On Jun 25, "Les Humphreys (K)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Longer cranks reach closer to the ground making it easier for people
> with small feet to put their toes on the ground without having to compromise
> seat height.
Well, that reason addresses one very small issue, but neglects everything else.
The crank should be set up for correct riding, not easier stopping.
I asked a friend about this who wrote:
I believe you should look at the biomechanical relation between the rider and
the bike, and get the bike designed to suit, rather than using a less than
optimum crank length to suit an ill fitting bike.
Bikes come with different height bottom brackets based on the manufacturers
intended use for the bike. Mountain bikes have really high BBs to clear
obsticles, Racing bikes have high BB's for extra cornering clearance (for
pedalling through corners) and touring bikes have low BB's for stability.
Using this reasoning, you would use really long cranks on a mountain bike, long
cranks on a racing bike, and correct cranks on a touring bike, resulting in the
same pedal to ground distance for all, thus eliminating the extra ground
clearance on the mountain bike, and the extra cornering clearance on the racing
bike.
The best reference I have seen, which came from the British bike magazines, is
that your crank length should be ~20% of leg length, based on application
(i.e. 20% for touring/general use and a bit longer (~21%-22%max) for racing and
mountain biking). This suits me well, my cranks are all about 21% of my leg
length. Yours will be a bit longer than that but that is due more to crank
availability, and your history of riding too long cranks. Saint John Street
Cycle in England is now making cranks down to 140mm, a great boon to short
cyclists.
A
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