Mumonkan

Just need some gumwalls and pedals and im done with this thing, new total = $360

PatrickGSR94

drum brakes?

Mumonkan

Just the front, rear is 3 speed fixed, both sturmey archer hubs

RidingMatthew

that is a great looking bike and picture. Nicely done! for that price even nicer.

Firealdo

DVC45

Nice and simple. ' needs fenders though.

Firealdo

This is the one that gets rode when fenders are desired.


or this one, except it usually has studs on.


Fenders are definitely needed most of the time here.

mikhalit

My new old commuter. It used to be a flat bar hybrid with a front shock, now it is a drop bar asphalt and gravel runner. I am amazed how well it works with a fork that is some 5-6 cm shorter than the original! Obviously its geometry wasn't ideal before. And it is nearly ideal now, I really enjoy how it rides on and off the pavement, how it cuts through the wind, etc. Do you know the feeling when you do something and the results turn out way better than you planned? That's how i feel now, riding with a grin on my face.... I was thinking of buying a true road bike but now i know it can wait.




I am really digging those IRD super long cranks (200mm). Feels much better than JK 205 i got from Zinn's shop, mainly due to a smaller Q-factor. Thanks to H.S.Clydesdale for the info on the Interloc cranks. No debate if it is better or worse than shorter cranks, but they definitely help to get a better fit for the tall guys like me who don't have the cash for a tall custom frame. So far no pedal strikes, but one's got to be careful in the sharp turns.

Few more photos from todays ride:

H.S.Clydesdale

hey, nice cranks!

I was looking at the Zinn designed KHS flite 747, and I think the IRD cranks are the same, or a complete copy, of the KHS cranks. I am assuming whoever manufactures them for KHS has also done a deal with IRD. Check it out, here is a pic of the KHS cranks:



I used to have large platform pedals on the 200mm cranks and I did get some pedal stikes. Nothing major, mostly going slow and turning or over uneven surfaces. I have since changed to spd pedals and that seems to have cleared up that problem, though I do change my pedal style to make sure I am avoiding any possibility of pedal stikes. (never pedal through corners)

Good looking bike BTW, is it another 61cm? I have been hesitant to try the carbon fork... concerned I will bust it (234lbs), but they do look like fun.

H.S.Clydesdale

here is the my commuter doing double duty as the weekend kid hauler. I changed the pedals to spds shortly after taking this photo.

Telly

Damn those are long cranks! What's the clearance like when cornering?

I have to admit that going from 170 to 175 mm cranks, I did notice a significant difference, especially in hill climbing, but 200 mm *seem* quite long; how tall are you guys?

noglider 

That is most excellent.

H.S.Clydesdale

Cornering clearance is okay, obviously worse than with smaller cranks. There are ways to improve this, like an eccentric BB or frame built with a higher BB. These are to hard to find though... The cranks are 30mm longer, so to approximate "normal" clearance, you need a bottom bracket 30mm higher. That translates to BB drop of 40mm rather than the usual 70mm. Any frame with a 40mm bottom bracket drop would be a track bike, so, much more aggressive in other aspects. I do want to try and build a commuter on a track frame with these cranks, just to see what its like.

On the other hand, the longer cranks lead to a lower center of gravity, and so usually give the bike a more solid feel, like your inside the bike instead of on top of it. It feels more like running very fast, as opposed to riding on top of something.

We are both 6'7" (if I recall correctly from our previous discussion. I know I am 6'7" anyway)

H.S.Clydesdale

Thank you sir! It is a fun setup.

Telly

First things first... I totally agree with Tom!

Its late here in Athens (nearly 1 in the morning), and because I'm beat, I just can't quite grasp the setup with such long cranks and how it relates to sitting position, knees and such, but I do understand the feeling of sitting lower and having a lower center of gravity. Just wondering on how it must be for this setup to be translated to my height (5'11") and a slightly longer cranks such as 180 or 185 cm?

jhcameron

Here is a photo of my commuter bike....Spot Acme.

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cali_axela

Sweet! I would LOVE to have a nice belt drive IGH bike like that. Yours is setup very well, too. How long have you had it?

PatrickGSR94

Keep in mind that using longer cranks also will cause your knees to come up higher as the crank arm passes through the 12 o'clock position, given that you have the spindle-to-saddle height set the same as when you had shorter cranks (measured with the crank arm aligned with the seat tube). That could potentially cause issues with knee pain or other injuries.

I'm 5'11 and run 175 cranks on my MTB and 172.5 on my road bike and that works just fine, and I have longer legs compared to other folks the same height as me (33 to 34 inch actual inseam).

jhcameron

Just over a month.....very happy with it.

mikhalit

Uff, 185 isn't a bit longer, it's pretty big difference, at least how it feels. I am not sure I would go for longer cranks if I wouldn't be that tall (200cm, 94cm inseam). It will probably also make your position more upright given that other settings are the same. H.S.Clydesdale has described it very well, when using 175mm cranks i feel like I am sitting on the fence, and with longer ones it's definitely more stable.

It takes a little time to get used to small clearance and cornering, but now i feel i've mastered it pretty well, not loosing much momentum in turns. Also low profile single sided spd pedals help (i use A520).

PS. That how it feels with shorter cranks:

mikhalit

Very nice. Your Nishiki gives somewhat spring-like feeling, great colors combination, very fresh.

My touring bike (the steel one i've posted earlier) is now 100% reserved for transporting the kids. And i've installed my old JK cranks (from Zinns) there as well, 175mm-free for the moment

mikhalit

Right, looks 100% identical.

It's even longer, 625mm ETT +120mm stem. Seems just right, every morning I get on the bike I am astonished how well that worked out. And this frame was sitting in the cellar like for two years..

It's the cheapest carbon fork i could get (in the right size), it's quite sturdy, weights over 700 gramms and it has alloy steerer. Just what i needed. I am really not concerned with it's durability but ask me again in few months...

arsprod 

Cornering clearance? I don't understand how the bike doesn't lift up on each side as the cranks go down!

CJ Str3tch

Photo of my commuter at work.

PatrickGSR94

huh? I have scraped the ground before with my KHS, which has 175mm crank arms and pinned platform pedals, and a higher than usual BB height (higher than road bikes anyway). After that happened I almost always coast thru corners with the inside arm pointing up, but sometimes if the corner is very gentle I still might pedal carefully.