Review: Cane Creek Electric Wings Titanium Cranks
Back in the mid 1990s titanium was the metal of choice for high-end mountain bike frames. Countless magazine articles (remember those?) were written about the seemingly magical metal, at least until aluminum and carbon full-suspension frames arrived to steal the show.
Nowadays, titanium is most commonly seen in the form of gram-shaving bolt kits, but it seems primed for a resurgence due to advances in additive manufacturing – Atherton Bikes' titanium-lugged carbon creations are some of the more obvious examples, and there are plenty of other companies starting to explore the potential of 3D-printed titanium, whether that's for dropouts, stems, brake levers, or cranks, like the Cane Creek Electric Wings that are reviewed here.
Nowadays, titanium is most commonly seen in the form of gram-shaving bolt kits, but it seems primed for a resurgence due to advances in additive manufacturing – Atherton Bikes' titanium-lugged carbon creations are some of the more obvious examples, and there are plenty of other companies starting to explore the potential of 3D-printed titanium, whether that's for dropouts, stems, brake levers, or cranks, like the Cane Creek Electric Wings that are reviewed here.
Electric Wings Details
• 6/4 titanium
• Length: 160 or 165mm (tested)
• Weight: 392 grams
• ISIS motor spindle compatible
• Five-year warranty
• Made in USA
• MSRP: $1,300 USD
• More info: canecreek.com
• 6/4 titanium
• Length: 160 or 165mm (tested)
• Weight: 392 grams
• ISIS motor spindle compatible
• Five-year warranty
• Made in USA
• MSRP: $1,300 USD
• More info: canecreek.com
Cane Creek has had welded titanium cranks in their product lineup for the last five years (cranks that were inspired by the Sweet Wings cranks from the 1990's), but the new Electric Wing is the North Carolina-based company's first foray into additive manufacturing. They're available to fit ISIS splined drive units (the standard used on Brose, Bosch, TQ, and Fazua motors, among others) in either a 165mm or 160mm length.
In keeping with the titanium-isn't-cheap theme, the Electric Wings are priced at $1,300 USD, and come with a five-year warranty.
The Electric Wings being born. Lasers fuse titanium powder together layer by layer to achieve the desired shape. Photo: Cane Creek
DETAILS
What made Cane Creek decide to go with additive manufacturing for the Electric Wings, instead of just welding up some short eeWings and calling it good? According to Will Hart, Cane Creek's product marketing manager, “Titanium is important to us because of the superior impact resistance that it offers over carbon alternatives. We decided to use additive manufacturing for Electric Wings because it offered the best way to produce the complex shapes we wanted to offer in titanium. To produce a tubular, welded set of Electric Wings with the ISIS spindle interface and extremely minimal pedal overhang, the cost would have been even higher, and the tooling complexity was unnecessarily difficult.”
The result is a set of cranks that's free of any sharp edges, and with the smallest amount of material in front of the pedal insert as possible. That helps provide additional ground clearance, something that's especially important on an eMTB where you're much more likely to be pedaling instead of coasting (or pushing) in chunky terrain. With the design of the Electric Wings, the crankarm itself is much less likely to contact the ground – the end of the crank is pretty much in line with the pedal body, rather than extending past it.
PERFORMANCE
Installation and removal of the Electric Wings is about as easy as it gets – slap on a little bit of titanium prep, tighten them down to 52 Nm, and then go for a ride. Removal is just as easy, thanks to the 14mm self-extracting bolt design. Cane Creek does recommend checking the cranks once a month, just in case.
I've had the Electric Wings installed on a Specialized Turbo Levo for the last six months, and they've been through the full gamut of trail conditions. They feel like, well, cranks - they've gone around and around for hundreds of miles and I haven't had to think about them at all. There are a few scuffs from encounters with rock, but nothing major. Cane Creek now offers a 160mm version, which is what I would have chosen over 165mm if that had been an option at the time these cranks launched. That said, I do think the stubby crank end does help prevent at least some ground strikes.
I did notice that the surface finish of both arms isn't as smooth as it looks from a distance - there are tiny little pockmarks if you look close, as opposed to the smooth surface you'd find on forged or machined cranks. It's a minor detail, and I'm not an additive manufacturing expert, but it does make the cranks appear a little less polished (both literally and figuratively).
WEIGHT
The Electric Wings do live up to Cane Creek's 'as light as carbon' claims – they came in at 392 grams on my scale, 21 grams lighter than the Praxis carbon cranks they replaced. Now, I should note that if there's one place I'm not too concerned about some extra grams, it's on e-bike cranks. When there's a motor in the equation a few extra grams here or there makes even less of a difference. Still, creating metal components that are lighter than carbon is an impressive achievement.
