Similar to the other review, I've had chain ring bolts come loose on my crankset and causing a clicking noise, which I originally attributed to the BB and had it inspected and replaced, spending $$ and causing aggravation in the process. When the noise came back and I realized the chain ring was loose, I tried tightening and stripped a bolt, which was aluminum. I spent like $30 to buy a set of steel bolts as replacement since I don't trust the aluminum ones anymore. And, now I realize the 5-bolt configuration, with one bolt directly behind the crank arm, is a pain to deal with. I'm pretty disappointed in this product, both the design and material (bolts).
Love SRAM products, and this was part of a power train upgrade to the 22 (with eTap shifters etc). The SRAM Force cranks in black is really nice looking, and works great... until
The dig on the price and loss of star has more to do with the fact I had to replace the small chain ring within 7 months of purchasing the unit. When accelerating from a stop the right crank pedal moved down in a sickly manner not transferring much power to wheel, looking down the small crank had folded in (toward bike) from the force of the chain. The cause of this was that two of the chain ring bolts had come apart... after just 7 months and maybe 350 miles (this is on my commuter). So $ for new chain ring $ for SRAM chain ring bolts tearing down chain & crankset to replace.
One of the selling points of purchasing a fully assembled crankset was to avoid creaking of chain rings I have experienced before (I have other cranks that could have been re-used with new 22 spec rings but dealing with the SRAM hidden bolt design is a bit of a pita). As such I thought it best to leave the assembled crank alone (ie not mess with the chain ring bolts).
For anyone reading this, I do still recommend the product but strongly recommend tightening the chain ring bolts with a torque wench when received... I have never had this occur on any other bike build, and can only deduce this unit was not assembled correctly in the first place.
Needed this to complete a full Force groupset on my new bike. Love the look of this crank and the chainring spider. Might change to 1x at some point.
