FSA Comet MegaExo crankset review

from bikeradar.com

The introduction of FSA’s new chainset coincided with Shimano price rises to flip the affordable chain turning landscape on its head. Looking like the tough yet light Afterburner cranks, the Comet uses solid rather than hollow arms to keep the price down. Add an oversized chromoly axle running through oversized MegaExo bearings and our flexion tests showed that the Comet will convert pedal push into chain pull extremely effectively.

The forged and machined polished metal arms don’t just look better after a few winter weeks than scuffed carbon fibre cranks three times the price, they also avoid the potential fibre shattering rock strike panic. They’re stiffer than a lot of barely lighter carbon sets too. Ramped and pinned AL7075 chainrings nudge and hook across the ratios with minimum fuss and noise and the steel chainring bolts keep everything tightly inline. FSA’s external bearings are lasting well, making this a real fit and forget product.

It’s priced aggressively too – in fact, the price has just dropped from £130 to £110 – so your bank balance won’t be remembering it for as long as obvious competitors. As FSA produced the first widely available double-ring mountain bike chainsets and have been at the forefront of developing better bottom bracket standards it’s no surprise the Comet family ticks all the latest compatibility boxes. Oversized BB30 axle versions, three-arm 386 twin-ring sets or conventional triple – all in black or polished silver – are on the menu of this sweet shifting, trail tough mid-price marvel.

This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike