The brand new Hope Technology crank set has been a long time coming, and is crammed with technical features that have come from years of research and design from the British company. With the distinct machined look that Hope have are renowned for, the new crank looks industrially strong, yet sleek and light weight. The crank, spider and chain ring weigh under 650grams.

Back in black – Hope’s stunning looking crank arms

Made in Britain

Hope use a two-step manufacturing process to make the cranks – firstly the cranks are cold forged from 7000 series aluminium to give them ultimate strength, before being CNC machined to remove material. This both lightens the crank and gives them that unmistakable Hope look.

Once past the finishing process of cleaning, anodising and laser etching, the cranks are mated to the huge 30mm diameter 7000 series aluminium axle. This axle has 30 splines and six slots machined in to the end, and has threads tapped internally.

A tapered plug screws in to the end of the axle, and once the non drive-side arm is fitted, is tightened to firmly keep the crank in place. On the inside of the non drive-side crank is a collar that is rotated toward the bottom bracket to pre-load the bearing, and is held in place by a 2.5mm Allen bolt.

Because the Hope Technology crankset is constructed a little different to other available units,  the tools you need to install the cranks, bottom bracket and remove the spider system are included in the box. And even these are beautifully made, and are easy to use.

Hope’s spline system should resist creaks and groans in the longterm

Even the included tools are made beautifully

Every little detail

The finish is something that immediately stands out on the Hope crankset – Hope has intelligently laser etched the raised areas that would contact the shoe/ankles of those who tend to rub on crank arms. We don’t even think Ben Deakin from Pro Ride Guides could ruin the finish on these cranks – and he’s the king of ten-to-two riding, thanks to an injury earnt in action.

Box fresh installation from early January – our cranks look virtually the same now, thanks to intelligent laser etching in areas prone to rubbing.

Our test set of cranks have almost exclusively been ridden in foul conditions – pretty much every outing has resulted in expensive grinding noises from the transmission, but our cranks still look good in anodised black – and we’ll keep running them until something gives up. But like all Hope components, the excellent back-up service will keep you on the trails more than in the work shop.

Typical testing conditions from a typical British winter.

Although the drivetrain was a grinding mess, the Slick guide ran smoothly and drag-free the whole winter.

Chain retention

We rode our Hope cranks with a 34tooth Hope retention ring, and the Slick guide and bash plate combo. It’s all super neat, and offers that extra protection and security you sometimes want over using narrow-wide ring on it’s own.

On our first outing at Bikepark Wales we clouted the chain guide pretty hard on a big rock – which would no doubt have damaged teeth on the chain ring. At first we were concerned that hard hits could still damage the ring or spider – but it runs true and has since been hit on several occasions. It might not be as tough as a dedicated taco style guide mounted on ISCG mounts, but it offers realistic protection for those inevitable strikes that catch you unaware. If you’re the type of rider that sumps out regularly, then perhaps you should consider a chain guide tab mounted bash guide.

We never dropped the chain in our test period – be that choked in the Slick guide or from derailing at the bottom – we’re confident that the Slick guide combo with the retainer narrow wide ring offers enough added protection for all but the full on DH riders.

At time of writing we’re now running the Hope crankset and retention ring without the chain guide, and have yet to drop the chain. The retention ring works every bit as well as other major brand chain rings we’ve tested, and is wearing well – we’ll update you further down the line on longevity.

The Slick guide itself is machined from engineering grade plastic, and uses a 7000 series aluminium back plate that mounts on ISCG tabs. It’s very light at under 90grams, and in all but the biggest 42t sprocket made no noise on our test bike. A slight buzz was noticeable under compression whilst in the biggest sprocket – though this may have been down to the ISCG tab positioning on our test frame.

A 2.5mm Allen bolt secures the simple and effective bearing preload collar. Similar to Shimano XTR, circa 2009.

Our Slick guide ran true to it’s name. No chains dropped, entangled or with annoying noise.

We say

From the moment we opened the box, we loved the new Hope crank – from the nice detailing like the etched sides, to the high-quality tools included for installation.

It’s been on our test bike for over three grim months, and shows absolutely no sign of creaking, knocking or anything else. And they look brand new each time we clean them.

If you want a well thought out, high quality crankset with the back up to accompany, you should definitely consider Hope’s excellent new offering.  Check out the amazing video below, which gives you some great insight in to the Hope Technology Crankset.

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