Longer cranks

BGT

I've been recommended to move to 185mm cranks. Anyone know where to go looking or have a set surplus to needs? Running on SRAM force 11 speed bb30 type.

Eamonnator

What height are you?
185 seems very long.

shaka

Jeez u must be some giant

The Sidewards Man

You could cut your own and add in metal, weld back up.

Eamonnator

Who recommended, that you move to 185mm cranks?
Back on topic: you're going to have difficulty getting them, simply because there is little demand for them.
Zinn does them, but I imagine are very expensive.
There are one or two specialised makers, who make adjustable cranksets, again very expensive.
As far as I can see, Sram only go up as far as 177.5mm on Red and Force, but they do a 180mm crank on Apex.
Shimano have a 180mm crankset, only made in their top of the line Dura Ace.

Eamonnator

Zinn only seem to have 190mm and longer.
A snip at $795.00

http://www.bigandtallbike.com/ZIS-3-Custom-Compact-Cranks--110bcd-_p_381.html

Cee-Jay-Cee

OP are you sure you don't mean 175mm? Assuming you currently have 172.5 or 170mm moving up to 185 is a huuuuuuge increase!

BGT

I agree it's a huge change, but apparently I have been created in an unusual format, long legs and short body. Thanks for replies. Might compromise and aim for 180s and see how they go. Think I'll need to pass on the $800 option, shortening legs might be cheaper 😜

Raam

What length cranks do you use right now?

Lusk_Doyle

Raam wrote: »

What length cranks do you use right now?

The wrong length, apparently!

BGT

Raam wrote: »

What length cranks do you use right now?

172.5

Lusk_Doyle

BGT wrote: »

172.5

Then it must be 175 that you need. 185 is crazy. How long are you legs? What height are you?

CramCycle

BGT wrote: »

I've been recommended to move to 185mm cranks. Anyone know where to go looking or have a set surplus to needs? Running on SRAM force 11 speed bb30 type.

Can I ask who recommended them? While some (including Zinn) have been advocates of long cranks, my understanding is that shorter cranks (within a certain range) are better for the majority of riders aims. I found huge improvements going down to 165mm (185cm tall)

Seweryn

CramCycle wrote: »

Can I ask who recommended them? While some (including Zinn) have been advocates of long cranks, my understanding is that shorter cranks (within a certain range) are better for the majority of riders aims. I found huge improvements going down to 165mm (185cm tall)

I also went down to 165 mm cranks a couple of years ago with long legs for my height. 185 mm cranks are extreme, unless you have extremely long legs. And I can imagine you would have to be riding a 65 cm frame bike...

doozerie

Crank length is one of many contentious topics in cycling. Cycling is weird, cyclists are weird, we often embrace new technology, new materials, etc., but we also often cling to old-school ideas too. Crank length falls into that latter category. No-one seems to know the answer to the question of what is the “right” crank length for any rider, but many will happily dismiss ideas that differ from their own often for no reason other than that they are different.

I've no idea whether 185mm cranks are suitable for the OP but the fact that he/she is currently riding 172.5mm might have no relevance at all given that it's a length that is favoured by many manufacturers of off-the-shelf bikes. A focus on rider height seems odd too, a focus on leg length makes sense to me but an emphasis on height seems largely pointless.

Steve Hogg is one of many people that are happy to give their take on crank length: LINK

That’s just one person’s view, and it dates from 2011, so take from it what you will. It references several different perspectives on the topic though, which makes it a more interesting read than some.

He says that he moved from 172.5mm cranks to 185mm cranks, as a trial. His TT times improved as did his climbing times, but his top sprint speed, and ability to maintain speeds above 50kph, dropped as a consequence of less smooth pedalling technique. Interesting result, but he doesn’t discuss whether he feels he could have adjusted to the longer length if he persisted (he mentions a “3 month experiment” so maybe he felt he had given it enough time). Some interesting warnings in there re potential knee issues that might arise too.

