German company Tune is a CNC machining outfit with a penchant for turning out extremely light products. Its Fast Foot cranks (without rings) plus full bottom bracket come in at a truly feathery 536g.
Like all Tune kit, the Fast Foot cranks are well designed, exquisitely made and reassuringly expensive. Tune turns its nose up at the new external BB standard, and instead designs its cranks to use a tapered axle. Here, however, it’s a rather unusual octagonal shape.
It is also machined to tolerances that far exceed those used in the rest of the bike industry. This is mostly because the better you can make the fit between the crank arms and the BB spindle, the longer they last – and the less chance there is of squeaks.
The bottom bracket itself is made from high-grade 6Al/4V titanium, while the arms (and BB hardware) are CNC machined from billet 7075T6 series alloy. Tune machines the alloy in line with the prevailing grain structure to make them stronger and more durable, without having to make them bigger and therefore heavier. Finish on both items is beyond what you’d expect from top-drawer brands: this really is bike jewellery.
Fitting the BB is simple, using a peg spanner to tighten the cups into the frame. If you turn the BB axle at this point it will feel a bit rough, but after the first ride it’ll be spinning with ease. Fitting the cranks requires some care to ensure you get the chainline correct and the titanium crank bolts are fully home, because they are required to internally support the BB axle. It isn’t difficult, but the instructions aren’t as clear as they could be.
One thing we can recommend, though, is whipping the cranks off after your first ride and reinstalling them. Several users have remarked that they loosen up after the first ride, but if removed and reinstalled they then remain where they’re put without further need to touch them.
Compared with the Bontrager XXX cranks , the Tune items might seem a little overlight, but you’d be wrong (without doing the excellent Bontrager cranks a disservice). Tune isn’t offering bells and whistles to impress, it’s selling you a level of design knowledge and craftsmanship that is all too rare these days.
