Originally Posted by gusk
Newbie question, but aren't you going to ground the pedal on the embankment with 170mm cranks?
not necessarily: the track surface is banked and when you hit it at speed and lean, you will still be level so the possibility of pedal striking is pretty negligible from what I have seen. A few other riders at the velo that I have met run 170s as it is a nice balance between spin and power for them. 165mm cranks are good for the spin-up speed and then not pedal-striking on non-banked surfaces, like the street.