Wednesday, September 16, 2009



As seen on Bicycle.net

Product Review: Cannondale SI SL Hollowgram Crankset

By editor on August 29th, 2009


The Cannondale SI SL Hollowgram crankset weighs in at a remarkable 580 grams. No you didn’t read that wrong: only 580 grams. And when used with the BB30 system it is the lightest production crankset in the cycling universe.

So how did Cannondale engineer the Hollowgram SI SL to be both super stiff, yet super light? They did this by enlarging the core pocket (which is the hollow space in the crank arm), which trimmed the weight and retained their trademark stiffness. They use 2000-series aluminum, which has twice the fatigue life of 7000-series aluminum. Crank arms are also mated to a thin-walled, hollow, oversized 30mm aluminum bottom bracket axle for excellent balance of strength, weight, and stiffness. And of course they are CNC machined to optimize strength and ensure light weight.

Gram for gram, there’s no other crankset that can claim the stiffness-to-weight ratio of the Cannondale Hollowgram.

Enough with the specifications and onto our real life experience with the Hollowgram SI SL crankset. We installed them on our Cannondale CAAD9 company race bike, which runs SRAM Rival and HED wheels and have been riding them very hard for the last 3 months. We’ve put them through every abuse and condition our sadistic minds could dream up and logged at least 2,500 miles, every one in crankset heaven.


Our Hollowgram SI SL Crank After 2,500 Hard Miles

Hill Climbing – it was amazing how stiff these cranks are. Mash the pedals and the power is there, right there. There is instant power transfer from the cranks to the wheels. They are so stiff, in fact, that any other weakness in the drive train becomes obvious. Truly impressive that such a light weight crankset can be so responsive.

Racing – we have used the bike in every type of event, but it was in crits where the cranks’ performance is so noticeable. The power on/off nature of crit racing really puts your crankset to the test. They spun up instantly and had zero flex when out of the saddle and hammering to close a gap.

Bicycle.net is extremely impressed with the performance of the Cannondale Hollowgram SI SL crankset. It performs flawlessly, with the ultimate combination of light weight, and stiffness. This is the best crankset we have ever ridden. Well done Cannondale!

We Give The Cannondale Hollowgram SI SL Crankset

4.5 out of 5 Chainrings

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