Longer legs = faster?

richardjallen wrote:

I think someone asked this recently but I have not been able to find the thread. Is it easier for someone with longer legs to reach higher speeds? When it comes to crank length this depends on leg length with longer crank arms being better suited to longer legs. Longer cranks making high gears easier to push.

Whilst it's true that the same force at the end of a longer crank does exert a greater torque, there's no advantage to the gear you can turn with longer cranks. The reason is because one complete revolution of the crank involves moving your foot a greater distance (it's describing a larger circle) - so the same amount of work is involved to complete one revolution, whatever the crank length.

So, crank length has no bearing on the speed you can reach - that is dictated only by the cadence you can maintain and the chainring/sprocket ratio.

.............. but if a person has more strength in the legs wouldn't they be able to spin fast in a higher gear and therefore go faster?

Well yes. 'Strong' legs is what makes a cyclist fast. A tall rider may be stronger in absolute terms, but bear in mind that their weight will be greater and their frontal area to the wind will be greater too - so they need more power to achieve the same speed as a small person.

Ruth