A few months ago, a years worth of reasonably abusive riding took it's toll on my old, square-taper cranks and bottom bracket at a particularly financially inoportune time, leaving me needing a thrash-worthy replacement at the lowest price possible.

After doing some online research and consulting with my LBS, I settled on making the change to an ISIS standard bottom bracket paired with a set of FSA V-Drive Xtreme cranks, certified by both Pepsi Max and Mountain Dew to be the most "EXTREME!" crank your money can buy (actually I made that up).

Two things struck me about these cranks straight away and swayed my purchasing decision in their favour, one, they were a big, burly overbuilt crankset and certainly looked the goods for use on my DH/DJ/street hardtail and two, they cost bugger all, retailing for around $150 a pair without chain rings. Impressed with the looks and happy with the price, I laid down my money for the cranks and a Truvativ DH bottom bracket to mount them on.

Once the bottom bracket was nestled safely in my frame, the cranks slid straight on without a problem and with all the requesite washers and bolts for cranks, chainrings and pedals included in the V-Drives' box, I was spared the hassle of rummaging around in my LBS looking for everything, a small but welcome inclusion by FSA.

But looks and low prices are only a small part of the story, the real proof is in the riding and after 4 months aboard these cranks they have so far earned an enthusiastic two thumbs up from me. They offer enormous lateral stiffness (though not as much as a tubular cromo crank), have yet to come loose at the bottom bracket interface and have held pedals without the slightest indication of stripping out or play developing.

With all the hassles the farkin.net crew has had with other, more expensive cranksets on the market (check out our Truvativ Hussefelt review) it was nice to be able to install a set of cranks, tighten up the crank bolts and then forget about them and feel confident doing it. My V-Drives have yet to squeak, groan, protest or require any sort of maintenance whatsoever and that, in my mind at least, is a great indication of a quality product.

If you're in the market for a strong, cheap, but not necessarily light crankset you'd do well to find one that fits the bill better than a set of FSA V-Drive Xtremes, they earn my official Seal of Approval.

A second opinion, courtesy of Ty...

I’ve had my V-Drives for a slightly shorter time than Ryan and I must say that for the price they are excellent value. I have however had a few small issues with them; I’m not sure if they are slightly wider than what I’m used to, but my ankles rub up against the sides which has worn off some of the black finish, though this isn’t that big a problem.

In a recent stack I also slightly tweaked the non-drive side crank, it’s only noticeable when spinning lightly and I don't think this is an indication of the strength of the crank (more an indication of how much of a hack I am). I would personally recommend this crank to anyone who is in the market for a cheap but sturdy crank.

Discuss this article here.