The New Speedline Spinners vs Elite Carbon Cranks — Which Should You Buy?

By Bill Ryan · Founder of Supercross BMX · Former Technical Editor, BMX Plus Magazine · Workshop columnist, GO Magazine · Designer of 8× Bike of the Year race frames · 37+ years in BMX

The Spinners has been in the Speedline line for years. A new version lands this fall. They ship to us on September 9th and go on sale in October 2026. Not a new color and a new sticker. We rebuilt the arm off a new forging, and there is independent fatigue test data behind it that I am finally allowed to show you.

So the question is not which of these to buy today. It is whether to spend on the Elite Carbon Hollow, on the shelf at $699.95, or wait a few weeks for the new Spinners. My answer: most riders should wait for the Spinners. The Elite Carbon earns its price for elite-level racers chasing the last gram.

Now let me show my work.

How the Spinners is built

The arm is cold forged aluminum with the middle hollowed out. Forging lines up the grain of the metal instead of cutting through it, and hollowing takes material out of the center where it does the least work.

Then we bond a Toray T700S carbon fiber back bone onto it. The aluminum handles the abuse, the threads and the crash landings. The carbon spine runs down the back of the arm and fights the flex that shows up when a rider stands and stomps. Carbon resists bending along its length better than anything, so putting it exactly where the arm wants to bend is cheap stiffness. First hybrid BMX crank we know of.

The rest: hollow 30mm spindle in heat-treated 7075 aluminum, narrow Q-factor, removable spider for any 104 BCD chainring, T47 sealed bearing bottom bracket in the box with a BSA EB30 option. Two-piece, 9/16" pedal threads, right-hand drive.

What we changed on the new one

We changed the forging tool twice during development. Twice. Anybody who has paid for a forging die knows what that costs. We did it to pull weight out of the places not carrying load and put strength back into the ones that were. The arm you will bolt on is the third shape we made, not the first one that worked.

The other half was rider input. Maris Strombergs, Kye Whyte, Oli Moran, Gaige Gomolicke and Justin Perkins all rode it and fed back. Those five race at a level where a bad crank shows up inside one lap, and I wanted them on it to make sure everything was 100% correct.

The numbers are locked. The new Spinners is $399.95. It weighs 739 grams for a 180mm set including the spindle, and it comes in seven lengths from 165 to 180mm.

1,300 Nm, and the testing behind it

959 lb-ft. That is 1,300 Nm in the units most Americans think in, and it is what this crank got pushed to. For a part a 150-pound rider stands on, that is a long way past anything a human will ever put through it.

“That’s more torque than a Cummins diesel puts out.”

The number comes out of two separate dynamic fatigue tests, both run as independent third-party testing to EN 16054:2012, with the machine record also citing ISO 4210-3. Those are the European and international standards for crank fatigue. We did not write them.

The test article was model MDM06-R&L, right arm 30mm / 180mm and left arm 30mm (special hole) / 180mm, in AL 6061-T6 at hardness 61, with a 46T chainring. Both tests ran at 3.0 Hz.

• Test 1, March 26, 2026. Load applied at 45 degrees. 100,000 cycles. Pass. No failure, no visible cracks.
• Test 2, March 31, 2026. Same setup, load at 30 degrees. 100,000 cycles. Pass.

They tested the 180mm arm, the longest we make and the worst case, since a longer arm puts a bigger bending moment into the spindle. Changing the angle from 45 degrees to 30 moves where stress piles up, which is how you find out whether an arm is strong or just lucky in one direction. It passed both, clean. 200,000 cycles of independent data is why I am comfortable telling a parent to put this under their kid.

How the Elite Carbon is built

No aluminum arm at all. The Elite arms are hand-laid Toray Nano Alloy carbon, hollow, molded under high compaction at controlled temperature and pressure. Carbon only performs if resin content and compaction are right through the whole part, and hand-laying takes time and skill. That shows up in the price.

The spider is carbon too, with carbon-titanium composite layers and a 7075 aluminum insert where the chainring bolts land. You do not want steel bolts clamping straight onto carbon. The insert spreads that load.

The spindle is 30mm and the EB30 sealed bearing bottom bracket comes in the box, on precision-ground hardened steel balls. I get asked about ceramic constantly. Under the impact loading a BMX bottom bracket sees, hardened steel outlasts ceramic. That is the right part, not the cheap one.

Total weight with the spindle is 495 grams. UCI and USA BMX legal, direct fit on the Vision F1, Vision F1x, ENVY RS7, Vision RSX and SX450, and on the shelf today at $699.95.

What the weight difference means on the gate

739 grams against 495. Call it 244 grams, over half a pound, sitting at the cranks, the worst place on the bike to carry weight you do not need. Every stroke you accelerate that mass, slow it, accelerate it again. A fast rider notices in the first three strokes out of the gate.

Be precise about that number, because a lot of brands are not. 739 grams is a 180mm set with the spindle in it — the longest crank we make, and therefore the heaviest. Shorter sets weigh less.

So it is real. But half a pound at the cranks does not turn a fifth-place moto into a win. Gate reaction, jump timing, gearing and a bike that fits are worth more, and all of them are cheaper to fix. Grams come last.

