Hope Evo crankset review

Hope’s original aluminium cranks were beautifully CNC-machined, but not perfect in terms of usability. Fitting and removal required several proprietary tools and a muscle-burning 75Nm of torque to secure the crank arms.

Some of our testers felt the forged arms weren’t as stiff as they’d have liked either.

This year, the brains in Barnoldswick have come up with a revised ‘Evo’ edition that seems to have dealt with both of these issues.

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The new cranks are claimed to be 15 per cent lighter and stiffer than before, and I didn’t notice any unwanted deflection.

I can’t argue with the 563g weight (170mm arms, 133.5mm spindle, no bottom bracket) either. It’s possible to go lighter, especially using carbon fibre, but aluminium is more robust.

A self-extracting arm/axle interface makes fitting a doddle, while a threaded aluminium preload ring on the 30mm axle takes out side-to-side play.

The spline mount on the driveside crank arm gives the option of using a direct-mount chainring or one with a standard spider.

With a big choice of arm/spindle lengths, plus lots of colour options, Hope really has created a crank for all seasons here, even if it’s a little pricier than the competition.