With seemingly ever changing standards, it’s nice to see something that’s virtually future proof come along. The new FSA modular mountain bike cranks are just that, using a simple spacer system to adjust chainline to work with Boost and non-Boost bikes equally well. And thanks to their interchangeable spindle, spider and chainring system, they should work with any other standard that may come along, too.
But what about bottom brackets? They have that covered, too, along with new lightweight and low-rise stems, a dropper post and more…
The modular system will cover the span, from top of the line SL-K carbon ($419.99 w/ 1x chainring) to the affordable alloy Comet ($179.99). The image at top of post shows the silver spacer ring. Put it between the chainring/spider and crank arm for standard bikes, and behind the chainring for Boost.
Their spiders and direct-mount chainrings use a lock ring on the back to hold them in place, the tool above provides the interface.
Replace the spindle to make it fit different BB widths…
…and different BB’s to fit virtually any frame out there, all using their 30mm spindle.
The four options for modular cranks and their specs, click to enlarge.
Eschewing modularity for lightweight, the K-Force Light uses an asymmetric 4-arm spider built into the carbon crank arm with bonded alloy spindle attached to the driveside. It is, in their words, the lightest mountain bike crankset available. At just 425g (claimed) with a single chainring, they might be right. Put a double chainset on it and it’s still only 495g. The arms are hollow UD carbon, available in 170mm and 175mm lengths.
FSA’s 1x single chainrings use their deeper “Megatooth” narrow wide design to enhance chain retention.
Joining the lightweight cranks is the new 143g K-Force Light carbon-wrapped alloy stem with a -12º rise. Designed to get the front end low on 29ers, it’s their stiffest mountain bike stem, but not the lightest.
That honor could have gone to the 133g SL-K version, which uses a square-ish alloy body with carbon faceplate, but instead goes to the round alloy Afterburner stem. That one, on right, comes in at a claimed 128g. All three get the same negative rise and come in 10mm length increments from 60mm to 140mm.
The new FSA Gravity GRID riser bar and stem add a 35mm diameter clamp option to their DH/enduro lineup.
To go with it is the new Gravity dropper seatpost. We got a sneak peek of this earlier in the year with the tech details, and now it’s almost available.
Two versions will be offered, this Gravity version with a beefed up saddle clamp area, and a slightly lighter FSA version with a slimmer clamp for less aggressive riding. They’ll both come in 100mm and 125mm travel with 30.9 and 31.6 diameters. Claimed weight for the Gravity version is 738g.
The remote can be placed up or down, left or right. Claimed availability is April 2016, and as of this post there’s a spot for it on FSA’s homepage (without images), but Gravity’s site isn’t showing it yet. With a retail of just $299 and easy rebuildability, it might be worth waiting for.
