Two for Tuesday: Easton Cranks & Bontrager Tires
From issue 86
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EASTON EA90 CRANKSET
We love Easton’s CINCH system on the EC90 SL carbon cranks for the easiest chainring swaps in the pits. Now this system is coming to a whole new price point thanks to the EA90 crankset. Made of alloy, the material that made Easton famous, the crankarms cost just $120 compared to the $400 EC90 SL. It can run both 1x and 2x chainring setups from a huge catalog of chainring combinations, so you can update your gearing on the fly at a race or even switch the cranks between road, gravel and ’cross bikes. It has bottom-bracket offerings for every common standard. And it is compatible with the spindle based CINCH power meter. The arms weigh 534 grams.
$120 (arms only); 534g; eastoncycling.com
BONTRAGER R3 HARD CASE LITE TLR 32MM
When Bontrager set out to redesign its popular R3 everyday tires its engineers started out by redesigning the way they tested tires, investing heavily in in-house testing technology and expertise. The new R3 family, with 23mm, 25mm, 28mm and 32mm tires is the result. The tires feature an all-new compound, new tread patterns, almost double the life span and much better puncture protection. The R3 32mm is the only tubeless tire in the family, and with a close-knit, small block tread, it’s a versatile tire with light gravel capability. During the development process, Bontrager learned that depending on the direction of the casing’s fold during manufacturing a tire can roll 10-percent faster in one direction than another. Because of this, every new R3 has a directional arrow on the tread, to ensure you’re getting the most out of the tire.
$65; trekbikes.com
A version of this story originally appeared in issue 86.