Praxis has been busy the past few years growing what started off as some worthy aftermarket chainrings to now making some really nice cranks, BB’s, and even their new wide-range 10 speed cassette. That said, they showed up to Taipei with a lot of serious, well thought-out (as usual) new products.
Check out their Lyft carbon mountain bike cranks, new road cranks, micro-compact rings gravel-heads will love, a chain guide, plus much more…
Front and center was this subtle yet striking carbon goody. From a company that is known for putting a lot of attention into the details, I anticipated I would be impressed with just about everything they had to show, but “carbon” was not on the list of what I was expecting.
The new Lyft carbon mountain bike cranks use a 3-bolt direct mount that will work with BOTH their non-boost (49mm offset) and Boost (52mm offset) rings. The Lyft crankset will come with their new M30 Thru Series BB and will work with interchangeable BB90/92, BB30, or PF30 spindles, (think Cinch). Adam from Praxis said they’re shooting for early June availability and retail pricing should be in the $500 range. The standard Lyft crankset will come in both 175 & 170mm lengths, and they are also coming out with a Lyft HD crankset (170mm only) that will use the same mold but constructed with a stronger carbon lay-up and even beefier spindle. Weights are said to be at or better than those from other carbon competitors.
Speaking of bottom brackets, their M30 BB now sports an alloy pre-load ring. It’s made of aluminum rather than plastic so there is less chance of stripping with that tiny locking screw, which tended to be a common occurrence on the plastic ones out there.
With a new premium trail crank in their line-up next to their current hollow-forged crankset, the new Cadet cranks come in at “good” on the good/better/best scale. Though a great entry-level upgrade for those wanting a direct mount, it also will serve as an attractive offering to the OE market.
Jumping over to road, their new cold-forged Buzz rings make it easier to fit most road cranks. What makes these rings special is that they will work with both 5-arm visible and 5-arm/4 visible (SRAM EXO) cranks. While Buzz will be coming as standard fare on their Zayante cranks (above), the Zayantes will also be available in 1X configurations.
The trick to being multi-compatible is the two placements options for the catch-pin. The chainrings come with both a long and short catch pin that can be located at either end of the chainring depending on the cranks they are going on and how thick the arms is. We offered a peek at them back at Eurobike, but it has gotten more refined now.
To keep things clean, the buzz rings come with a plug to place in the threaded hole you’re not using. This not only makes it easier trying to figure out what rings to buy, but also makes a great option for shops as they won’t have to worry about stocking as many variations of rings.
Also new are the new non-hollow Alba cranks, which we also previewed back in September. Like the Cadet cranks, they will be a viable option for those wanting a good crank as an upgrade or as a high value option for the OE market. Shown here with their new Micro Compact rings, gravel riders will appreciate getting down to a 32 tooth ring thanks to the stepped mounting tab machined down to allow enough space for the chain on that tiny gear.
Yep, that’s a 110BCD road ring setup that gives you a tiny 32 granny gear, while pretty much everyone else doesn’t go below a 34 because of the chainring bolts and tabs of the spider otherwise hitting the outer plates and rollers of the chain with a gear that small.
The Alba cranks will also be available in direct mount and the rings are designed so that a powermeter can be added.
Last but not least, they have a nifty, easy to use chain guide coming out. One 4mm bolt allows you to adjust the height. Once fixed, you can then adjust the in/out and angle without have to remove the cranks.
