Today Race Face brings the Era to the market, a carbon crank that claims to be their stiffest, strongest and most heard-wearing to-date. At just 483g (including chainring and all hardware) they’re some of the lightest in the enduro rated category. Do the Era’s have what it takes to compete with the best mountain bike cranks?
The Era is Race Face’s flagship crankset, and it’s been designed to tackle the worlds toughest enduro courses. As such the Era boasts Race Face’s latest tech, the main one being pedal inserts that are bonded directly to carbon layup itself. Not only does this make the Era Race Face’s stiffest crank yet, but it should also massively boost hard-hit durability, too.
Adding to the Era’s durability are stainless steel wear plate guards that provide protection against heel-rub meaning they'll look fresh no matter how many bikes you move them to and from. We also really dig the unique aesthetic these wear plates provide.
To back the Era’s durable claims Race Face is offering a no-hassle lifetime warranty, even if the damage is caused by a crash – we’re impressed by this level of after support and it sure helps to justify the premium price tag.
The Era is available in 165, 170 and 175mm lengths. All lengths have a 176mm Q-factor which Race Face claim provides ideal peddling ergonomics for maximum power output.
As standard, the Era's feature a 52mm chainlink based on a 136mm spindle, but this can be adjusted to 55mm with a Shimano specific chainring. Similarly to previous generation Race Face cranks, the Eras use a CINCH direct chain ring mount which should allow them to be used with various different chainring offsets to suit a wide range of fitment needs.
Race Face offers the Era in seven colorways with eight different crank boot color options. They’re available now and cost $499.99 / £489.
