Originally Posted by
chasm54
Honestly, I'm not sure I'd bother with brifters. If you really want to upgrade the gearing for modest money I'd be inclined to go to downtube or bar-end shifters, put a triple and a new FD on the front and keep the cassette. You'd then have a bike that could climb the side of a house without spending a great deal.
As for the cranks, I am a sceptic about the Zinn philosophy, I think 215 cranks would be absurd. Can't see any reason why 185 wpuldn't be fine. At 6'3" with a 35" inseam I have never felt the need to go above 175.
I'm the same size and use 175 cranks. I did use 177.5 for a couple years and they were fine too, a bit more leverage on hills and a bit slower cadence overall. 175 seems like a good compromise for me.