Review CinQo power meter mounted on Cannondale SL hallowgram cranks

LeMond riding with a SRM and Lance - not only were the helmets huge, so too were the SRM computers.

Training with power has been around probably longer than you might think.   LeMond at the twilight of his racing career rode SRM cranks.   Back then the entire SRM system weighed around 500 grams plus whatever cranks you were running.   The computer was the size of a small PC and wires protruded everywhere.   Say what you will about Greg LeMond, but the guy introduced numerous technologies into the sport and power was just one.   Clearly the industry has come a long way since the days of LeMond.   The biggest factor, weight, has gone down considerably but price is still a factor.   As mentioned earlier we chose the CinQo system for a lot of reasons and part III of our review will focus on CinQo and the ever-popular powertap hub system by Saris.   For now, though, we’re going to look at how CinQo stacks up with any given crank.

CinQo works on cranks with a removable spider: FSA, SRAM, ROTOR are all supported.   Campy and Shimano cranks, however, are not supported.  We love either campy or Shimano cranks, but third party cranks have come a long way, too.   The Cannondale SL, in our mind, is in another category all together.  Take Dura Ace 7900 cranks for example: a great crank, stiff, light, looks good, works and is backed by a solid warranty.   This crank has evolved over the years and Shimano has found the balance between weight and stiffness.   Bottom line – it’s a solid crank and weighs 674 grams without a bottom bracket.

The Cannondale SL system weighs 700 grams – for everything.   And by “everything” we mean everything: crank, chainring, bottom bracket AND Cinqo system.   So do the math, dale SL cranks, BB and power weigh 26 grams more than just ace cranks that still have to get a bottom bracket and power.

We’re not weight weenies, but those are impressive numbers.

If you’ve ever ridden the SL cranks you will see immediately how stiff they are and how elegant the entire system operates.   Q factor is reduced and they’re good looking in the sense that they look like they do one thing: perform.   You pay for this, these aren’t inexpensive 3rd party cranks – the cranks and BB cost around $750.   In our experience, though, cranks are one of the items you can buy and operate for years.  Replace the BB every so often and you can install the cranks on any new frame (as long as the BB shell doesn’t change).  We once had a pair of ace 7400 cranks that were in operation for 17 years (they still could be as we sold them on Ebay just this year).

So can anyone install the dale SL crank?   Unfortunately, no.   These cranks operate on cannondale’s own BB30 bottom bracket system.   The BB30 system is now an open standard and in the past few years has seen a number of manufactures use BB30.   BMC, Canyon, Specialized – they all make frames with BB30.  Some of the hand made builders like independent fabrication will make BB30 specific frames, too.

All in all we’re very happy with the setup.   The Cannondale SI cranks on their own are great but given their weight and the fact that we have power, well, then, we’re very happy.