Chinertown
Chinese Carbon Road Bikes => Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components => Topic started by: adam900710 on May 22, 2025, 02:22:12 AM
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Hi,
There are already quite some lightweight dub carbon cranks with aluminum axles, like Cybrei GP3 and skypivot ones.
There are also some seemingly rebranded ones, like the one from PassQuest, RockBros.
All of them seem to have around 2000~2500 CNY (on Taobao, a little more expensive on Aliexpress), similar weight, 320g ~ 350g (cranks + axle only).
But this pair, branded LEESE, only costs me 1000 CNY (excluding shipping/tax), and the weight seems more than reasonable.
(378g for 165mm).
Considering how cheap it is, as long as the pair doesn't creak during a ride, I'd call it a win.
And even if they are craps, I can still go trying another brand, with the same spider PM and chainring.
Despite the value, there is really nothing else included in the box.
No docs, no branded box, even no grease pre-applied to any threads.
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Some feedback after riding would be highly appreciated! I find those the most promising AliExpress cranks regarding value for money.
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Considering how many of these lightweight Cybrei-like cranksets on the market now and how they discussed all around the forum, would be great to have unified thread with all current options, quality, pros and cons and, sizes, spider interfaces etc.
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Not bad basically £100GBP. Hopefully it performs!
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Installed and will give it a climb tomorrow, so far no obvious problem. But still not ideal:
- No manual
Thus you're on your own to figure how many spacers needed for each side.
- No pre-applied grease
Every thing is shinny clean, no big deal, I'll just apply my tried-and-true Shimano grease to every thread.
- No torque specifications AT ALL
This is a little scary now, but it should be the regular 35-40Nm for the main axle bolts.
- T9 screw for the preload ring
I'm already ordering a new preload ring, the T9 screw is already slippery.
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Do keep us posted. A recent video of Madpec on the light colnago build showed that the chinese crankset spindle had dubious tolerances, resulting in poor spin in the BB. I think he ended up using a different BB than planned to accommodate for that, and i think at least some of the fault was the spindle, not the frame.
That video annoyed me, because if both spindles and frame BBs are out of the spec, and you then need to try 5 different overpriced BBs to find one that works, all the while being high end and super light kit, well it just sucks.
So i guess question #1 is: is that spindle within spec / consistent / does it interface well with the BB you have, or is it draggy?
We've collectively put over 20,000km on the raceworks carbon cranksets (24mm axle, 170mm), and other than cracking one NDS arm, because there were no torque specs and i was at like 8nm (i think less, even), they've been flawless (we now do 5.5nm + loctite, and re tighten regularly). I looked yesterday, i couldnt find a cheap 165mm 24mm version. Seems that most of the 165mm offerings are in DUB format.
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Installed and will give it a climb tomorrow, so far no obvious problem. But still not ideal:
- No manual
Thus you're on your own to figure how many spacers needed for each side.
- No pre-applied grease
Every thing is shinny clean, no big deal, I'll just apply my tried-and-true Shimano grease to every thread.
- No torque specifications AT ALL
This is a little scary now, but it should be the regular 35-40Nm for the main axle bolts.
- T9 screw for the preload ring
I'm already ordering a new preload ring, the T9 screw is already slippery.
Had this yesterday when installing my 165mm 24mm Ti DFS crank and was told they had not produced one yet!
Was told to use Cybrei manual which did not work in regards to spacer placement so I used the Eililee Install instructions and these seemed to work.
Pass quest sent theres for there Sprill crank but they are crap
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So i guess question #1 is: is that spindle within spec / consistent / does it interface well with the BB you have, or is it draggy?
We've collectively put over 20,000km on the raceworks carbon cranksets (24mm axle, 170mm), and other than cracking one NDS arm, because there were no torque specs and i was at like 8nm (i think less, even), they've been flawless (we now do 5.5nm + loctite, and re tighten regularly). I looked yesterday, i couldnt find a cheap 165mm 24mm version. Seems that most of the 165mm offerings are in DUB format.
So far that's what surprised me, no problem related to spindle and BB, at least during installation and a quick spin test.
The BB I'm using is also some cheap Chinese ceramic BSA DUB BB. Branded as "Kactus".
The spin is good, thus I pushed the preload a little tighter than usual, but still very acceptable.
Will keep you updated after a short 35km climb.
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Had this yesterday when installing my 165mm 24mm Ti DFS crank and was told they had not produced one yet!
Was told to use Cybrei manual which did not work in regards to spacer placement so I used the Eililee Install instructions and these seemed to work.
Pass quest sent theres for there Sprill crank but they are crap
The same here, the SRAM doc is useless, 3mm spacer means I can not even rotate the preload ring.
