FSA’s Eurobike 2022 preview was a mix of disciplines and both new & new-ish components. But a few unique and interesting bits jumped out from familiar product lines like K-Force & Powerbox road, KFX mountain, and a new NS gravel line. A lightweight machined & carbon road crankset, already raced at the Tour & Vuelta. A much more affordable road power meter alternative. A light one-piece carbon integrated XC bar+stem combo cockpit. And a wildly-oversized gravel stem with variable hardness elastomers to isolate your hand from gravel road vibrations…
2022 FSA road, gravel & mountain bike component highlights
Starting on the road, the new K-Force Team Edition is an all-new lightweight road crankset from FSA mating a top-spec pair of carbon arms to a one-piece machined aluminum chainring pairing. Already raced at two pro Grand Tours this year, it will be available to consumers at the start of the 2022 racing season.
FSA K-Force Team Edition road crankset
The new crankset uses light and stiff hollow 3K carbon arms, with a forged and machined 7050 alloy BB386 EVO bottom bracket spindle. But it is the one-piece, intricately CNC-machined 7075 chaining combo that makes them stand out.
The direct mount 2x chainring combo is available in standard road, mid-compact, compact & sub-compact 53/39, 52/36, 50/34 & 46/30 gearing combinations, plus three closer spread 12-speed combinations 53×40, 52×39 & 46/33 specifically targeting SRAM AXS 2×12 drivetrains. All feature connected ribs for high stiffness and hollowed-out machining for light weight, plus FSA’s own ramp and pin design for fast shifting with any 10, 11, or 12-speed groupset.
FSA says the complete K-Force Team Edition crankset their sponsored riders have been racing weighs just 557g with a set of 53/39T rings (235g left arm & spindle, 322 right arm & direct mount ring combo.) Cranksets will be offered in 165, 170, 172.5 & 175mm lengths.
Complete K-Force Team Edition cranksets will sell for 800€ from early 2022, likely with the two smallest gearing combinations available later in the year.
2022 FSA Powerbox Pod SC alloy road powermeter crankset
The new FSA Powerbox Pod SC alloy road powermeter crankset is bringing power measurement down to a more accessible pricing level, and making it easier for bike makers to include a powermeter on stock bikes. Using a new 20g Pod that fits inside the hollow backside of the left crank arm, the new cranks deliver 1% accurate single-sided power metering at just 385-400€ that should fit almost any frame without chainstay interference.
The left arm with the Powerbox Pod PowerMeter will also be available separately, and will bolt up as an even more affordable upgrade to all FSA BB386 cranksets.
FSA says they even transmit a “virtual” left/right power balance, although don’t explain how that works. The only real downside of the more basic Gossamer Pro-based cold-forged 6061-T6 alloy crank arms is their extra weight, with FSA claiming a complete weight of 813g for a 170mm long set of arms with 46/30T rings and the powermeter Pod.
The budget powermeter cranks are said to feature Japanese strain gauges, a highly accurate German torque sensor, and automatic calibration. They communicate via BLE5.0 and have a 450hr run time with a replaceable CR2450 coin cell battery.
Besides lower price making them more accessible, there are tons of sizing options. The cranks feature a 120/90mm 4-bolt BCD. And FSA plans to offer 10 & 11-speed compatible 53/39, 52/36, 50/34, 48/32 & 46/30T chainring combinations. The crank arms also come in a generous size range including 145, 150, 155, 160, 165, 167.5, 170, 172.5 & 175mm lengths. All those options together could make these an affordable powermeter option from junior racers to gravel & adventure racers.
FSA NS VAS Vibration Absorbing Stem for gravel bikes
Probably the wildest new component we spotted from FSA was their oversized Non Series (that’s the NS, as this doesn’t get into the more premium gravel AGX series) Vibration Absorbing Stem. It’s not the first stem we’ve seen come to market this year with an elastomer to isolate vibration before it gets to your hands. But we even saw this VAS as a prototype being tested two years back around the Dirty Kanza (now Unbound).
The concept is simple, an elastomer wraps all the way around the bar to isolate the rider from any direct stem-to-bar transmission of vibration. It works with three components. First, a narrow smaller polyurethane bushing clamp is secured around the bar to prevent unwanted rotation. Next, a keyed elastomer fits over the smaller clamped bushing. And finally, you bolt the oversized stem overtop, only contacting the elastomer.
The multi-level construction means that even though it fits a standard 31.8mm flat or drop bar, the clamping area must be quite wide and the over stem looks super bulky. But FSA claims it can absorb up to 47% more vibration than a normal stem & bar combo. There are also three hardness options for the elastomer – soft light gray (70A) Comfort, medium dark gray (80A) Sport & stiff dark black (90A) Race – all three come when you buy it from FSA, but only Sport will come as OEM on complete bikes in the near future.
At 291g, the FSA NS VAS isn’t super light, but it is rated for both gravel and mountain bike riding, so could reduce arm pump on flat bars and drop bars. The -6° rise Vibration Absorbing Stem sells for 160€, and comes in 80, 90 & 100mm lengths
FSA KFX SIC integrated XC MTB handlebar
Last up from FSA’s new 2022 lineup is an all-new integrated one-piece carbon mountain bike bar+stem cockpit. The lightweight KFX Stable Integrated Cockpit XC & marathon MTB bar is built to integrate all cable routing inside for a seamless setup with an FSA ICR integrated cable routing headset. It features electronic wiring channels at the grips and large brake/shift ports from below. It also comes with a flush mount top cap with an integrated GPS mount.
The light carbon mountain bike cockpit features a flatter, more boxy shape through the center than most other similar bars. FSA calls the design sleek, but the configuration also looks like it could allow some vertical flex to make the bar more forgiving without sacrificing any control stiffness.
The 780mm wide bar comes in just one 65mm (effective) stem length with a -12° (effective) drop. The bar features 5mm of effective rise, 5° upsweep & 9° backsweep based on a 69° headtube angle. At 350€, the 2022 FSA KFX SIC integrated MTB bar has a claimed weight of just 260g.
