• 2XR Tandem Crankset
  • 2XR Tandem Crankset
  • 2XR Tandem Crankset
  • 2XR Tandem Crankset

2XR Tandem Crankset

  • made in USA
  • Easy Install
  • 100-175 mm Lengths
  • Colors
  • More efficient pedaling
Color Pricing
  • Black and Silver are included in the base price
  • Other colors add $25-50 depending on the part 🤷
  • Choosing the color is the hardest part
  • When in doubt, choose black... or turquoise 😜
Production Time

Each item is made to order. Please allow approximately 2 weeks for production before your order ships.

📦 Warranty Returns Shipping Policy

📐 2XR Crankset Specs

📸 Crank Color Gallery 🌈 

🔍 Crank Finder

At a Glance

Tall captain, short stoker? or Short captain, tall stoker?
Road, Mountain or Fat tandem-onium?
More connected pedal stroke?

Have we got the tandem cranks for you. Captains and Stokers can each pick the crank length that best works for them as well as their own colors.

The 2XR Tandem Crankset uses the same great design, versatility and modularity as the “single” 2XR Crankset, but configured for twice the fun.

2XR stands for “two times radius” and is the brainchild of framebuilder Matt Appleman. Frustrated by cranks that didn’t fit people or bikes well, Appleman designed these with a rider-first approach.

Versatile and modular, these cranks offer up new fit options for a wide array of people and many tandem team configurations.

Made in USA: designed, CNC machined and finished in Minnesota out of high strength aluminum.

CRANK IT UP

  • What the heck is 2XR?

    Two Times Radius! Radius being the crank length, 2 of them is how big the pedal circles are.

  • Fit People

    Not everyone is the same size, so why should cranks only come in a narrow range? 135-175mm cranks fit people, short and tall.

  • Short Crank Fad?

    Not everyone needs shorter cranks, but cranks that really fit... have a huge impact on comfort and happiness.

  • Fit Bikes

    We offer a dizzying number of spider and spindles to fit all types of bikes and (nearly) all modern drivetrains

  • Made in USA*

    Actually... the cranks are all made in Minnesota*. CNC machined by a local machine shop and hand finished in-house by me.

  • No Special Tools

    All you need to install the cranks is a 5mm allen wrench! Perfect for travel or trailside repairs if need be.

What tandem cranks for my bike?

Crank Lengths: 175, 170,165, 160, 155, 145, 135, 100mm

Spindle: All spindles are 30mm in diameter! What spindle width is the big question with tandems as they're a bit different than "half bikes".

Rear hub width:

120-142mm: ***Road spindle ***see notes below***

130-142mm: Adventure spindle (works with both 68 and 73mm wide BB shells). (Calfee and many other road based tandems)

145-150mm: Mountain spindle (needs 2, 2.5mm spacers if using 68mm wide BB shell) (Co-Motion, Santana, most tandems that use wider mountain and boost spacing)

151mm+: Mid-fat spindle (rarely used)

177mm+: Fat spindle

***Road Spindle Notes: The Road spindle is a bit weird! Because the stoker has 2 spiders (timing and drive) and 2 retaining rings required during install, the Outer Bearing Width requirement is reduced by 1.5mm. Road spindles may not fit in many frames. Needs room for the wave washer to provide preload.

Timing Spiders: Most use a 104x4. Gates belt drive use 104x4 or 130x5. Any spider that matches your timing chainrings can be used :)

Stoker Drive Spider: The drive spider should match whatever chainrings you're using. Check out the Crank Finder for acomplete guide on spider choice to match your drivetrain.

Close-up of a bicycle crankset with a bright orange crank arm, purple spindle bolt, and a black chainring, attached to a carbon fiber bicycle

Technical Specs

  • Material: 2024 Aluminum (high fatigue, high strength, high toughness)
  • Spindle diameter: 30mm
  • Coating: aluminum specific formulation polyurethane + ceramic with custom mixed pigments
  • Bottom Bracket/Frame Standards: BSA (English threaded), ITA, PF30, BB86, BB92 BB30 T47, 386EVO, BBRight, + more (note: BB90/BB95 not compatible)
  • Warranty: 5 years
  • 2XR Tandem Installation Instructions

The Key to a Better Bike Fit

Cranks literally move your legs more than any other component. So it makes sense that not everyone should pedal the same circle, right?

