Re: [CR]Crank length, today and yesterday

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot)

Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 07:00:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tom Dalton" <tom_s_dalton@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Crank length, today and yesterday
To: GalliGruppo@aol.com
Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
In-Reply-To: <55.1afd7f11.28dc910b@aol.com>


> > I don't know what motivates
> > (marketing?) manufacturers to equip current road
> bikes with 172.5mm &
> longer cranks.

Back in the "good old days" most manufacturers used 170mm cranks on all of their bikes, irrespective of frame size. A 25" Le Tour with 170's is not exactly ideal unless you consider 160's appropriate for the 21" model. The current vintages of bikes are better equipped from the perspective of varying cranks, bars and stems to reflect what is most likely to suit the rider.

In general crank arm length has increased among elite riders and this has trickled down to enthusiasts (who choose their own crank length) and to product managers (who choose crank lengths for the rest of the world). Top riders use longer cranks because they have been turning bigger gears (and going faster for it). It is my speculation that this has happened, at least in part, because the rider/crank interface has been substantially improved through modern shoe/pedal systems. These systems allow for higher pedaling loads without increased risk of injury (or the same loads with decreased risk, if you prefer). I'm sure there are other aspects of training/sprots medicine/doping that also favor the big gears. After Armstrong's display in the Tour, we may say many riders increasing their cadence and shortening their cranks. However, I'd bet that even little Lance (5'9"-ish?) at his very brisk cadence, is using at least 172's.
> TIG technology was
> certainly available back then so what makes it
> acceptable now compared to the
> olden days? Different tubing materials

Yes

, new
> techniques, smart marketing vs
> stupid consumers?

No and no.

TIG bikes, as ugly as they are to you and me, shift the stiffness/weight/cost balance in a favorable direction. Eliminating the lugs lightens the bike and makes it cheaper to construct. Or, if you wish, allows for the use of better tubing &c. with the money that would have been put into lugs and labor. However, you still need skilled welders to build good TIG-welded bikes, just as you need good brazers to build good lugged bikes.
> GG
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