
(Photo Brian Park/Velo)
Welcome to Velo’s Sea Otter Classic coverage, where we share our favorite things we’ve seen at the 2024 show. Bikes, components, everything racing, and more: if we think it’s cool, you’ll see it. See the rest of our coverage here.

5DEV makes some of the most gorgeous lust-worthy parts you’ve ever seen. Each of them is an industrial work of art made in San Diego but not by hand. Instead, the reputation that precedes the company is all about precision CNC machining. As I said in the beginning though, this is art. Precision doesn’t even come close to describing what 5DEV makes.
The pieces the company puts out are the kind of thing that stops you in your tracks as soon as you see them. If you aren’t familiar with the name, then you are still likely aware of the skeleton-style crank arms machined from a solid billet of titanium that 5DEV makes. If that rings a bell and you’ve seen it in your dreams in the past, now there are a few more pieces to dream about putting on your next dream build.

While 5DEV might be well known for cranks, in the past they were only a tease for anyone who wasn’t a road or gravel rider. Now those who like to ride things with a little less shred and a little longer miles have an option of their own to lust after. The 5DEV Road and Gravel crank uses a 3 Piece Spindle Interface which “allows you to run 68, 73 or DUB Wide Widths for Road, Gravel and XC BB’s.” Q Factor options are “152mm road, 160mm road wide, or 166 XC with a 55mm chainline.”

Those specs are rather dry though. The real magic is in the construction. While it’s true that this latest option is precision CNC machined out of a solid billet like all the other choices, this time it’s two pieces. The first side comes out of CNC with a hollow center and a second piece gets added on top. Merging the two together is the job of a robot with a laser that welds perfectly every time. The end result is a pair of crank arms with a spindle that weigh out at 446g with a 170mm road spindle.
Right now the only crank arm lengths available are 175, 170, 165. To flesh out your crank you’ve got the option of using SRAM compatible chainrings using an 8 bolt chainring pattern. The system is compatible with either 1X or 2X chainrings.

As you dream about your new ultralight Titanium crank, 5DEV does make an option for chainrings. If you want 2x, you’ll need to look elsewhere but for 1x builds, the 5DEV Aero Chainrings uses a SRAM 8 bolt pattern as well as a “shark fin tech to reduce chain noise on 1x mullet builds with mtb cassettes.” It’s available in raw titanium or black and works with SRAM Transmission, Shimano 12 Speed, and SRAM Eagle Chains.”

Unfortunately, the 5DEV Titanium Pulley Wheels are only for mountain bikes. Compatibility stops at SRAM Transmission, AXS and Eagle, Shimano XTR/XT and there’s essentially no information about them. Still, they are too gorgeous not to share.