Appropriately sized cranks:

  • increased comfort
  • reduce pain in knee, hip, back
  • more aero position
  • reduce pedal strike
  • less toe overlap
Learn more about crank length

What's Your Crank Length?

Crank Length Calculator: 20% of inseam

26 36
Crank Length: 0mm

Check out A Rider's Guide to Crank Length for more crank length info

Why Appleman?

Scroll left to right  2XR Cranks Other Boutique Cranks Stock OEM Cranks
Crank Lengths That REALLY Fit: People
100-175mm
155mm (some) - 175mm
165-175mm on new bikes (150mm+ aftermarket)
Modular Design
Fits road, gravel, mountain, fat bikes. Easily swap between bikes
minimally modular
locked in to a different crankset for each bike
Colors
OMG so many
black, silver, ti are cool
black? or carbon?
Material and Design
2024 Aluminum, high strength, high fatigue, thoughtful design, no bonded joints
Aluminum or Titanium, both good if done well
Some aluminum, some carbon, some potential bonding issues

FAQs

The most frequently asked questions in Matt's inbox are below:

  • All pedal based power meters! Pedal based power meters are super versatile and you can swap them between bikes very easily. Road and SPD/Mountain versions are available from Favero, Garmin, SRM, and Wahoo (Speedplay). Spider based power meters would have limited the design and versatility of the 2XR Cranks.

  • All the cranks are painted using a high performing, specialty, water-based polyurethane and the best, most finely ground pigments around. 

    🥳 Starting in August 2025, we’ve upgraded the coating with a ceramic additive that increases hardness and wear substantially.

    It’s really good stuff and has much lower toxicity, health, and energy impact than other paints or anodizing. See the crank gallery here.

    If you’re a heel-rubber, all coatings (ano, Cerakote, or this coating) will wear through eventually.

  • No doubt these cranks aren’t cheap. Superior design? Good materials? Highly durable? Future-Proof? and Made in USA? It isn’t cheap to tick all of these boxes.

    Want to support American manufacturing? This is your chance. 

    After the parts are machined by a local machine shop, I do all the finish work. Corner rounding, painting, lasering, shipping (not to mention answering all your emails and phone calls). It’s a lot time and work, but the end product speaks for itself. 

    You’ll have a crankset that you can put on your future bikes thanks to the highly modular design and supreme durability.

  • The modularity of these cranks shines with the use of swappable spiders and chainrings 🙂

    Spiders: All spiders have 2 mounting positions allowing 1x or 2x chainrings (144×5 is 1x only).

    1X Direct Mount Chainrings: For super clean 1x Direct Mount chainrings, Appleman offers a few different sizes. These chainrings replace the need for a spider.


    *Only Appleman specific direct mount chainrings are compatible, no 3 bolt or 8 bolt compatibility.

    **3x chainrings: we do not offer a solution for triples… wish we could do it all.

  • Absolutely! For those with leg length discrepancies (try shimming first) or limited range of motion on one side (specifically the bottom of the pedal stroke), the 2XR crankset can be built with any combination of available lengths.

    For example: 135mm on the Right? 165mm on the left? No problem. To order, configure the 2XR Crankset with the shortest length selected and leave a note with left/right lengths on the checkout page.

  • I wish we could do it all, but the 2XR Cranks only come with a 30mm spindle. 30mm spindles and bottom brackets are non-proprietary and fit all frames and bottom brackets except Trek’s old BB90/95 standard

  • If the deal seems too good… it probably is. 

    I’ve been made aware of copy-cat, foreign made cranks out there.

    Please don’t buy these as there is no way to verify safety or function. Obviously, cranks we don’t make aren’t covered under warranty.

    Legit Appleman cranks can (only) be purchased through this website or at your local fitter or bike shop.