Middleburn RS-8 ISIS Duo 29/42 Chainset review

Lighter spinners will love the low weight of Middleburn’s RS-8 ISIS Duo chainset. Stronger riders will feel a lot of flex in the spindly outer ring, and shifting isn’t quite as slick as a triple set-up.

You can also swap the spider for a triple or a single ring if you want, making this a uniquely versatile, high-value set-up.

The fluidly sculpted RS8 arms are impressively stiff, and come in square taper or ISIS splined versions. We used a £100 titanium-axled Stronglight ISIS Twister SL bottom bracket to keep weight low and durability high, but SKF make good ISIS units now, too.

The outer rings come in silver, black, red, blue or hardwearing ‘Hardcote’ options, and a 40/28 tooth option is due soon.

Some of you might not be familiar with British brand Middleburn, but these Hampshire-based engineers have been making superb-quality CNC machined cranks and other components for nearly 20 years.