Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!

[ChrisB]

Well I'm going to have to reverse my decision on this crankset.

The drive side crank works fine, but the big problem is the 2 bolt clamping setup on the non-drive side crank arm. The design is way too fragile. Even with a low torque setting, I ended up cracking the non-drive side crank arm. This type of design is fine with alloy cranks like Shimano, but I think it would have been better to use some sort of center bolt locking setup that doesn't apply force to the carbon left crank arm.

I contacted the seller and they said they're already on vacation for the Chinese New Year until Jan. 28th, but I checked and the holiday doesn't officially start until the 21st!

https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/china-public-holiday.htm

I ended up submitting a return & refund request under the 15 day no questions asked return warranty. Though a work around would be to use a Shimano style non-drive side alloy crank arm and the weight difference between arms is probably less than 50g, but with a more stable clamping area.

Do you have some pictures of the damage?
I would be interested to understand the weak points of the design.
Will report my own experience in a separate post later.

BR Chris

[ChrisB]

I already use some Stone chainrings on my 1x Gravel bike.
Material and machining seem excellent and the lifetime of the rings seems much better than cheap chainrings from Zrace and others.
The weight is also lighter than the Zrace chainrings that came with the RX crankset.

The image below is for my new road project (Shimano 105/Di2 12 Speed) using a Sigeyi PM and at the moment combined RX DUB Crankset... Crankset may change if I find some nice and light carbon cranks.
Currently using the original 105 crankset until I find lighter carbon cranks, so can not tell you how well these chainrings work with 12 speed but expect no problems.



BR Chris

My plan was to create a light crankset with a Sigeyi PM and 50-34 Stone chainrings.

Following combinations:
Zrace RX4 - Sigeyi PM - Stone 50-34 chainrings: 859g
Racework N1 Carbon - Sigeyi PM - Stone 50-34 chainrings: 632g
Original 105 Di2 with Stages PM: 777g

The problem I discovered on my new Roadbike project is that the Sigeyi PM inner diameter on the drive side does rub against the T47 BB area of the frame... so had to go back to the original Shimano 105 crankset combined with my old Stages PM. So 145g heavier than with the carbon crankset.

I have installed the Zrace N1 Carbon crankset with a single 44T chainring on my Gravel bike for testing. So far I could not see the weakness on the non drive side that Jonathan reported... Will take a while until I have a chance to ride the bike outside to test if the crank is stable or not...

Here some pictures of the three crankset combinations with weight.


Shimano 105 / Di2




Racework N1 Carbon with Sigeyi PM




Zrace RX4 with Sigeyi PM



BR Chris

[jonathanf2]

I decided to keep the Racework crankset for now and found a work-around for the damaged left crank arm. The Racework axle uses the same Shimano non-drive side crank mount. I opted to use a Shimano left crank arm, though you need to use the Racework fixing bolt. The difference in weight between the Racework carbon crank arm and a Shimano crank arm is 50g (150g vs 200g) measured on my weight scale. Ultegra R8000 and 105 R7000 crank arms weigh the same as well. I also added Wolf Tooth protection crank arm stickers, which keep them looking matched.

I've attached a photo of the damage to my Racework crank arm. A crack formed by the red bolt fastener. I also opted to use the provided bottom bracket with all 3 spacers which was included with my Racework crankset. I removed my Ultegra BB, but surprisingly the bearings seem to spin well on the no name BB. Lastly I changed out my 11 speed chain to a 12 speed version and that seems to help reduce the ramping pin rub on the chainring while in the small ring.

I'm going to contact the seller again and see if they can provide another crank arm once they get back from the New Year holiday.

[ChrisB]

Thank you for the update and the image of the damaged crank.
Going to check mine carefully around that area... but I think there is no such damage on mine.
Let us know how your fix works for you.

BR Chris

[jonathanf2]

Thank you for the update and the image of the damaged crank.
Going to check mine carefully around that area... but I think there is no such damage on mine.
Let us know how your fix works for you.

BR Chris

I think the the crack formed because I was forced to use the spacers to get my 2x chainring aligned properly. It put uneven clamping pressure on the Racework carbon crank arm. Having the 2 bolts on one side was probably the design work around using a carbon crank arm with a 24mm Shimano style spindle design. I don't think it would be an issue on a 1x setup since you don't have to worry about chainring rub. Also my reasoning for going with a 12 speed chain is due to these AliEx chainrings being used across 10/11/12 speed drive trains. My guess is that they opt for aggressive ramping pins to cover the range. 12 speed probably requiring the longest ramping pins due to being the thinnest chain.

