SRAMs Force 1 Crankset is the way to start building your 1x drivetrain.

The Force Crank here is the same crank youll find on 2x systems. It features carbon-fiber arms and an aluminum spider where the fifth arm is actually the right crank, with one of the chainring bolts threading into to the crank. You get lightweight with carbon, and superb stiffness with chainring and spider working together.

The stiffness is enhanced, and the chain is secured thanks to the X-SYNC Chainring. You may think that single-ring setups just take one ring from a double-ring crank and that youll need a chain guide to keep the chain on the ring. With X-SYNC, theres no need for any secondary retention system. The key is a unique tooth profile. The teeth themselves are taller than youll find on shiftable chainrings. The tops of these teeth are also squared, rather than triangular. And then SRAM goes farther. The base of the teeth has been engineered to possess mud-clearing recesses. They created a unique wide-narrow alternating tooth pattern which lines up with the inner and outer cage plates on the chain.

The tooth pattern synchronizes with the chain. They recommend their standard eleven- and ten-speed chains. The chainring teeth and recesses have been designed with this chain in mind.

SRAM offers two different bolt circle diameters, 110mm and 130mm. The 110 works with X-SYNC chainrings of 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, and 50 teeth. The 130 works with 52 and 54 teeth. The single chainring is offset toward the bottom bracket, which is another difference between a ring designed for front derailleurs. Keep in mind, that with this crankset you are not forced to keep it 1x. You can pull the X-SYNC ring and install a double-ring setup so long as the chainrings match the bolt circle diameter youve already chosen.

Crankarms can be as short as 162.5mm and as long as 177.5mm.

The bottom bracket is not included, so you can choose what works best for your needs. The cranks come with a thru-axle, which can be either a GXP, the traditional 24/22mm SRAM bottom bracket spindle, or a BB30. The GXP version mates to English- or Italian-threaded GXP bottom brackets or with adapters to most bottom bracket standards (BB30, PF30, BBright, BB86, BB386EVO, BB47). The BB30 spindle works with BB30 and PF30 standards and can, in some cases, be mated to an external bottom bracket as well.

The SRAM Force 1 Crankset weighs 679g when configured with 172.5mm arms, a GXP bottom bracket, and 50-tooth chainrings. Its the heart of a great 1x system.