determining crank length

zzgavin

Hi all,
following up on my previous query about c. 1500 quid road bikes, I'm looking at the ribble/planet-x/rose options again, but I wondered how do you figure out between the three common crank lengths?

thanks Gavin

Anonymous

Ohh a very good question, something close to my heart as I've also been reading up on it this afternoon.

I found this quite a good thread (even though it's not from Bike Radar) -

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=44072

zzgavin

thanks Richardswt

that was an interesting read, I'll stick with 172.5 for want of any better choice given data...

Bobbinogs

This is quite a good read on the subject.

http://bikedynamics.co.uk/FitGuidecranks.htm

The topic does come up fairly regularly but the search tool just doesn't seem to be as good as it was before the big crash a few months ago. I haven't found any conclusion on what is right for any one particular person. However, if you are an average hieight with average leg length then 172.5 seems a good place to start.

Berk Bonebonce

If you are serious about your cycling, as in a good amateur racer kind of way, you and maybe a few chums might be intersted in purchasing a Stronglight chainset which allows for adjustment of crank length between 170/172.5/175. The type of thing that every good club should have.

You can read the science, but when I was an aspiring club rider 20-30 years ago there wasn't nothing better than actually riding for spells using different crank lengths.