Why the 30mm spindle matters, on both cranks

Spindle stiffness scales with the fourth power of the diameter. Go from 24mm to 30mm and diameter goes up by 1.25, but stiffness climbs by 1.25 to the fourth power, roughly 2.4 times stiffer in the same material. Biggest stiffness gain available in a crankset, and the spindle is hollow, so it costs almost nothing in weight.

Both of these run a 30mm spindle. You do not give up the most important stiffness in the system by buying the less expensive crank.

Crank length, and why fit beats weight

The new Spinners comes in seven lengths: 165, 167.5, 170, 172.5, 175, 177.5 and 180mm. Three of those are half steps, and you will not find them on most cranks at any price. The Elite Carbon comes in 165, 170, 175 and 180mm.

If a rider sits between 170 and 175, then 172.5 is not a compromise, it is the correct answer. For a kid growing through sizes, 165 and 167.5 keep them on a crank that fits instead of one they are fighting. Too long forces the knee too high at the top of the stroke and the rider loses the snap BMX is built on.

Rough guide, not a law:

• 165mm: shorter riders and rapid-cadence racers who win on spin-up. Common for Junior and smaller Expert.
• 170mm: the middle ground, and the most common Pro 20" length in USA BMX.
• 175mm: taller riders who ride on leverage. Common on Pro XL and XXL.
• 180mm: the tallest riders, 24" Cruiser, and long-gear setups.

If the right length is 167.5, 172.5 or 177.5, the Spinners is your crank.

What is in the box

Both include a bottom bracket, which is money you are not spending separately. The Spinners has shipped with a T47 sealed bearing unit, BSA EB30 optional. The Elite ships with the EB30. Neither includes a chainring, so budget for one either way.

Side by side

Torque and care

Elite Carbon self-extracting crank bolts go to 45 Nm (33 ft-lbs) on both sides. Chainring bolts go to 8–10 Nm (6–7 ft-lbs) with blue threadlocker. Use a torque wrench and check the crank bolts weekly. Loose bolts wallow out the arm-to-spindle interface, and once that is rounded you are buying a new crankset. The rest is in our bike maintenance guide.

My recommendation

Wait for the new Spinners. A cold forged hollow alloy arm with a Toray T700S carbon spine bonded to it, off a forging tool we paid to change twice, signed off by five riders who race at the front, with two independent EN 16054 fatigue tests behind it and the same 30mm spindle that does most of the stiffness work. From Novice through fast Experts and plenty of Pros, it is the crank to buy.

Buy the Elite Carbon today at $699.95 when you are at the front of a national class, your bike is built the way you want it, your length is 165, 170, 175 or 180, and half a pound is the next thing between you and the rider beside you. Lightest crankset we build, just not the one most riders should buy first.

The new Spinners goes on sale in October. Put your email in the newsletter form at the bottom of this page and I will tell you the day it goes live, with final weight, lengths and price. Everything else is in the Speedline Parts collection.

Frequently asked questions

When does the new Spinners crank come out?

October 2026. They ship to us on September 9th and go on sale here in October, once we have them in hand and checked over. It is a new version of a crank that has been in the Speedline line for years, rebuilt around a new forging. Sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of this page and you will hear from us the day it is live.

Has the new Spinners been tested?

Yes. Two separate dynamic fatigue tests, both independent third-party testing to EN 16054:2012, with the machine record also citing ISO 4210-3. The test article was the 180mm arm in AL 6061-T6 with a 46T chainring at 3.0 Hz. Test one ran 100,000 cycles at 45 degrees and passed, no failure and no visible cracks. Test two ran 100,000 cycles at 30 degrees and passed. The torque figure is 1,300 Nm, or 959 lb-ft.

Is the Spinners a budget crank?

No. It is a different engineering answer to the same problem. The forged hollow alloy arm with a bonded Toray T700S carbon back bone puts carbon stiffness into the part of the arm that flexes, at a price a racing family can reach. Same 30mm spindle as the Elite, bottom bracket included.

Will I feel the weight difference?

A fast rider will, on the first few strokes out of the gate and when lifting the front wheel. A rider still working on gate starts and jump timing will not see it on the results sheet.

Which crank length should I buy?

165mm suits shorter riders and racers who win on cadence. 170mm is the middle ground and the most common Pro 20" length in USA BMX. 175mm suits taller riders who ride on leverage. 180mm is for the tallest riders, 24" Cruiser and long gears. The Spinners has also covered 172.5 and 177.5. Measure the rider, do not guess.

What torque do the crank bolts take?

Elite Carbon self-extracting crank bolts take 45 Nm (33 ft-lbs) on both sides. Chainring bolts take 8 to 10 Nm (6 to 7 ft-lbs) with blue threadlocker. Check them weekly.

Will the Elite Carbon fit my Supercross frame?

Direct fit on the Vision F1, Vision F1x, ENVY RS7, Vision RSX and SX450 with the threaded Euro shell, and fully UCI and USA BMX legal. For any other frame, send us the shell type and width.