I've a used 180 mm TA cyclotouriste triple crankset and I'd like to swap crankarms for a shorter set if any of you longshanks out there are looking for maximum torque (or experimentation). Ought to be able to climb a tree with it.
Please reply off list.
Thanks,
Charlie Young
Honeybrook, PA
> I'm 100% in agreement with Lou here, and in disagreement with Sheldon.
> I ride about the same size frames as Lou and have had basically the same
> experience regarding crank length - if you ride hills, you want them as
> long as can be without causing discomfort. Well, maybe not *you*, but
> that's how it works for me.
>
> And since we're not speaking of classic lightweights but we ought to be,
> did anyone else read the piece in the most recent Cycle Sport about
> Brett Beau (I *know* I'm misspelling his name), a short, light climber
> of a few decades back who used to ride 177.5mm cranks? It sounds like
> he may have gone to excess in this regard.
>
> Saddle height and crank length are, for me (as I just mentioned on the
> tandem list) two things to be increased to the point of discomfort
> (through gradual changes over a long period of time) then backed off
> slightly - that's the place where I'm most comfortable _and_ most
> efficient.
>
> In the end I think it's all about one's personal biomechanics, and
> everyone should experiment for themselves, riding each possible crank
> length for at least a few weeks, preferably a few months, to see what
> the best compromise is.
>
> Steve "I'd climb steps with shorter risers happily, thank you" Freides
>
> LouDeeter@aol.com wrote:
> >
> > "This is a common misunderstanding. The "leverage" of a bicycle drive
> > train, also known as "gain ratio" depends on the crank length, wheel
> > diameter and the sizes of both sprockets."
> >
> > May not be leverage, but if I'm in a 39x26 gear with no lower gear, then
that
> > 172.5 crank sure feels better on a steep hill to me than a 170. If you
don't
> > change gears, then I just believe that if the lever arm is longer, then the
> > force being applied at the pedals will create 'leverage'. At least that is
> > the way the physics works for me. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL