Retro Grouch 

My 152mm crankset came today. It's already on my recumbent and I took a 200' test ride through the condo parking lot. I still can't ride completely pain free but it's definitely easier on my hip than the 175mm cranks in either recumbent or DF configuration. I'm thinking the more I ride the sooner the pain will subside.

Sunday's weather is supposed to be great. The Grouch is happy.

At the same time I ordered a semi high end idler pulley for my recumbent. Naturally it doesn't fit. Turns out the correct semi high end idler for my bike is $30.00 more. The correct high high end idler for my bike, with a ceramic bearing and titanium rather than aluminum cog, would have been $80.00 more. They don't have any mercy pricing these low volume recumbent parts.

Dudelsack 

$80 for an idler?

If it made me go faster, I'd think about it.

What kind of bent do you ride these days?

bigbadwullf

Was I the only one afraid to open this post?

Retro Grouch 

It's a Rans Enduro Sport SWB that I built up from a frame set. There's really nothing wrong with the Enduro Sport but, if I had it to do over, I think that I'd get a Ti-Rex frameset.

maddmaxx 

No, I didn't want to touch this one with a 175mm pole.

Louis

Sometimes these threads are not for the faint of heart.

Dudelsack 

I guess it's up to us to pull these perverts' minds out of their short-cranked gutter.

Your bike looks a lot like mine (Giro ATT 26) except what's with the gearing? I would topple over in the bottom three gears. It's a cool bike.

My crank is quite a bit longer than yours, but I wouldn't let that bother you as long as you can ride it for a long time.

cranky old dude

Then Cranky's happy!!

JanMM

I am pretty sure that RG didn't put a mountain bike triple on his ride.

What rings are going on the new short crank, RG?

BluesDawg

Glad this wasn't what it seemed.

Retro Grouch 

Chainrings are 24-36-50 so it's basically a compact double with a bail out granny. Rear cassette is 12/32 9-speed.

My previous LX crankset was 22-32-48. In practice I did almost all of my riding in the 48 and only shifted to the 32 for the steepest hills. I'm thinking the new gear range will, if anything, suit me a little better.

Changing the crankset does some other things too. I had to shift my seat back an inch so I'll still get full leg extension and minimize my range of knee and hip motion. It also made it possible to lower my handlebar an inch without bumping it with my knee. That's a big deal for me because before the handlebar was right in my line-of-sight with the squeeze gates on the Katy Trail.

qcpmsame 

Amen BD and BBWulff, I almost spit my Egg Mc Muffin on my laptop's screen. I guess I live in a gutter since I end up riding in one all the time. Good to heaar you got the crankset in and that it works. that idler and the titanium/ceramic parts is a bit pricey but so are almost all Campagnolo parts so it all washes out.

Bill

Retro Grouch 

Sit back and put down your Egg Mc Muffin. The idler pulley with the aluminum cog and ABEC bearings is $94.00. To get the titanium cog and ceramic bearing (on sale) is $145. They definitely found my price gag point.

On the other hand, the stock pulley after only a year is noisy and all chewed up from the chain sliding over rather than rotating the pulley. I get to choose between idler noise when I pedal or Chris King hub noise when I coast. Incidentally, when the Rans team won RAAM, they did it using aftermarket idler pulleys. After upgrading my idler pulley do you think that will make it necessary for me to upgrade my brakes?

Tom Bombadil

I have 155mm cranks on one of my recumbents, I love them. Much more natural spinning motion than with 170 or 175.

NOS88

Photos, please. Interested in seeing them. Don't know that I've seen cranks that short.

Retro Grouch 

They don't look any different than other cranks. The hole for the pedals is just drilled higher up on the crankarm.

Looking at it a bit more closely, it looks like they also trimmed a bit off of the end of the crankarm forgeing.

NOS88

So, it's not a shorter arm itself? Interesting. That would me with the right tools.....

Retro Grouch 

The bentrideronline guys have a vendor who will shorten cranks to your specification. I don't know how much he charges.

rck

Tom! Your alive! Rode the trail near your abode more than once this year past and wondered how you were.

maddmax, as yourself I shall manfully restrain from comment.

Tom Bombadil

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm doing pretty well. Still living right off of the Badger State Trail. Hope to get out and ride more this year.

Hope you are well.

Tom Bombadil

Retro Grouch ... I hope that crank works well for you. I have 170mm's on my RANS Stratus and I don't like them. I adjust my seat and I seem to have my choice of either setting it at the place where it feels good at max extension but is too close on the upswing. Or perfect on the upswing but too much of a reach at max. Or I can put it in between and be off on both. But on my Sun with the 155mm cranks I spin comfortably.

Retro Grouch 

So why not do it? Life is too short to spend struggling with a bicycle that doesn't fit.

Tom Bombadil

I'm getting around to it! Soon.

Trsnrtr

I run 155 mm cranks on my trike and 165s on my bents. My road bikes are 170 but my orthopedist has recommended 165s on my road bikes, too. Scopes of my knees have shown wear from excessive contraction. Sort of figures; I'm 5'7" tall on a good day.

I raced as a Cat 2 in the 80s with 165 mm Campy Super Record cranks.