The latest SRAM X01 Eagle DUB Carbon crank is a trail and enduro-rated design that’s marginally heavier than the brand’s XC-focused XX1 crank, but still as light as the flagship XX1’s previous incarnation. The X01 design sees the left carbon arm permanently bonded to an oversized alloy spindle, with a rounded, splined interface that bolts to the driveside arm with an 8mm self-extracting bolt. SRAM has vastly improved stiffness and solidity in its carbon cranks since upping axle size to 29mm, but it’s also done a lot of work under the hood with carbon construction.

Read more: Best mountain bike cranks, single ring chainsets for all budgets

The current generation has longer pedal thread inserts and superior fibre lay-ups, including various undisclosed terraces and bridges inside the structure to increase strength and rigidity.

Lack of stiffness isn’t something we thought about during testing, and X01 resists twisting outwards under the extra load of wide platform pedals, and there’s minimal distortion landing deep or bottoming-out through compressions. That said, heavier flat pedal riders might find other cranks in this test a touch more rigid.

Another big benefit of SRAM’s change to DUB, is allowing marginally larger bearings in the BB. We’ve ridden its latest products non-stop in foul conditions and had no major issues through a rigorous routine of neglect, abuse and jet-wash action. Not only are the cranks themselves taut and noticeably lightweight when cycling, one often-overlooked piece of the SRAM jigsaw is the quality of its top-tier X-Sync II ring. Especially in tandem with the rounded-inside Hard Chrome Eagle chain, retention and wear life is superb, and pedalling feels smoother than other brands’ systems, to the point that SRAM’s top tier feels almost a gear easier when swapping between bikes.

The latest X01 crank arms come with a thick protective transfer that keeps the finish looking better for longer as well as rubberised crank boots to protect tips against costly impacts. Final cost is almost £500 and the X01s tip the scales at 481g but the package is light and positive when pedalling and has proven tough and totally hassle-free on many bikes we’ve tested it on.

Compared to SRAM GX Eagle alloy, SRAM X01 Eagle DUB Carbon crank is easier to turn over, and feels faster climbing and pedalling, even if the aluminium crank feels a little more solid. X01 strikes a good balance between stiffness, low weight and durability, but so does the Race Face Next R, and that’s £25 cheaper and feels slightly tauter at almost the exact same weight.