Buying a complete mountain bike is way simpler than coming up with a custom build, but that means you’re at the mercy of the components specced on that bike. Often times companies will spec cheaper and heavier components in less flashy areas like cransets, saddles, and handlebars. These components can be very worthwhile upgrades to start with if you’re trying to save weight or customize your bike!

In this article, we’ll be exploring our five favorite crankset options we carry here at The Lost Co to lighten your bike and increase your bling factor. Anytime you can reduce the weight of a spinning component like your cranks or wheels, you’ll undoubtably notice it out on the trails!

The SRAM GX Eagle Carbon crankset is the most affordable way to get into the carbon crankset game! With a low weight of 540 grams and compatibility with all of SRAM’s 3 bolt chainring offerings, this crankset is a great fit for both 11 and 12 speed SRAM drivetrains. We definitely recommend picking up a set of booties to protect the carbon fiber ends from rock strikes, because while carbon is lighter than aluminum, it have quite the same impact resistance!

Are you a fan of the GX Eagle Carbon crankset but want to save a bit of cash? Then the aluminum GX Eagle crankset is perfect for you! It offers all the same compatibility as the carbon version and only weighs 71 grams more! It also comes in a 165mm length in case you want the shortest cranks SRAM makes. I’ve been using these workhorse cranks on my Transition Spire for over a year and have had zero issues with them and would absolutely recommend them to anyone!

Race Face is one of the most popular crankset manufacturers in mountain biking, and for good reason! The aluminum Race Face Turbine crankset has a lifetime warranty, and their CINCH System makes it super easy to switch out chainrings in case you wear one out or want to throw on a bigger one for the bike park. But make sure to add a chainring to your cart, because unlike the GX crankset, the chainring is not included!

5Dev recently burst onto the crankset scene with some 5DEV cranks, including their Trail/Enduro crankset, that are aiming to win the crankset beauty contest! All of 5Dev’s cranks are CNC’d in San Diego, CA, and offer some striking looks with all of those cutouts. They also offer the shortest length options of any mainstream cranksets, going all the way down to 135mm! We’ve seen short crank arms be very popular on e-bikes where leverage is less important and ground clearance is a premium. But with a weight exactly the same as the Raceface Turbines and almost three times the price, you have to really appreciate either the aesthetics or that they’re made in the USA to fork up that kind of cash.

The Race Face ERA crankset is Race Face’s most durable carbon crank they’ve made to date with a redesigned pedal insert you can trust. If your bike looks like a color coordinated art piece, these cranks will fit right in with 7 different colorways on the crank and 8 different pedal boot colors. They’ve also installed a steel wear plate to keep your shoes from rubbing off the nice finish on the carbon fiber and keep these cranks looking fresh for as long as possible. And coming in at the lightest weight on our list, 416g, these should be at the top of the list for anyone who is doing their best to save every single gram possible!

Got questions? Feel free to shoot us an email or give us a call!

(360) 306-8827

sales@thelostco.com