Originally Posted by
******bagonwhlz
cyclotoine was talkign crank length. I got a Zinn custom steel bike and it kicks butt so hard it makes your feet hurt. it has 210mm cranks. they are great. they're great. can't say it enough.
it does start the knee pain due to crank length debate, but they are in proportion to me. Zinn says avg height of race biker, and just equalizes it to your size to get your length.
You can golf as a tall person with short clubs, but you are inhibited. bike riding the same way. if you think you will be biking long term, it is worth the investment. you always go for the most comfy shoes when you get dressed right? when your bike fits, you ride it more. Get a good frame and build it with a cheaper group.
then you can try and score some of these other bikes off ebay and waht not for rain bikes or townies.
the bridgestone looks sweet though.
Awesome, can we see some photos and hear some details like frame size, BB height etc? How tall are you and what is your cycling inseam? Just to get some ideas. Zinn would put me up around 200mm but I went the cheeper route as I could not afford a zinn frame with cranks... of course anything over 185 would have been too long for a traditional bike. Zinn's crank length thing seems a little extreme to me. I like 185mm cranks alot but 180mm feel better to me which makes me think his method might be a little extremist. I did a lot of research on the topic and there are other more conservative proponents of crank length also. Starting out by trying 180s is good as they are cheep. My Ta cranks cost nearly $400 but it was worth it too try. I would love to try even longer cranks on a custom Zinn someday but I may never get the chance.
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1 Super Record bike, 1 Nuovo Record bike, 1 Pista, 1 Road, 1 Cyclocross/Allrounder, 1 MTB, 1 Touring, 1 Fixed gear