Been running 175mm cranks for as long as I can remember. Now have a lovely RM Blizzard with 170mm Deus cranks. Will I notice any differenece between them and how will they affect me?
prob not? i used to ride mtb 175 and road 170. now i have only road but i have no idea what i have..
It does feel a bit weird at first as they do actually feel a bit shorter. In theory you'll be able to spin the cranks easier, but you will have less leverage when putting the power down.
Can't say I noticed any of that though.
If you got long legs it will feel all wrong.
I [i]notice[/i] immediately that cranks are a funny length, but I don't [i]mind[/i]. It doesn't seem to make much difference in practice.
I think I found it harder to bunny hop with 170 after being used to 175, but it may have all been in my head. It'd be interesting to try a semi scientific trial to find out the truth!
my missus noticed the difference, but she went from deore 175's to XTR 170's so there may have been other considerations.
I have gone the other way 175 to 180, but I am 6'4" and a 180 is the right length for my legs. 180's do feel a lot better and I can generate more power with them, I dont think that I will be going back the other way.What length should you be running for your leg length.[url= http://www.machinehead-software.co.uk/bike/cranks/cyclist_crank_length_calculator.html ]Crank Calculator[/url]
Thanks for the crank caluculator Foundry.
i went from 170 to 175 on my road bike and was convinced i was going faster/pedalling harder, etc but i wasn't - nice feeling at the time though aaaaahhhhhhh 🙂
I have some 165s on my bike - they were cheap, your honour 😳
I actually think I'm a bit better on them than 175s, and I'm about 6ft1
Oh, and at the time, google brought up some study that suggested shorter cranks gave higher peak power
Quick answer -no you prob will not notice other than a few less pedal strikes.
Long answer. Crank length pops up on here from time to time, I really like the Sheldon Brown site for this sort of info. I think the crank calculator might be a bit short - could this be better for road bikes? I have tried to be aware of my cranks and have asked a lot about them, currently in the house we have women and sprog James on 160mm, on MTBs inside legs about 26" and 165mm on their road bikes.
Mine are 165mm on ful sus and DH, 175mm on my HT and 180mm on my SS, I am told there is no noticeable leverage difference, but they all feel very different but lots of other factors change as well. Most noticeable is more pedal strikes on my SS even hooking up on roots if I lapse....
Nice bike you bought 😉
I tried 170mm and hated it and went back to 175mm fairly fast. It's probably a preference thing to be honest like bars, grips etc and what works for you.
It certainly is Oldgrump. Now i just need to decide what to do with the Soul frame I bought the other week and my Orange 5. mmmmmm what shall I do?
I have run 175mm for years but recently bought some 170mm and I found them too short. Felt nice for spinning with but I was sure I couldnt get as much power up the hills.
Plus I had to run my saddle higher and It was already just about on the limit. Gone back to 175mm now