This firm is better known for its offroad kit but has recently introduced this compact two-piece design for the road market.
Unlike the other sets tested here the Race Face's axle is integrated with the left hand crank instead of the right - an ultimately stronger design as the spider does effectively provide additional peripheral support. So in years to come it should resist 'spreading' better than the others if the bolt was allowed to become loose.
The crank arms fashioned from 6066 aluminium are sculpted out at the back and the right-hand crank has a beefy-looking key release bolt to access the special bearings, that are claimed to be exceptionally long-lasting. In addition to the compact 110mm BCD version tested here there is also a version available that has 39-53 teeth chainrings. The S.H.I.F.T. patented teeth design works as smoothly as Shimano's.