Bicycle Mechanics - range of motion issues

I need a pair of Crank Arm Shorteners? I have a crazy disease (Scleroderma) that causes the Skin and other Soft tissues to harden. I was in a wheelchair and 2 yrs later I walk 2-3 miles a day. I just recently bought a Bike(next step in my recovery),I can barely ride it because of the length of the pedal stroke. I went online and found the shorteners,I don't have much money and they cost about 100$. I live on SSI and was wondering if anyone out there had a used pair or a deal on some new ones. I'm so excited to ride the new bike,I road Bikes my whole life and haven't been able to ride for over 5 yrs! Thanks for your help!

You can find cranks with shorter arms. Mostly there is a ridiculously small range of 165mm-175mm, with 170 being the most common.

How short do the cranks need to be? You could try using kids bike cranks, these can be found as short as 140mm and possibly shorter. Bear in mind that significantly shortening the crank has the effect of giving a higher gear, so your gear ratios should be adjusted to suit.

Hi Brian, best wishes for your return to cycling. I'm a pretty old guy, 72 years old and spend a good bit of time stretching with the result that I'm more limber then at age 45. I suspect that in your case, the difficulty is partially due to range of motion and partially to muscle atrophy. Increased physical activity on your part will over time rebuild the muscles. In addition I would find some stretching exercises on you-tube and begin stretching several times a day. Good luck.

Check out This guy: (http://bikesmithdesign.com/Short_Cranks/index.html)