Originally Posted by
arsprod
this thread's been helpful - I built a winter bike this year and used 175mm cranks (what I had in the garage), my road bike has 165's and I'm 5'3". I don't notice any knee pain but have found that I have to the seat up really high.
A difference in saddle height is more a function of difference in BB height. All other things equal, longer cranks require a LOWER saddle height to maintain proper leg extension at the bottom of the stroke without rocking the hips.