General Cycling Discussion - Differing crank lengths- Am I hurting my self?

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uciflylow
04-01-03, 11:40 PM
Here it is!

I have 175mm cranks on the commuter bike and 170 on the road bike. Am I doing any dammage to myself by using the two different length cranks on a regular basis? Should I make them both the same length?

Brennan
04-02-03, 12:45 AM
Ha ha. When I saw the subject, I thought you meant you had one size on the left and another size on the right. I think that would hurt you. But I don't think different crank sizes on different bikes should be a problem.
NuTz4BiKeZ
04-02-03, 02:50 AM
Do you feel any pain while riding?

If not then I guess you aint.

RainmanP
04-02-03, 05:53 AM
Originally posted by Brennan
Ha ha. When I saw the subject, I thought you meant you had one size on the left and another size on the right.

I did, too! Made me wonder if there was a tendency to ride in circles.

I have 170 mm on most of my bikes, 175 mm on one. To tell the truth I can't really feel a difference.
The Toninator
04-02-03, 07:31 AM
Most people with a road bike and an mtb i know run that set up. I have 175's on the mtb and 170's on the road bike.
the 170's are for spin and reduce the risk of clipping a pedal on the ground.
The 175's help with leverage (so I’m told) and some other stuff to :)
uciflylow
04-02-03, 09:03 AM
No pain, I was worried that I may hurt myself by riding different length crank arms. My commuter bike is a convert mtb with out a sus front fork. The funny thing is I avarage almost the same speed on this bike as my road bike! I do notice that the road bike is quicker to accelerate and handles at speed much better though.
Thank's for the replies.:p
roadbuzz
04-02-03, 10:50 AM
I'd guess not. My commuter has 170s, road bike has 172.5s.

I kind of like the idea of different sized cranks on the same bike... why not swap one crank on each of the bikes.

Let us know how it goes. :D ;)
MichaelW
04-03-03, 02:20 AM
How tall are you ?
For Average Male, both sizes are OK.
Hants Commuter
04-03-03, 04:10 AM
Originally posted by Brennan
Ha ha. When I saw the subject, I thought you meant you had one size on the left and another size on the right. I think that would hurt you. But I don't think different crank sizes on different bikes should be a problem.

I all seriousness why not have different crank lengths on the same bike, for example someone has a leg length difference. Of course you run into problems with different levels of effort required to turn the pedals