PRICE
This is going to be the biggest hurdle for most riders - $1,300 is a serious amount of money, especially when there are much cheaper alternatives that offer nearly identical performance, in some cases with a longer warranty - Race Face's $95 Aeffect cranks come to mind. That doesn't mean there's not a market for them, even if the price tag puts them up in the stratosphere – after all, they look interesting, and they're made out of titanium using cutting-edge manufacturing methods. For some riders, that'll be enough for them to slap down the Amex Black Card.
Pros
+ Impressively light for titanium (or any material)
+ Design helps prevent crankarm vs ground incidents
Cons
- Expensive
- No lifetime warranty
Pinkbike's Take
 | Expensive titanium cranks obviously aren't going to be for everybody, and that's okay - that's are plenty of much more attainable options on the market. I will give credit to Cane Creek for trying something different on their quest to create light, strong e-bike cranks, even if I'm not convinced that it's worth worrying about a few extra grams when there's a motor in the mix. In any case, additive manufacturing is becoming increasingly common in the mountain bike world, and it's going to be interesting to see what other avenues the technology opens up in the future. Ideally, some of those avenues lead to a place with light, strong and affordable options. |
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Must Read This Week
Not holding my breath for your ebike still riding around in 2048 :-D
This is kind of the opposite
(I say this as a single-speed rider myself)
...actually no you don't understand...because your joke doesn't work if you do understand...
so check it out, I can help you: ebikes and regular mtbs use different setups. The ebike has, like, a motor in there. No BB. Chainring is its own thing, cranks are like the non-drive side of your mtb crankset...
Your joke doesn't work. But you learned something. Now you can take this new knowledge and come up with joke that makes sense!
These notes are free of charge, too. We're gonna get you there!
clipping in to the eeb is like clipping into a DH bike...like when Bruni was pushing back on 29: "just how fast do you want us to go?"
You seem pretty triggered by all this and need to show how right you are, so I'll end here and let you have the last word to show you are still right. Lighten up, Francis.
And what’s the Francis thing?
I want your jokes to be better. That’s all.
Another victory from the toilet!
I have purchased cranks for an ebike, I know they're different. They were shimano, shorter and not expensive.
It’s bad when carbon wheels and carbon frames somehow have a better warranty than titanium cranks.
I’d love to be able to justify a pair of the standard non-e bike ones. They’d be one of those forever parts I could transfer from bike to bike and titanium never goes out of style.
Truly wealthy people tend to be more discrete, no logos etc.
Status symbols are always BMW or Audi SUVs and a Birkin bag or Submariner.
Actually rich people come in all shapes and forms, I don't think you can stereotype them.
I know because I bought a set.
Just sayin
There is a lot of jealous hate in the comments but some people can buy and do want the fanciest , most bespoke shit. I ride with a few people that have the means and have things like EEWings along with wireless shifting/ droppers and carbon rims.
I can't fault them for having the nicest build when the total cost only equates to less than one week's paycheck at best.
Not every innovation is actually better, or brings real value.
I ride a front mech and rim brakes, and have a blast every time I ride.
It’s true that not every innovation is an improvement, but if you follow your logic to the extreme you may be riding a bike with wooden wheels and no drive train, or maybe no bicycle at all.
Anyways, these cranks are much too expensive, and I like trick parts and also own Eewings and am a fan.
At 50% of this price, the e-bike cranks would an acceptable product for those with money to burn, but at this price they are just silly.
Actually surprised at how few dentist references are in the comments today!
Citation needed.
My observation is that whenever a part is made of ti by the bike industry it is either sold with low rider weight limit and/or eventually snap. It is not a question of if but rather of when. In fact despite its corrosion resistance Ti is the last material I would choose for durability.
What specific brands and models of crankarms have you broken or bent?
What brands and models of cranks are riders breaking or bending?
Really what I'm getting at here is that do people actually bend/break cranks like Shimano SLX alloy? Just to use one example.
I've heard about lots of carbon cranks breaking, but not any that are forged alloy breaking or bending.
Height and weight facts: www.singletracks.com/community/nrml-mtber-is-your-completely-average-rider-with-a-big-following-and-big-personality
How much do you weigh?
[Reply]
Electric Wings weight savings = 163 grams
Yogurt 6 ounces = 170 grams
Buying these only makes sense for bragging and USA manufacturing, Hopes are a lot heavier, but at least they're not outsourced.
(googling now, since you haven't helped me)
If it's not exactly this fallacy (I do think it is), it's definitely an "appeal to worse problems" argument and it's still impossible.
Or are they like "don't spend more than I do, dude, you're gonna blow it for all of us! I want to spend 100 bucks instead of feeding the hungry, and you're out here dropping 1300??? Cmon!" Could be that.
Maybe?
MTB is indefensible if you're a saint.