> > Chuck Schmidt wrote:
> > >
> > > I'm the opposite: I ride 165, 170, 172.5 and 175 mm cranks on my
> > > different bikes and it's all good!
> >
>
> To which Mark added:
>
> > Yeah, my comfort range is from 165 to 185. The extremes take a while
(part
> > of a ride) to get used to, then I do fine, no blown knees. I suspect I
> > could like cranks beyond that range but haven't tried any.
> >
> To which Greg added:
>Wow! That's quite a range. I suspect you are more versatile/skilled than
most
> folks. Clearly this is a "personal preference" sort of thing, as we've
seen
> from all of the other posts in this thread, but my guess is that most
riders
> have a typical range of about +/-5mm from their "favorite" crank length,
like
> Chuck's comments might suggest.
>
> At 6'2" with a 34" inseam, I typically ride a 60-cm frame (c-t) with
165-170
> on the track and 172.5 or 175 on the road. I prefer the 175s on the road.
>
> My wife, at 5'2" with a 30" inseam, rides 49-cm frames with 170s
exclusively
> on the road (she doesn't have a track bike, but I would probably set her
up
> with 165s if she did). I suspect she is just so used to the 170s that
whether
> or not to try 165s is kind of moot for her. As far as I know, she has
never
> ridden any other length!
This whole discussion made me wonder about my bikes. I went to check them out and was surprised to find that they are not all the same length. They go from 165 to 172.5, with most being 170. The ex-Roberto Conti De Rosa has the 172.5 cranks, and he is 189 cm tall or about 6ft2". I can't say that I have ever noticed any difference between the characteristics of one or the other length.
Steven Maasland Moorestown, NJ
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