First Look: Hope Technology Crank 22

iceman2058
1/16/2015 3:16am

It's been a long time in the making, but now it's finally here: Hope has released their much-anticipated crank. In typical Hope fashion, the product was conceived to solve a specific set of problems and to address what Hope felt is a shortcoming of some other crank designs. The process took quite a long time, but Hope are never ones to be rushed, and our initial impressions are of a well-rounded and competitive product.

Hope Technology Crank Highlights

  • Forged and CNC machined 7000 series aluminium alloy crank arms
  • Length: 165, 170 and 175-mm
  • Q-Factor: 167-mm
  • Axle Diameter: 30-mm
  • 3-piece construction with expanding spline crank arm/axle interface (pat pending)
  • Versatile Spline mount compatible with 26T to 36T spiderless chainrings, 104BCD, and double 64/104BCD
  • Colours: Initially black, with red, blue, silver, gunsmoke and purple following in March
  • Weight: 641g (arms, axle and 34t spiderless ring)

What was Hope working on all this time? Aside from optimizing the forging, profile, and machining to deliver a light yet strong crank (rated from XC to DH use), Hope also focused on the crank arm to axle interface. Hope claims that traditional splined axles are prone to wear over time and tend to develop slop at the interface (something we have indeed experienced ourselves), especially after removing and reinstalling the cranks a few times. To overcome this issue, Hope designed a splined axle that expands from the inside to ensure a snug and secure fit with the crank arm.

The final product is a departure from the near-final prototypes we saw at Eurobike, which sported a polygon type arm-axle interface. Clearly Hope felt that the expanding spline offered up the best solution in light of the required characteristics and settled on this design for the production version. We are currently putting a pair through a little winter sludge and will report back shortly with the results.

Hope Technology Crank Pricing

  • Arms, Axle and Spider: £245/€300/$429.50
  • Arms and Axle: £215/€265/$375
  • Spider: £40/€50/$70
  • Spiderless Retainer Chainring: £55/€68/$95

Availability

Black crank arms with a black spider are available immediately. Red, blue, silver, gunsmoke and purple options (both for crank arms and spiders) will follow in March. Chainrings are only offered in black, gold, and silver (the hard anodizing used for chainrings is more consistent in these colors).

More information atwww.hopetech.com.

Stay tuned for a more in-depth feature dropping here on Vital soon!

