Kooka cranks = crap!

[orange71]

or in some cases pitched their target audience as racers needing kit for 1 season...

 

[FMJ]

Kooka = show cranks. They looked great in the booth at Interbike.

 

[mfh126]

Yep-crap back in the day.......still crap now

I'd have to agree. Most of the CNC bits from the 90's were junk, especially the ones that started with a "K". Kooka, Kore. They looked pretty, but never lasted.
.

I'm a long time user of Kore products and never had a problem. What was the issue there?

 

[Rio]

It's a common problem with Kookas (and Cooks, Graftons and early Race Face), stick with Shimano and you'll generally be okay, although the old Deore DX cranks were a little soft.

Strangely I did have a bike in my stand one day, an old beater, that was wearing a hugely corroded set of Kookas, the pedals were seized in and the cranks looked like they had been at the bottom of a lake for years, but I checked them over carefully - no cracks!

are there any good RF Turbine cranks? The later compact ones? Or even Isis? Cause I always thought Turbines were the ones to buy if you want cool cranks with a little more reliability...

 

[OldNBroken]

I'm a long time user of Kore products and never had a problem. What was the issue there?

I "collapsed" 2 of their seatposts. After the second one bent in half I begged them to let me just get some skewers rather than risk my sensitive areas to sharp metal. FWIW I started using Thompson posts on all my bikes after that and have NEVER bent or seized one.

 

[Woz]

+1 for Kore stems and bars. Battle tanks and no issues.
+1 for Shimano cranks. M730, M560, MC38 going strong.

I really liked the skinny Profile and Topline cranks, but kit that breaks can't be justified.

 

[brocklanders023]

Part of the reason I've lost some retro mojo is that I ride all my bikes but don't trust much of the old bling gear (Syncros seat post lasted half a ride :evil: ). This means I can't build bikes as I want them (most of the fun for me) and have done builds with most of the reliable stuff so can't seem to find anything that catches my fancy.

 

[mfh126]

I'm a long time user of Kore products and never had a problem. What was the issue there?

I "collapsed" 2 of their seatposts. After the second one bent in half I begged them to let me just get some skewers rather than risk my sensitive areas to sharp metal. FWIW I started using Thompson posts on all my bikes after that and have NEVER bent or seized one.

OK, I haven't had too much experience with Kore seatposts, but stems and handlebars have been great.

 

[Baulz]

It's a common problem with Kookas (and Cooks, Graftons and early Race Face), stick with Shimano and you'll generally be okay, although the old Deore DX cranks were a little soft.

Strangely I did have a bike in my stand one day, an old beater, that was wearing a hugely corroded set of Kookas, the pedals were seized in and the cranks looked like they had been at the bottom of a lake for years, but I checked them over carefully - no cracks!

are there any good RF Turbine cranks? The later compact ones? Or even Isis? Cause I always thought Turbines were the ones to buy if you want cool cranks with a little more reliability...

The Turbines were very durable. Have only seen 1 that broke and it was by a trials riding friend. Maybe the early IB cranks had some issues?

 

[Senri]

I have to agree that a lot of the CNC stuff was certainly not better then the standard stuff, if you then take into account the price difference....
On the otherhand, I have riden my Rafty pretty hard the last few years and it has Kooka brake levers, avid tri-align canti's and RF turbine cranks and they have performed very good! And yes, they look even better!