And no spacer on the NDS also means the preload ring rubs the BB cup.
I eventually go one 0.5mm NDS spacer, and 0.5mm + 1mm DS spacer, the result is perfect, even no need to adjust the FD (previous crankset is R8100, thus the chainline must be perfect now).
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The same here, the SRAM doc is useless, 3mm spacer means I can not even rotate the preload ring.
And no spacer on the NDS also means the preload ring rubs the BB cup.
I eventually go one 0.5mm NDS spacer, and 0.5mm + 1mm DS spacer, the result is perfect, even no need to adjust the FD (previous crankset is R8100, thus the chainline must be perfect now).
I had the same recessed spacer on the drive side, approximately 1 mm, as in the Elilee instructions.
However, I still need to fine-tune the drive side spacing, as I currently have a 1 mm and a 0.5 mm spacer installed.
My bottom bracket, with the BSA BB installed, measures about 90.6 mm.
To check alignment, I measure from the outside of the crank arms and use the bottle cage boss (hopefully centered) as a reference point to ensure the distance is equal on both sides.
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I just measure distance from the bottle cage screw to both Crank arms and use as many spacers as needed to get both distances even
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A short climb back, I didn't feel or hear anything out of ordinary.
Despite the hassle during installation, this crankset just rides like any regular one so far.
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A short climb back, I didn't feel or hear anything out of ordinary.
Despite the hassle during installation, this crankset just rides like any regular one so far.
Well that’s positive news.
The installation appears of the crank I have appears to be as expected.
Next, I’ll check the chainline. For Ultegra 12-speed, it should be 44.5mm. Significant deviations from this could affect shifting performance.
From what I can see, the crank looks centred, and the Q-factor is listed as 149–151mm according to the information I found.
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Well that’s positive news.
The installation appears of the crank I have appears to be as expected.
Next, I’ll check the chainline. For Ultegra 12-speed, it should be 44.5mm. Significant deviations from this could affect shifting performance.
From what I can see, the crank looks centred, and the Q-factor is listed as 149–151mm according to the information I found.
For the chainline, I didn't even adjust the FD, and the shifting is still as good as usual, so the chainline should be totally fine.
Although there is no official docs on the spacer configuration, and different vendors go different ways.
E.g. Fovno shows 2mm spacer for DS, meanwhile SRAM claims 3mm DS.
The included spacers are 0.5mm x 2, 1mm x 1 and 2mm x1.
Fovno's configuration looks more sane here, but I have to go 0.5mm NDS to prevent the preload ring from rubbing the BB cup, thus 1.5mm DS spacer.
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One point to note, the preload ring is not compatible with SRAM DUB cranks.
The SRAM one has a moveable part that carries the thread, meanwhile all the chinese cranks (LEESE/CYBRE/PASSQUEST/FOVNO etc) all have the preload thread on the ND crank.
But on the other hand, the preload rings for chinese cranks seem to be compatible with each other.
My FOVNO one works fine on the LEESE one.
The problem seems to be with the repair part availability, so far I can only find the preload rings from WEIR (another crank priced very similar to LEESE) sold alone.
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One point to note, the preload ring is not compatible with SRAM DUB cranks.
The SRAM one has a moveable part that carries the thread, meanwhile all the chinese cranks (LEESE/CYBRE/PASSQUEST/FOVNO etc) all have the preload thread on the ND crank.
But on the other hand, the preload rings for chinese cranks seem to be compatible with each other.
My FOVNO one works fine on the LEESE one.
The problem seems to be with the repair part availability, so far I can only find the preload rings from WEIR (another crank priced very similar to LEESE) sold alone.
Sorting out my crank tomorrow now that I’ve finally got a proper torque wrench coming!
Just wanted to check — for the main axle bolt (drive side), which I believe is steel threading into a titanium spindle:
Have any of you applied anti-seize, grease, or maybe Loctite 243 (blue) before torquing it down?
I’m thinking galvanic corrosion risk here — especially steel/Ti contact, plus potential thread galling.
Plan is:
Clean threads
Anti-seize or Loctite 243 on the bolt threads
Grease under the bolt head
Torque to 40 Nm
Sound solid?
Also working on crank spacing:
I currently have 1.25 mm on the drive side and 1.5 mm on the non-drive. After torquing everything, I might need to shave off 0.25 mm to get perfect symmetry — measured roughly from the middle of the bottle cage mount with a tape, so not super precise, but close.
Trying to dial in the crank alignment as cleanly as I can — yeah, I know it’s probably OCD but half a mm feels like a mile once you’re aware of it
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Guys, im also looking for some crankset to install on my Speeder SC-R55D.
