If you’re after a hot piece of kit and are comfortable with bigger gears, take a look at this 54/42T crankset. It fits a BB30 bottom bracket (ceramic bearings are included) and the quality is top notch.
We found the hollow carbon crank arms paired with solid alloy aero chainrings to be extremely stiff with no noticeable deformation when stomping out of the saddle. You pay a weight penalty for this, as the crankset weighs more than 850g.
Shifting up from the 42 to the 54 was as smooth as butter, partly due to the narrower gap between chainring sizes, partly due to the ramps and shifting pins on the rings. Overshifting was not the issue we’ve found with some other chainsets. Equally, it was happy shifting down without dropping the chain.
There are five crank arm length options, from 170mm to 180mm, and you can pick from a 55/42, 54/42 or standard 53/39 tooth combinations. It’ll cost you though, which means it’s nice to have rather than essential.
This article was originally published in Triathlon Plus magazine, available on Zinio.