5Dev brings robot-made titanium cranks to gravel and cross-country mountain biking
5Dev has carved a niche in the component industry offering super-high-end titanium cranks built using cutting-edge five-axis CNC machining technology. The San Diego brand's latest Titanium Road Gravel XC Cranks are no different and will provide savings of between 1.2- and 4.4 watts at 24mph.
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The brand's latest addition to its growing range of posh componentry is the cleverly named Titanium Road Gravel XC Cranks built from hollow titanium and laser-welded by robots.
The welded blocks are CNC machined using 5Dev's five-axis machines. 5Dev's hollow laser-welded blueprint has been designed to provide stiffness while reducing weight. The result is a crank that tips the scale at 450g at 170mm in length with a road-specific spindle.
As for the shape, 5Dev has machined these cranks to be narrower than usual and with a more aerodynamic profile claimed to save between 1.3- to 4.4 watts at 24mph according to CFD analysis. The tips of the cranks are specially shaped for aero gains and to reduce the risk of rock strikes.
They're designed to work with SRAM's eight-bolt interface with single or double chainrings and 5Dev's own 42T and 52T Aero rings. We're told these cranks also work with Quarq's DFour DUB Power Meter for Shimano 2x and a Shimano-specific spider is coming later this year.
As for the hardware, 5Dev has graced its Titanium Road Gravel XC Cranks with a Laboratory Synthesised Diamond coated titanium.
The asking price is pretty much what you can expect from a set of titanium cranks at £1,100.