Collective Reward #225: Appleman 2XR Crankset

Matt Appleman of Appleman Bicycles in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has long been leading the charge in the movement toward shorter cranks. He offers his beautiful 2XR cranks in lengths as short as 100mm on up to a more conventional 175mm, meaning there’s a size for everyone. I spent a day with him a few years back, watching a pair of cranks be transformed from a block of aluminum into a finished product. The process is labor-intensive and undertaken with an exceptional level of care, making for a hand-crafted product with a story and a range of optional customizations along the way. For our 225th Collective Reward, one randomly selected Bikepacking Collective member will receive a set of Appleman 2XR Cranks with their choice of options. That’s about a $540 value for our lucky winner.

Machined from high-strength aluminum, the versatile Appleman Bicycles 2XR Crankset uses a 30mm spindle that comes in five widths (for road, adventure/gravel, mountain, mid-fat, and fat bikes) and eight lengths (100, 135, 145, 155, 160, 165, 170, and 175mm). They’ll work with 1x and 2x drivetrain configurations. Matt allows buyers to mix and match from a vivid array of 10 colors for their crank arms, spider, chainring, and spindle bolts. All parts are quickly and easily interchangeable without special tools and don’t use any proprietary specs. The extensive range of crank length options enables users to perfectly dial in their fit, something Matt is a big believer in, citing a better position, reduced pedal strikes, more comfort, less toe overlap, and other factors.

To learn more about the 2XR Crankset, take a deep dive at ApplemanBicycles.com. You can also see more photos from my day with Matt and some impressions on the cranks from Miles in his first-look review.

Support from our members makes BIKEPACKING.com possible. If you enjoy reading the site, please consider joining the Bikepacking Collective. Membership is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Members are automatically entered to win bi-monthly Collective Rewards (including this crankset from Appleman), have the option to receive The Bikepacking Journal in the mail, can use our new Basecamp tools, gain access to exclusive industry discounts, and more. Collective Reward winners are responsible for taxes. Read the terms here.

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