Race Face Components

Well, my experience has been entirely different from the other people reviewing Race Face.
It might be the case for two reasons, I’ve only dealt with bike shops when purchasing their components (North Shore bike shop and Different Bikes in North Van), and went back to those shops for support whenever I needed anything.
I currently have a set of Monster Green Atlas cranks on my DH bike and they are the business, not only do they make my bike look about 85% cooler that yours, they are also bombproof. I have a feeling that they will outlive the bike itself (which isn’t saying much, since it’s a carbon DH bike). Anyway, I have used a ton of RaceFace components and clothing through the years and have nothing but good things to say about the product and the company.
Have bought in the past, will buy again and currently have stuff on order from RF. They are make a great product and it’s sexy as all heck (as far as bike parts go, I would totally trade all of my Race Face stuff for a date with a Kate Upton).

This review isn’t about Raceface products since I don’t own any. I am interested in buying some, but don’t know exactly which one would be best for me. After my experience with their user unfriendly website I emailed the following to:
Subject: difficulties with website
Hi,
I’m interested in buying one of your cranks for a 1×10 or 1×9 set up.
Do you have a price list? It’s difficult to navigate your website and figure out which cranks would work with this set up, how much they would cost, and if a 30 tooth chain ring is available for it.
What does AM, Trail, XC Race, FR, DH Race, stand for, how does that impact crank design, and how am I supposed to classify my riding?
Regards,
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The response was:
Hey how are ya?
Thanks for your email. I recommend you go to your nearest Race Face dealer to help you with all your questions, get you into your perfect bike setup and explain to you the differences between the different disciplines. Thanks for choosing Race Face.
Bob Jones | 1.800.527.9244×225 |
RACE FACE PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS 3145 Thunderbird Crescent, Burnaby, BC V5A 3G1
Okay, so now I go to their website
and type in my zip code. The closest two dealers are 45 min drive away so forget about riding my bike. I type in some other zip codes and find that I always get the same results. I then look at the results and notice they include shops in Oregon and Washington but I’m in the South Bay Area of California. I then notice that all the shop names start with an R or S. Clearly their website needs major work. Note that the subject of my email was, «Difficulties with website» yet Bob sent me right to one of the pages that doesn’t work. Why don’t they have prices next to their products so I can narrow down my selection?
Raceface classifies their cranks by use with, «AM, Trail, XC Race, FR, DH Race,» yet these categories are not explained anywhere so I’m not sure what category I would fall into. How does the type of riding a mountain biker does influence crank design beyond number of teeth on the chain ring, chain retention design, and length of the crank arms? This should all be explained on their website and if it’s not, then customer support should fill in the gap until the website gets fixed.
«Thanks for choosing Race Face» well, probably not now. I plan to get a 30 tooth XTR 1x crank or maybe a Sram.
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Update 8÷28÷14 — The website still works exactly as described above. No one from Race Face has contacted me. I bought a Shimano Zee crank and love it. It was only $ 109! The Race Face spindle diameter is 30 mm but my bottom bracket takes a 24 mm spindle, so Shimano’s fit fine.

I love this brand… I really do. I own their cranksets… seat-​posts… stems… etc.
Sadly, from this point on, I will NEVER buy a RaceFace product again.
I received this shittiest service from a guy in their technical service department… I was so pissed after the call that I couldn’t remember his name.
He was unintelligible, unfriendly, and just generally one of those people you’d see and have the urge to punch in the face.
It’s really too bad too, since they make some fantastic bike components…