All Arround MTB

Race Face’s Next SL carbon cranks are some of the lightest on the market. Now they’ve combined some of the best features of those and their burly SixC DH cranks to make these, the Next Rs. The ‘R’ stands for ‘rally’, and Race Face say these “aggressive, ruckus-ready cranks” are light but still strong where it matters most. When it comes to the first of these claims, these Canadian-made carbon fibre beauties certainly deliver, weighing just 495g (170mm arms, 32t ring, no BB). Race Face’s tried-andtested Cinch system means they can be used with both threaded and press-fit bottom brackets, and the direct-mount chainrings are easily interchangeable. Price $675 (w/direct-mount ring)

Praxis are known for their for forged chain rings, and range of bottom bracket converters. I’ve used both in the past with great success. So it was with some interest when it was announced that they were producing cranks under the Turn brand. But there are a few things that make the Girder M30 MTB cranks stand out from the crowd.

THE NEW XTR is Shimano's lightest groupset to date and also their first to boast an 11-speed cassette. While the 11-40t spread isn't as wide as SRAM's 10-42t X-DOME block, it has the major advantage of fitting on a standard freehub rather than needing a proprietary driver body.

HAILED AS THE lightest production carbon cranks available, the new-for-2014 Next SLs utilise Race Face’s proprietary hollow arms and new Cinch interface – an interchangeable spider design that lets you run a single, double or triple chainring set-up.

Egg-shaped chainrings go enduro R OTOR HAVE GONE back to the drawing board for their new single-ring mountain bike crankset, the REX 1.1. They have updated   heir trademark oval chainrings with a new thick/thin tooth profile and made the crank arms stronger and lighter than ever.