This time they're introducing their two-piece cranks, which you can see on messageboards in Germany and the UK but not their own website.
Rather than attach the spindle to one arm or the other, they chose to split their (19mm) spindle right down the middle. Just like Campagnolo did with their road cranks in '06. Then again, Campy's design uses a lot more teeth, something known as a Hirth joint, which looks a lot more stable and sturdy than the UK's connection point. Let your cranks get just a little loose with these babies and you'll be banging your knee into something or throwing yourself over your bars. Fun! Well, unless they fit super-tight, in which case good luck putting them together in the first place.
The arms look conventional enough, although I'm sure they use UK's super-secret heat-treating process. Some kind of bolt will lock the whole thing together. Of course this means if you break EITHER arm, the replacement cost will be fairly high. They weigh 736 grams, which must be light. (Who weighs their cranks in grams? Oh. These guys, apparently.) No mention of price, either.According to the info provided, they have developed an even lighter set of cranks at 712 grams that either haven't been or can't be photographed. Perhaps they're adversely affected by light?
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Mike Aitken took it hard the other day at Posh, and is in the hospital recovering. Like many riders in the wonderful US of A, he doesn't have health insurance. You can donate—or just leave a message for him—on the 50/50 site.
Here's a sequence of him I took at the Banks during the Fox tour a while back:
Get well soon, Mikey.
Here's a sequence of him I took at the Banks during the Fox tour a while back:
Get well soon, Mikey.
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