Of all the superlatives one could apply to Cane Creek’s eeWings Titanium Crankset, perhaps “timeless” would be the most essential. Yet, as we all know, the bike industry – especially the drivetrain segment – runs on constant evolution. Meaning that even a crank this beautiful, durable, light, and stiff must still adapt, simply to remain relevant and compatible.
Thankfully, the engineers in Asheville, NC have done exactly that. Ensuring that we will continue to see these stunning cranks used to bling out custom bikes, no matter what comes down the pike in the future from SRAM and Shimano.
The original eeWings mounted to either a direct mount chainring, or a spider with a traditional bolt circle diameter of 130mm or 110mm, making fitment to certain drivetrain and power meter setups challenging or impossible. Now, eeWings feature an 8-bolt direct mount chainring interface that allows riders to pair the cranks with current SRAM Transmission chainrings, as well as SRAM’s full suite of direct mount power meters.
This interface makes upgrading to eeWings a smoother and easier operation for riders on contemporary SRAM-equipped bikes. As far as Shimano compatibility is concerned, Cane Creek also has plans to expand their offerings of chainring spiders to allow the fitment of Shimano chainrings to the new 8-bolt crank as well.
The eeWings also get a facelift, with a revised crank arm shape, giving the arm a more sleek and streamlined profile, while also reducing the overhang past the pedal spindle. This reduced overhang minimizes the risk of dangerous crank strikes when navigating technical terrain.
The only real bugaboo of the original eeWings was the oversized crank fixing bolt, which required a whopping 14mm hex tool. The crank fixing bolt has been updated to an 8mm hex fitting, which makes the new eeWings easier to service and swap between bikes, with the same hex tool that will also work to install and remove most pedals.
All these details are welcome changes, but many great things about the eeWings remain the same. Made entirely of machined and welded titanium, eeWings double the fatigue resistance criteria set by international test standards. They’ve been verified independently as one of the stiffest cranks on the market while also weighing less than many of the mainstream carbon fiber competitors.
Of course, compared to carbon fiber, eeWings resist impact from rock strikes and other mishaps far better than carbon fiber options. Although a crank’s primary job is to transfer the riders pedalling force into the drivetrain, it’s also the centerpiece of the bike, aesthetically, and this is where eeWings are truly in a league of their own, and look absolutely stunning and timeless on any type of bike, regardless of bike type or frame material. To ensure that they will grace every bike you ever own, Cane Creek is now offering a lifetime warranty on all next-generation eeWings.
Cane Creek offers the cranks in two spindle lengths, one for all-road (gravel and road) bikes and a slightly wider one for mountain bikes – each with three choices of arm lengths. 160mm, 165mm, and 170mm for mountain and 165mm, 170mm, and 172.5mm for all-road.
Next generation eeWings will be available, starting Wednesday, April 2 at Canecreek.com and select dealers and retailers for $1199.99 USD.
Technical details:
- Materials: Butted 3/2.5 titanium arms with machined 6/4 titanium spindle and Hirth joint
- Weight: 398g – AR, 165mm with all hardware
- Chainring Interface: SRAM 8-bolt – supports Transmission and SRAM power meters
- Hardware: Stainless Steel chainring bolts and updated 8mm crank fixing bolt
- Spindle Diameter: 30mm
- Preload Adjustment: Cane Creek CNC Machined 7075 T-6 Aluminum with titanium screw
- Q Factor: All-Road : 160mm – Mountain : 176mm
- Finish: Brushed raw titanium with laser etched graphics
- Warranty: Lifetime