Im looking for something with spider power meter so what are my options?
For the moment, im considering:
- XCADEY spider power meter
- Elilee X310 165 mm cranks
- Cybrei 2x aero chainrings
Are there any cheaper but quality options for cranks and chainrings? What are chainrings working with Ultegra Di2 12s? (I heard bad opinion about PASS QUEST)
EDIT: Cybrei chainrings look cool, but i can also go for aluminium.
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Guys, im also looking for some crankset to install on my Speeder SC-R55D.
Im looking for something with spider power meter so what are my options?
For the moment, im considering:
- XCADEY spider power meter
- Elilee X310 165 mm cranks
- Cybrei 2x aero chainrings
Are there any cheaper but quality options for cranks and chainrings? What are chainrings working with Ultegra Di2 12s? (I heard bad opinion about PASS QUEST)
EDIT: Cybrei chainrings look cool, but i can also go for aluminium.
Look up Lexon crankset thread. Just don't buy DUB cranks.
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I wouldn't go near lexon for just about anything mildly complex. Their qc standards have always been rock bottom. Elilee will be the lightest, but if you're okay with an extra 10-25g DFS, CarbonBikeKits, XMCarbonSpeed and the newest Riro are all nice options for around 20% less than Elilee.
For chainrings, nothing will perform better than original shimano.
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Sorting out my crank tomorrow now that I’ve finally got a proper torque wrench coming!
Just wanted to check — for the main axle bolt (drive side), which I believe is steel threading into a titanium spindle:
Then it should be a 24mm spindle, unfortunately I have no experience for that spindle.
Have any of you applied anti-seize, grease, or maybe Loctite 243 (blue) before torquing it down?
I only applied grease. In the past I tried blue loctite on threaded BB (T47-86mm wide), and it didn't end up well when you need to remove the BB.
And I clean my bike frequently, including disassemble the cranks, so I do not think loctite is really needed.
I’m thinking galvanic corrosion risk here — especially steel/Ti contact, plus potential thread galling.
If you do frequent cleaning, it should not be a huge deal.
And that's also why I didn't go 24mm ti spindle, DUB/30mm are all aluminum spindle/crank, thus should have no galvanic corrosion.
Plan is:
Clean threads
AFAIK, there is nothing to clean, as there is really nothing applied, really nothing.
Anti-seize or Loctite 243 on the bolt threads
Grease under the bolt head
Torque to 40 Nm
Sound solid?
Sound good to me, except the loctite.
Also working on crank spacing:
I currently have 1.25 mm on the drive side and 1.5 mm on the non-drive. After torquing everything, I might need to shave off 0.25 mm to get perfect symmetry — measured roughly from the middle of the bottle cage mount with a tape, so not super precise, but close.
Trying to dial in the crank alignment as cleanly as I can — yeah, I know it’s probably OCD but half a mm feels like a mile once you’re aware of it
My experience is, 2mm DS would provide the exact chain line compared to my previous R8100 setup, 1.5mm DS may require FD adjustment.
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Guys, im also looking for some crankset to install on my Speeder SC-R55D.
Im looking for something with spider power meter so what are my options?
For the moment, im considering:
- XCADEY spider power meter
- Elilee X310 165 mm cranks
- Cybrei 2x aero chainrings
Personally I'm a high cadence rider (avg 100+), thus my only choice of chainring is 33/48 or lower, Crybrei is out of choice. Nor even the Shimano chainrings.
And I hate carbon chainring either, so a big NONO for those chainrings.
(I use Stone 33/48 for years, paired with Shimano 11-34 or 11-36 cassettes)
If you do not have such weird requirement as me, then Shimano chainrings should be the best, a very good balance between shifting and weight/stiffness (Utegra level and up)
Are there any cheaper but quality options for cranks and chainrings? What are chainrings working with Ultegra Di2 12s? (I heard bad opinion about PASS QUEST)
EDIT: Cybrei chainrings look cool, but i can also go for aluminium.
To me, there seems to be no difference between all those chinese dub carbon cranks, they all seem to be from the same OEM.
The same bolt/extraction cap, the same preload ring mechanism (different from the SRAM one), the same easton interface, the same spindle interface.
Only small differences in the crank weight.
Maybe some QC problems for certain batches, but until proven wrong I will only treat them as cheap alternatives to Shimano cranks (if your frame can accept DUB spindle, aka, no BB86), and in that case no need to choose anything more expensive than necessary.
BTW, I know a local bike shop (really a single shop) in Nanjing (WEIR), where I visited several times before, has their own branded cranks now, the same price level as LEESE, making it very clear the OEM is open to any brand.
