Trace Velo - Ultra Cheap Carbon Crankset - 18 months later...

Cheap carbon cranksets from China are all over AliExpress. They’re lightweight and look fantastic, but are they durable, and what should you look out for?

A decent carbon crankset from a well known brand like Rotor, or even some of the more mainstream Chinese brands like Cybrei, can be very expensive. So over the last few years, I have been testing out some much cheaper options on my road bike that I bought from AliExpress.

The first one I purchased was from a brand called Racework, but as i will demonstrate in this video, the chainrings are falling apart, and the carbon crank arms have a tendency to crack where they clamp onto the axle.

The second carbon crankset I purchased was from a brand called RIRO. It’s quite similar to the original racework one, but the method of securing the crank arms in place is MUCH better. Like SRAM cranksets, it uses a single extraction bolt, which reduces much of the strain placed on the carbon. However I also faced an issue where the extraction bolt snapped on me, but in retrospect I believe this was mainly my fault, and was easily repairable.

One point of note is that both these cranksets use 24mm aluminium crank axles. These have been known to snap under extreme loads, so I will also discuss this topic, and whether cast aluminium is to blame.

Finally I will unbox what I believe is one of the best cheap carbon cranksets to date. Again it is from the brand Riro, but the overall construction and quality is very impressive, and it uses the DUB standard 29mm axle, so should be stiffer, and MUCH more robust.

⬇️ Links to the sellers I used below ⬇️

Shimano 24mm Riro Crankset
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oBtDwB7

DUB 29mm Riro Crankset
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_okATn0Z

Just FYI, these are affiliate links. It won’t cost you any more to purchase, but if you use them I get a little bit of kick-back from AliExpress, which helps!

Riro extraction bolt replacement (Bonus clip - 20:51)
https://youtu.be/PeoQ-bSFPwc?si=KKorRRM3x6KG62d0&t=1252

Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
00:29 – Weight saving
01:13 – Cracked carbon crankset
02:24 – Riro carbon crankset
02:49 – Riro bolt issue
04:12 – Aluminium chainrings
05:48 – Aluminium axles snapping
07:28 – Carbon DUB crankset
11:59 – Bonus clip - New bike

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracevelo/

Email: tracevelouk@gmail.com

Please note:
I am not a professionally trained bike mechanic. There can be risks associated with using products that are unbranded, untested, or come from sources where the provenance is unknown. Please talk to a qualified bike mechanic if you are in any doubt.

In essence, be careful, do your research, and cycle safe!!!

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