So much of mountain bike parts selection comes down to a battle between good-enough and nice. If you’re looking for the latter, NSB’s Talon cranks have you covered. And if you’re short-crank-curious, they’re a great option. They’re easy to live with, look great, and perform well.

Like their Daemon pedals, the NSBillet Talon cranks are the best-made, best-riding, most supportable version of the product that NSB can make. They were tested by North Shore Billet's supported riders over two years of development and independently at EFBE in Germany. The Talon cranks exceeded the highest testing standard, Condition 5 / MTB-GR, in EFBE's Tri-Test. That link comes with a rabbit-hole warning. I've managed to misplace an hour from the moment I started on EFBE's site to arriving back here in the NSMB CMS.

Once on the trail, there is not much left to say. The Talon is very solid underfoot, with absolutely no play or flex detected whatsoever. Stomp on the power and go, in this respect it works just like any good crank would. Set it and forget it. The Race Face chainring we’ve been using has also been solid, keeping our chain on even through the rough stuff. We still think the gold standard in chain retention is SRAM’s own version of narrow-wide, but the Race Face option is definitely “good enough” and doesn’t throw too many chains in our experience (with a decent clutch on the derailleur).

I acquired a DeVinci of uncertain vintage via Craigslist but discovered, after the fact, it had been worked on by persons of limited competence and among other things the derailleur hanger was cracked. I googled "DeVinici derailleur hanger " and found the NS Billet website and all their parts. Two minutes of e-commerce, and two days later via regular mail and I had a new hanger that screwed right on and I was able to put the bike together. And the part is beautiful. I can only say therefore, that my experience with NS Billet was completely perfect.

A great Canadian company making great products. My kid smashed his derailleur hanger, I went on their website, easily found the right one and ordered. They shipped it same day and I got it 2 days later. Really well made product, would definitely recommend!

Friendly staff and excellent customer service. A company that is willing to fix their products and its committed to build durable components.

Excellent gear. Orders have been processed and shipped quickly. Prices are good and the product is excellent.