Anyway, whatever you might feel about his views on the topic, he does give some very practical info on availability of differently sized cranks, albeit it might now be outdated:

There are some practical considerations. Firstly, the majority of crank manufacturers make a limited range of lengths in road cranks. Campagnolo make between 170 mm and 180mm in 2.5mm increments. Shimano manufacture 165 – 180 mm in 2.5mm increments, and Sram deserve credit for producing cranks from  165mm - 180mm in a variety of price levels. (Shimano and Campag only make 177.5 and 180mm in their most expensive quality level). Most smaller manufacturers only make 3 sizes; 170mm, 172.5mm and 175mm. Special mention should go to French manufacturer T.A. who make cranks ranging from 150mm to 185mm and South African manufacturer Graeme Murray who makes an adjustable carbon crank of reasonable lightness.(see pic)

The one pair of Murray’s that I have seen can be adjusted between 130 and 185mm. However, they do have a wider than normal Q factor.  But even the Specialites T.A. range of 150 mm to 185mm represents a difference of 35mm from longest to shortest while the range of leg lengths of my adult customers varies by approximately 300mm. So there is a potential case for both longer and shorter cranks than are common

doozerie

Crank length is one of many contentious topics in cycling. Cycling is weird, cyclists are weird, we often embrace new technology, new materials, etc., but we also often cling to old-school ideas too. Crank length falls into that latter category. No-one seems to know the answer to the question of what is the “right” crank length for any rider, but many will happily dismiss ideas that differ from their own often for no reason other than that they are different.

I've no idea whether 185mm cranks are suitable for the OP but the fact that he/she is currently riding 172.5mm might have no relevance at all given that it's a length that is favoured by many manufacturers of off-the-shelf bikes. A focus on rider height seems odd too, a focus on leg length makes sense to me but an emphasis on height seems largely pointless.

Steve Hogg is one of many people that are happy to give their take on crank length: LINK

That’s just one person’s view, and it dates from 2011, so take from it what you will. It references several different perspectives on the topic though, which makes it a more interesting read than some.

He says that he moved from 172.5mm cranks to 185mm cranks, as a trial. His TT times improved as did his climbing times, but his top sprint speed, and ability to maintain speeds above 50kph, dropped as a consequence of less smooth pedalling technique. Interesting result, but he doesn’t discuss whether he feels he could have adjusted to the longer length if he persisted (he mentions a “3 month experiment” so maybe he felt he had given it enough time). Some interesting warnings in there re potential knee issues that might arise too.

Anyway, whatever you might feel about his views on the topic, he does give some very practical info on availability of differently sized cranks, albeit it might now be outdated:

There are some practical considerations. Firstly, the majority of crank manufacturers make a limited range of lengths in road cranks. Campagnolo make between 170 mm and 180mm in 2.5mm increments. Shimano manufacture 165 – 180 mm in 2.5mm increments, and Sram deserve credit for producing cranks from  165mm - 180mm in a variety of price levels. (Shimano and Campag only make 177.5 and 180mm in their most expensive quality level). Most smaller manufacturers only make 3 sizes; 170mm, 172.5mm and 175mm. Special mention should go to French manufacturer T.A. who make cranks ranging from 150mm to 185mm and South African manufacturer Graeme Murray who makes an adjustable carbon crank of reasonable lightness.(see pic)

The one pair of Murray’s that I have seen can be adjusted between 130 and 185mm. However, they do have a wider than normal Q factor.  But even the Specialites T.A. range of 150 mm to 185mm represents a difference of 35mm from longest to shortest while the range of leg lengths of my adult customers varies by approximately 300mm. So there is a potential case for both longer and shorter cranks than are common

Homer1798

I'm 195cm tall and using 175 cranks for road,tting, track and cx, however it's not really relevant what height people are, the proportions of your body,
foot/shin-thigh ratio/leg length/body length are more important. I have tried 185 cranks previously and felt uncomfortable with them, but in saying that if I'd stayed with them for longer maybe I'd have started to like them. Using longer cranks will give you more leverage but generally at a slower cadence than shorter cranks. So depending on your build/style/type of riding 185's may very well be the correct length. The cranks I used were Mavic, sadly not made anymore.

Pawlie

Its funny that peoples 1st reply is what height are you when talking about cranks length, total body height has nothing to do with selecting crank length.

When selecting crank length you should select it based on your biomechanic work and how flexible you are particularly around your hip flexors.

Quintana rides 172.5mm and Wiggans rides 170mm