Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,338
Likes: 6,640
From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
When people talked about crank length, I found it silly to think that people can feel the difference in 5mm. Then I was riding a new-to-me bike, and I couldn't get the seat height right. I kept raising it and lowering it. Then I realized the cranks were 175. What a difference. And the difference is really double, because a 5mm difference in radius is a 10mm difference in diameter. And then there is all the trigonometry of our knee angles etc, so it really does make a difference. I've tried shorter cranks, and they feel a little funny but not uncomfortable. Once, a friend loaned me his bike for a day ride we took together. It felt a little off, so I checked, and yup, 172.5 cranks. They weren't so long as to annoy, but I do not like 175.
[MENTION=73614]rhm[/MENTION] once saw a "junior" crankset on ebay in France, and he suggested I buy it. It had 155 cranks. Later, he confessed he was hoping I would dislike it so I could pass them to him. Well, I like them. I have them on my street fixie. It's geared low, so being able to spin fast helps. I had to raise the saddle, of course, but that's OK. I loaned that bike to a nurse visiting NYC for the pandemic. The nurse said they'll return it, but I know I might never see it again. We will see.