Truvativ’s X7 2x10 cranks are a popular original-equipment fit on bikes and shifting and stiffness are good. They’re not light though and look scruffy quickly.
The broad ‘open core’ hollow alloy arms give a decent feel underfoot and we’ve not bent any even when hammered hard. Shifting is good between the double rings and the steel inner ring that comes standard on UK aftermarket versions means much better wear life than the alloy rings we’ve used on some complete bikes. They also come in a BB30 oversized axle option for £199.99
Life of the new gutter sealed Truvativ bottom bracket is generally far better than it used to be too but we still get occasional premature deaths on test bikes. They need a specific offside bearing fit too which rules out a lot of aftermarket bottom bracket options. While the steel ring adds durability, X7 isn't light for a mid-price double and the grey anodised finish also looks scruffy very fast.
This article was originally published in Mountain Biking UK magazine.