So far I'm pretty sure the following brands are completely the same (WEIR RPM/LEESE/CENIT).
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Personally I'm a high cadence rider (avg 100+), thus my only choice of chainring is 33/48 or lower, Crybrei is out of choice. Nor even the Shimano chainrings.
And I hate carbon chainring either, so a big NONO for those chainrings.
(I use Stone 33/48 for years, paired with Shimano 11-34 or 11-36 cassettes)
If you do not have such weird requirement as me, then Shimano chainrings should be the best, a very good balance between shifting and weight/stiffness (Utegra level and up)
To me, there seems to be no difference between all those chinese dub carbon cranks, they all seem to be from the same OEM.
The same bolt/extraction cap, the same preload ring mechanism (different from the SRAM one), the same easton interface, the same spindle interface.
Only small differences in the crank weight.
Maybe some QC problems for certain batches, but until proven wrong I will only treat them as cheap alternatives to Shimano cranks (if your frame can accept DUB spindle, aka, no BB86), and in that case no need to choose anything more expensive than necessary.
BTW, I know a local bike shop (really a single shop) in Nanjing (WEIR), where I visited several times before, has their own branded cranks now, the same price level as LEESE, making it very clear the OEM is open to any brand.
So far I'm pretty sure the following brands are completely the same (WEIR RPM/LEESE/CENIT).
I had a plan to buy Ultegra 8100 Di2 upgrade kit and get aftermarket cranks, power meter and chainrings - but i forgot about cassete, BB and rotors ::)
It seems that complete groupset is cheaper and i should find some other powermeter options (crank arm or pedals).
P.S. Never go DUB ;D
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I wouldn't go near lexon for just about anything mildly complex. Their qc standards have always been rock bottom. Elilee will be the lightest, but if you're okay with an extra 10-25g DFS, CarbonBikeKits, XMCarbonSpeed and the newest Riro are all nice options for around 20% less than Elilee.
For chainrings, nothing will perform better than original shimano.
My point is that the thread became a topic to discuss whatever Cybrei-like cranks, so you may scroll through it and have a look at alternatives. I bought Bigrock crankset with titanium spindle, the only problem here was the crank tightening bolt which is to flimsy for supposed torque - I got a custom one.
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Speaking of which, do you guys know the thread size of the crank bolt for the DUB spindle? The pitch is 1mm, I assume. I kinda have low expectations for any aluminum crank bolts across different chinese suppliers. Based on my and others' experiences. So I wonder if I can find a replacement on the market or have to go full custom.
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P.S. Never go DUB ;D
I know Shimano has perfected the 24mm spindle, and their aluminum cranks are still no worse than the carbon competitors, and I still love my R8100 crank (except the Sigeyi powermeter which has developed unbalanced left/right battery wear)
If you hate 30mm spindle, I'd totally agree. The cursed direct bearing in the frame, the aluminum spindle worn down by the steel bearings, the short spindle (at least for the original cannondale design) are all cursed designed, and whoever came up such design must go hell.
However even as a SRAM hater, I have to say the DUB design at least solves most of the problems, by stealing all the good ones from Shimano.
No direct bearing (unless your frame is cursed with BB30) in frames, always have a nylon cup for pressfit, just like BB86.
No direct spindle/bearing contacts, the same 1mm shim just like the 24mm spindle design.
Not to mention the aluminum spindle which is lighter, the larger diameter spindle also allows simpler/easier spindle-to-crank interface (no need to fully bond the crank to spindle).
Thus unless your frame is BB86 or the worst BB30 design, it should really be fine to go 29mm DUB.
The only thing that can not match Shimano is the accurate BB width nor the easy to preload design.
But that's still acceptable with some spacers, and you only need to do the setup once.
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I've taken a closer look at the LEESE cranks and I have to say, none of the others come as close as LEESE to looking like they came from the exact same mold as Cybrei. The spindles are different but the arms look identical.
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I've taken a closer look at the LEESE cranks and I have to say, none of the others come as close as LEESE to looking like they came from the exact same mold as Cybrei. The spindles are different but the arms look identical.
Ok I will have a look myself.
My DFS cranks from a distance look no diffrent from my Cybrei cranks but up close you can see the Cybrei if juts finished that little bit better and is more rounded on the profiles where as DFS has a sharper profile but that’s it.
Apart from the lack of instructions which was crap and I managed to sort they are going and shifting on the pass quest 53-39 rings in really good. But I will swap these once the XM Carbon, carbon aluminium rings arrive going for a weight saving on these it will be marginal but i won’t lie it is also about aesthetics as well as I like the look and it will almost be a 1:1 copy with my Cybrei cranks with the same XCADEY PM and carbon aero chainrings.