.

I have seen both of these cranks on closeout at various times, and wouldn't be surprised if they are out of production. But here is what I think RaceFace should do. Make a road/cross crank with 110 BCD, so it could be set up with cyclocross or compact road gearing. Use a 386 EVO design with a 30mm spindle, which can be used on most if not all BB shells, including the still ubiquitous English threaded. Keep the weight down, and the Q to road/cross standards. I think they would be a hit with crossers, gravelers, and roadies. That's what they should do!