Originally Posted by
ptle
I was rereading this article about bike fitting.
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm
Under the Crank Length section, he talks about using a formula, which involves taking 18.5% of a measured length.
According to that measurement, I'm suppose to be using 162-163mm cranks. Is this right? At 5' 7" with a 30" pant inseam (32" cycling inseam), I think I've got pretty normal proportions.
My current cranks are 172.5mm.
I have the same as you--5' 7", 30" pant inseam. I've switched--about three months now--back to a crank that has a length of 165mm and it seems to feel pretty good to me. The crank is a Shimano FC-R700 that I acquired years ago, but stopped using for a while.
I've had my eye on a few online sites and it seems like hardly anyone carries anything shorter than 170s these days. I have a new crank coming--the shortest they had was 170mm.