I think the solution if you need to use the BB spacers is to not use the Racework left crank arm. Leave it in the drawer and stomach the 50g weight penalty using an alloy crank arm in exchange for better durability. Even with this mix-n-match setup, I'm still under 600g for a 2x crankset.

Now I'm just waiting for some dry weather to go ride consistently since S. California has been raining all month!

[ChrisB]

Interesting information... I tried mine on my 105 Di2 / 12 speed setup, but it would not work due to the Sygeyi PM rubbing agains the BB housing of the frame.
No way to fix that with spacers, I made a short trial but decided it was not safe to do so.

On my 1x11 Sensah Pro drivetrain with 386BB it seems to work perfect.
But will know only after the first longer rides...

BR Chris

[jonathanf2]

Interesting information... I tried mine on my 105 Di2 / 12 speed setup, but it would not work due to the Sygeyi PM rubbing agains the BB housing of the frame.
No way to fix that with spacers, I made a short trial but decided it was not safe to do so.

On my 1x11 Sensah Pro drivetrain with 386BB it seems to work perfect.
But will know only after the first longer rides...

BR Chris

I'm on a threaded BSA setup on my road bike, so I can use BB spacers that Racework sells. Though I'm thinking I might give these style spacers a try which puts the spacer between the crank arms and BB. This way my BSA BB is fully threaded into the BB shell. These might also work on PF BB.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BB6Z3TND

[jonathanf2]

A couple photos of the mix-n-match Racework crankset with a Shimano Ultegra R8000 crank arm. Also a few shots utilizing the Racework supplied BB and 3 spacers.

[coffeebreak]

Received RXL SL handlebar from Amazon today and quickly got to install it. First off, the internal cabling is a joke - you get to hide all off about 8 inches or less cable coverage and the holes are rough. I had to file every inlet/outlet before I could put cables thru.

But that's not the major issue, after installing I found that these are overly flexible. The ones that came with my VB frame are exponentially better. There is not even a contest.

These go for $45-50 on Amazon and & $40 on A-ex. These look copies of a Toseek model on A-ex. Wonder if Toseek would have been a better choice. Any how,
You have been warned.

[s3si1u]

Curious what you think of the carbon cage ... usually they're avoided because of later flex which causes problems.

I didn't see much in the way of lateral flex on the one test ride I took, but I've already removed it because there's very little clearance between this cage and the chain with the stock pulley wheels. Wouldn't be surprised if it started rubbing. Perhaps the J&L pulleys would fit better, but I'd rather not use those. Oh well, probably shouldn't have bought this one 

[00Garza]

Received RXL SL handlebar from Amazon today

I was under the impression any chinese carbon branded RXL was just a knockoff of the old Bontrager RXL line of products. Or just using that name for recognition.

I had Toseek aero handlebar on my road bike and they were ok. Routing was a pain.

[coffeebreak]

I had Toseek aero handlebar on my road bike and they were ok. Routing was a pain.

Last month I converted one of my bikes to flatbar and I used Toseek bar. The quality was excellent, no flex at all, came with an "authentic" hologram sticker and all. Just a great bar overall on the cheap. That made me think it is one of the better brands on Aliex. But of course, flatbar vs dropbar I should not be making blanket assumptions. I might just go with tried and tested VB bar to hide me cables.

[coffeebreak]

I have been wanting some accents on otherwise plain looking bike of me. Not Ali-ex but I found these tiny flag stickers on etsy - https://www.etsy.com/listing/623422788/american-flag-united-states-flag-usa

They have all other flags too.

[jonathanf2]

Finally got some sunny weather where I'm at. I took the Racework crankset out for a test ride. Feels lighter, and spinning felt pretty good on the cranks. This Racework chainring also rides/shifts well. Maybe it's in combination with the 12 speed chain? Anyways, hopefully I can get more miles in for a long term review. The seller agreed to send me a replacement left crank arm after the holiday so I'm going to keep them now.

[Tijoe]

A couple spare 32 tooth 104BCD wide/narrow 1X chain rings I ordered arrived today in record time.  (11 days.)  For $5 bucks a pop, who cares if they wear fast.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803939436080.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.11.1eb11802MKVQkp&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa&_randl_shipto=US