I’ve been commuting for the past few weeks with one of the new Rene Herse cranks on my AHH.  http://www.compasscycle.com/cranks_bb.html  I haven’t seen any reviews on this yet, so I figured I would share a few thoughts/opinions.  I’m not really a crankoholic, and have mainly ridden wider Q mountain cranks.  I wanted to upgrade my rando bike a bit, and thought a well built crankset would be a nice add.  Something that would last as long as the frame, perhaps.

I’ve never had any experience with a narrow tread road bike, and was a bit worried that having a narrow Q would be a problem.  So far that has not worked out to be the case.  I find it comfortable, and natural.  The length of these are 171mm, which is close to what I’m finding to be ideal for me.  I tend to favor the 170mm cranks I have on another bike over the 175mm I’ve been using for the past 20 years.  It feels like less of a stretch when I’m just cruising on road and light trail.

The finish and feel of these cranks is indeed very nice, and every bit as good as it has been billed.  The chainrings are nice and thick, but elegant.  To me, these cranks feel more solid than the others I’ve used lately including Sugino XD, Suntour XC Pro, and modern Shimano Deore and XT cranks, as well as a Race Face outboard bearing set I have on my mtb.   They are very nice to look at, as well, with a highly polished finish, and simple, clean and classy lines that go really well with the Rivendell frame.

It was recommended by Jan that I use a 110mm bottom bracket, so I ordered one, but decided to try the cranks with a 107mm that I had on already.  They went on easily, and the arms have at least 3-5mm clearance with the chainstays.

The chainline is adequate, as well.  I purchased 44/28 rings to go with an 11-32 cassette.  This gives me plenty of range for the hilly riding I do in the area.  Bottom line – I highly recommend these.  Love em!