These 6066 forged aluminium arms from the Canadian company known for its mountain bike components have much of the material machined away to keep weight down.
All of this sculpts the arms into Race Face’s classic I-Beam design – think RSJ shape – for a crank that feels really stiff.
The 860g Cadence uses a two-piece design like Shimano but what’s different is that the bottom bracket spindle is mounted on the left-hand arm and fixing takes place on the right. It’s just a case of tightening the Allen bolt until a dead stop and that’s it.
Installation was easy, especially with the included outboard bearing X-type bottom bracket.
The bearings have triple wiper seals and inside is Phil Wood’s excellent waterproof grease as standard. During testing we had no problems even with long rides in the wet.
The low Q-factor – the distance between the pedals – offers a comfy and natural feeling ride.
We thought the silver 7075 CNC-machined aluminium rings looked a bit odd against the black arms out of the box but they grew on us once fitted.
As for the shifting, we had no problems – it’s on a par with Shimano, Campag and SRAM. They’re a little more expensive and slightly heavier than Ultegra, but it’s worth remembering these do come with the bottom bracket.
There’s also a compact version available.
