Good article.

Save me pestering them at the local shop - is the bolt spacing a standard 4 bolt compact job, as I've got a set of 24-36-46 Middleburn rings that are looking for a crank to hang on.

Yeah ... nice write up ...
I've been looking into these for a while (after the LBS said I needed some) as I have a love/hate relationship with my isis set up.
Looks good, just wondering how much the fitting tool/tools cost as I like a bit of fettling, so I'd need to do them meself..

At last I understand how they work now. I just couldn't get this all straight in my head reading all the other stuff about them. I guess your photos and pitch level were just right for me. All I have to do now is wait or the LX version to come out so I can afford them.

Jim.

The 4 bolt arrangement is the standard shimano spacing and PCD, but beware that the granny ring will (probably) need fettling to fit over the outside diameter of the bearing housing - as I found out when I was swapping some rings around at the weekend.

My friend found that instead of buying the second tool he could just use a flattended tube to tighten up the end cap.

so who is selling them for a bargain price??
and the tools too?

I wonder how much cheaper the LX version will be?

Might be able to get this years XT ones cheaper then as well?

Jim.

I'm about 6,000 miles from the cranks at the moment, but I'm sure the outer and middle are 4-bolt 104mm. Wouldn't swear to what the inner ring is, though.

The Shimano bearing spanner's about a tenner and the end-cap adjuster thing's three quid. Can't remember how much the Park combined tool is, but had I known it existed beforehand I'd have got one of those - the adjuster tool's just a little bit of knurled plastic that seems fairly easy to lose ;-)

Thanks Martin, that's the kind of info I was after.

The 2002 XT cranks I had on the tourer became intolerably creaky, and the ones on the MTB are starting to complain. A mate who's a big old lad has had no problems with this year's model so far, so I may go for a set later in the year.

It might be worth mentioning that I broke a tooth off of the middle ring on the second ride (new XT Hollowtech II), but that might have been just bad luck.
Also beware, the 26-36-48 rings are not compatible with the 22-32-44 spider - the drop pin on the 48 tooth ring is longer, and the axle is longer. Anyway, incompatibility exists - more than just the rings differ between the 44T and 48T versions.

"All that remains is to put some pedals on, not forgetting to include the supplied pedal spacers on both arms."

What pedal spacers? I didn't get any with my 2004 XTs! What do they do? Does that explain why my knees have been painful recently?

I've got an irritating squeak/grind on my non-drive side crank, which I've not yet been able to pin down. Anyone suffer the same?

I've got a squeak on my cranks but i'm not currently sure wether it's all coming from my pedals which are long overdue to be binned so i'll post when they're replaced next week to tell you wether it's gone.

I've changed my mind... it's more of a CRE-E-E-A-A-K. Still annoying though. I've tightened my pedals, my cleats, the crank ends. The only thing i've not tightened is the bearing itself, as the tight b*****ds don't give you a tool!

Think I'll have to get myself a bearing tool, so I can tighten them up.

Well mines crunchy so i don't think it's the same thing. Was dead worried at first but then remebered how much abuse my pedals have taken in their long life.

CRUNCHY! That's exactly how mine is... just couldn't put it into words... wonder if it's the same thing?

Mine gets worse when it's wet and muddy. It feels like there's grit between the bearing face & the crank arm, but you're never in a good position to check it out when you're up to your ankles in mud & it's raining. I wonder if my crank's worked it's way along the spindle?

No idea but you've just got me worried again. :(

I wouldn't worry TOO much, cos mine's been creaking for ages now. Last time I was out, I did notice that the crank's cap was protruding slightly. I'll investigate this at the weekend & let you know. If that's the problem, then tightening it should sort it. More news at 11!

I found that if I fitted the spacer they recommended then it threw the chain line out, left all spacers out and works fine although do occasionally get a creaking sound usually when under pressure

I thought that you could buy Hollowtech II cranks with the tools and it cost about an extra tenner..?

Saw it somewhere.