Shorter cranks on a fixed - will I notice the difference?

alx400

Hi,

I'm building up a fixied wheel machine at the moment and was thinking of getting shorter cranks. This is to reduce the front toe overlap and the risk of a pedal striking the ground while cornering.

If I go from 170 to say 160, will I notice any difference? 10mm doesn't seem like much but can it cause any problems?


Cheers,
Alex

andyp

I run 172.5 mm cranks on my road bikes and 165 mm cranks on my fixed bike and genuinely don't notice any difference when switching between them (bar the road bikes feeling weird when you first ride them after riding fixed all week!).

It makes sense to get shorter cranks though, for the reasons you mention.

alx400

Cheers andyp, I just needed some re-assurance I wasn't doing something stupid!

Monty Dog

You may struggle to find a 160mm track crank- a 165mm is more typical. I have both 165 and 170 on different bikes and it is noticeable how much easier it is to spin up the shorter cranks - absolute top-end speed is quicker too.

rustychisel

I notice that much difference between crank lengths also, but the adjustment period is short. I'd also suggest 165mm cranks for the reasons MD noted.

alx400

Yeah I've not seen any 160s on ebay and only a few 165s. Oh well, for 5mm I can probably wait a while.

Johnpwr

Go with the 165s. I've never touched my front mudguard with my shoe on my fixed, so 160s would probably be a bit overkill anyway.

alx400

Just a couple more questions:

If I jump a tyre size, say 25 to 28 on the front, how much more toe overlap will this give me? Also I'm riding in my pretty clunky mountain bike spds at the moment. If I get more road oriented shoes will I have less of a problem?

Thanks again,

Alex

Monty Dog

Going from a 25 to a 28mm would only increase overlap by a couple of mm - also depends on whether you're sticking with the same type of tyre. Changing shoe type shouldn't change overlap too much either - but you'll probably notice the stiffer road shoes and the more direct feel of the pedal cleat in comparison to the smaller SPD cleat and typically flexy shoe.