The segue to crank length and pros and cons is an interesting tangent. I have no dog in the debate about the aero question, but I do recall switching from 170s to 175s when I tried riding fixed offroad with a 60” gear. Uphills were fine; the problem was downhills and flats without strong headwinds: horrible. I switched back to 170s within a week or so; much better.
I didn’t use the 175s long enough to decide if they imposed an aero penalty. I still use 170s for everything on road, tho’ I do prefer 175s off road now as long as I have multiple gears and a freewheel. I do marvel at the contortions, literal and metaphorical, that pros undertake for the tiniest advantages. I too have noticed how low the hoods are in current pro bikes, but I can’t imagine switching to 150s for any reason. Perhaps the one, single reason I’m not a pro. Patrick Moore, who just beat down headwinds again this morning in the drops on the super-magic Joe Starck Riv fixie. (Despite the 170 mm cranks.) On Wed, Feb 26, 2025 at 6:33 AM Garth <garth...@gmail.com> wrote: > I suspect many people would like the feel of short cranks regardless of > the bodily measurements. I'm talking about say 140-155mm. Small 5-10mm > changes are often not even noticed. Aerodymamics comes into play from short > cranks in that it's less stressful to effectively ride in a low position > while pedalling. Many racers are now going really low even on the their > road bike. Regardless of one's abilities, anyone riding into the wind or > downhill can tell that lowering the torso into the wind is more efficient > than sitting up with the upper torso catching the wind. As for > performance/speed gains from the shorter crank alone, that depends on the > rider and how effectively they can put power down to the pedals more > efficently. That's what I experience using 150's. I figured eventually some > successful riders would find them beneficial, then and only then will we > see the likes of "big bike" start selling them. SRAM has been selling 155's > for mtb use for a number of years. Maybe now it's the road's turn to go > down to at least 150mm. If you really think about it a very imited > selection of cranks for such a vast range of heights and leg lengths. One > can buy a stem from 0 to 170mm but the majority of cranks are only made > from 165 to 175. . > > Even @6'2" I found the 185mm length didn't live up to crank length > theoretical claims. It was just the opposite. More length didn't equate to > output efficiency, greater ease in climbing, or anything for that matter. > Going to 175 or 170 didn't make any notable difference either. That didn't > happen until I tried some stock retail 152 Sugino XD's. Those ended up > being break-happy so I went with some Andel and Origin8's in 150. I also > have a custom cut SRAM triple mtb crank in 150 that I haven't used yet. I > also pedal more towards the mid-foot than ball. I feel very "planted" to > the bike. The ability to ride low easier came about after I was riding them > for a few years and was tiring of riding more upright, I craved going lower > and back to drop bars. I could never figure how in my 20's and dabbling in > racing, how anyone could ride without strain and pain in a lower TT > position. It felt all wrong to me, too much strain in the hips and knees. > When I started moving my saddle forward with the short cranks I started to > have "ah-hah!" feelings. I've now moved my saddle forward over 25mm. Now I > get it, moving closer to the BB, plus shorter cranks it's just less > straining to pedal. Less strain on the hip and knees, and on a day to day > basis I feel fresher even after doing many hills the previous day. > > Please note, this setup works for ME. What works for anyone else is up for > them to experiment with. Short cranks have been around for a long time but > they take a little strategic and patient searching. It wouldn't take much > for Riv to offer them as their manufacturer Andel is already manufacturing > some cranks down to 150mm. But I get it, cycling traditions and myths die > hard. I read many comments of riders who mock short cranks without ever > using them. As a kid I used to mock anyone I saw pedalling their bike > mid-foot ...... now I get it. Humble pie, mmmm good ! Aahahahahaha ! > > I've read this : https://biketestreviews.com/cranklength/ > It makes sense why long crank lever were not effective for me. Much of it > is rather techie even, but the benefits of riding short cranks is clearly > stated throughout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgtKmrH9JAE71VD2ynTLePznuQtwpTSMeqF6_gjYwkpJ8Q%40mail.gmail.com.