Related:
First Look
Hope Technology
Cranks
22 comments

View replies to: First Look: Hope Technology Crank

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Danimal5-0
10 years ago
The trilobial polygon interface was good enough for wwII tanks, and its good enough for me. It is pretty much the shit, i've had my LG1 off and on at least a hundred times and it still has an audible pop when the crank arm is pulled. It does require more material at the taper than a splined interface making the spindle heavier, but oh well.
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Capricorn
10 years ago
disappointed with the spline option. E-thirteen may have beaten Hope to the polygon style axle, but its still a darn good option. Would be interesting to hear their reasons why they ditched the polygon style axle, other than the reason that comes to mind: we wanted something different (patentable). Right. Anyway, nice product.
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iceman2058
10 years ago
The answer is that they wanted a solution that will survive being removed and reinstalled many times, and perform well even when the material starts to wear a bit after a few years of service in bad weather, mud, etc (aka "the UK"). We have only just started testing, so time will have to tell what the score is, but after having already manipulated the cranks a few times, I would not jump to any conclusions at all at this point. What exactly is it that disappointed you?
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Capricorn
10 years ago
your rhetorical question is answered in the first line. Are you an engineer with them? Also, how can short term testing of a new design prove anything against a DIN standard that's been field tested for decades now? Your statement about being removed many times and perform well blah blah almost sounds like saying the DIN polygon design has flaws in those areas? How does a patent cost versus using a DIN standard? it adds to the bill.
I personally almost dont care which way Hope went, but it is a curious deviation from what was previously seen, and frankly, I've yet to hear a compelling reason for the change given the benefits of the polygon design. Before you wind yourself up again, i'll say it again: the overall package looks a good product, so its not berating Hope in any way.
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iceman2058
10 years ago
As stated in another comment below, we tested the polygon design with excellent results. We are not here to defend Hope's decision, I was merely pointing out the reason THEY gave for taking this decision. All I wanted to say at this point is that it seems premature to be disappointed, especially since no tests/reviews are available anywhere.
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Danimal5-0
10 years ago
I would be interested to know what kind off b.b. they use. Not compatible with any other b.b., IE: KING?
The E13 cranks use the same size spindle and their b.b. is an f ing joke, lasting about five rides before the bearings start binding. E13 has been good to me, replacing the b.b. at no cost each time I call, but I just want to be able to run a BB that will last.
What bearings do they run on?
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iceman2058
10 years ago
Hope offers a wide range of BBs, you should be able to find one for most frames. The cranks are also compatible with other manufacturers' 30mm BBs. We're running a Hope PF30 BB for this test, it came with Enduro stainless steel bearings. We'll report back on bearing longevity etc when we get to the full review.
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DubC
10 years ago
I don't understand why people get boners over Enduro bearings. The ones I have tried were meh....
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DubC
10 years ago
@danimal - Moving forward from late 2014 e*thirteen switched over bearing suppliers and updated the BB design. The new BB will long outlast the old ones. As always, they have a 1 year no-questions asked warranty on all bearing products. The issue with the old BB's was mainly inconsistency. Some lasted a LONG time and others not so much. One other thing to note: BB92 systems w/30mm spindle cranks leave very little space for BB bearings. for 2015, e*thirteen is using a new double row bearing that is much better than the old single row. Some of the Hutchinson UR racers were on the same set of bearings for the entire 2nd have of the racing season this year - pressure washes and all.
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Carraig042
10 years ago
I love my Hope brakes I have on both of my bikes and likely will never use anything different in the foreseeable future, but I will wait on these cranks. I recently put RF Turbine Cinch on mine. I paid 260 for the crank, bb, and the chaining. I am in love with it the RF setup, and it is at almost the same weight.
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iceman2058
10 years ago
If you compare MSRPs for the high-end cranks from Shimano, SRAM, Race Face, and e*thirteen, this Hope Crank is pretty much in line. Within that group, you have high end carbon cranks with a $600 MRSP, and more affordable alu cranks at comparable weights and spec starting at around $320.
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b-kul
10 years ago
Around $500 to get you going plus whatever the bb costs for an aluminum crankset, no matter how good, is crazy.
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Ploutre
10 years ago
Yes but the thing is that you can't really find sales on Hope parts while you'll easily find prices with -50% on SRAM/Shimano/RF products, which make them much more competitive price wise.

The product may be extremely good, but I think they went bonkers on the price :/
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dirty booger
10 years ago
Yes, but the high end cranks form those mfgs (except maybe e*13), do not use 2D forged alloy arms.
This crank is very similar to RaceFace Turbine Cinch, which is half the price.
Seems the only thing "high end" about the Hope crank is the price!

And usually the reason why a mfg makes design changes (new spindle interface), is because the original design would not pass testing. You don't make huge changes late in the development process just to "do something different", that is ridiculous.
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kc358
10 years ago
How is it in line price wise? A Race Face Turbine can be had for $210, which is HALF the price of the Hope. Even at full MSRP, the Turbine is $280, still 35% cheaper. A RF carbon Next SL may be $524, but it is significantly lighter, about 34% (half a pound).
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iceman2058
10 years ago
MSRPs within the group I referred to:
XTR single ring crankset: ~$400
SRAM X01 DH crankset: ~ $400
e*thirteen LG1R, crank arms only: $449
e*thirteen TRS crankset with direct mount chainring (AM rated only): $496
Race Face SixC crankset with direct mount ring: ~$660

The value leader right now for sure seems to be the Race Face Turbine Cinch, which we gave a full 5 stars to when we tested it, and which can indeed be found for well under $300 with the chainring.

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