140 mm vs. 150 mm cranks

I put 125s on my 360 and rode it for about a week and went back to the
150s and ordered 140s from UDC last week and are being delivered by the
little brown truck today so I will install and go for a ride tonight
and let you know

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Never tried 140s, but it's probably worth a go. Might not make a massive
difference, but hey.

As for 125s being too short - yes, to start with you would have less
control, but after a while (considerably more than a week, I'm afraid)
your legs and balance will develop to make up for it. The sad truth is
that as far as cokers go there is no substitute for the complex
technique of 'riding lots' to get more speed/control.

John

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There's very little that isn't rideable on a coker with 125 cranks,
other than steep technical muni and a small number of very steep roads.
Like John says they take some getting used to though.

I wouldn't bother with 140s unless you've tried 125s already for a
decent length of time (I reckon about 300-400 miles is enough to get a
good idea) and really know you're never going to get used to them. Lots
of people are put off short cranks because they only give them a short
time and don't learn to ride with them.

Same goes for 110 cranks, although you really need to be riding
regularly to get used to 110s, I'm pretty much used to mine now, but
it's taken quite a long time to really get them sorted. Once you're
used to 110s, riding a coker with 150s feels like a 20 inch or
something. 110s are the ultimate low effort long distance cranks.

Joe

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I tried 170mm, 155mm, 110mm, and 89mm.
My feeling is you will not feel much difference going from 150 to 140.
Joemarshall is right, if possible try the 125.
My favorite for distance has been 110mm.
But now that I do strictly MUni, I used the longest cranks I have
Torker 170mm; this bent after a bad UPD so now I am on 155. I need to
order stronger cranks.
Suggestions?

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leadpan

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The difference between 150 and 140 is no more than fine tuning for
personal preference. If 140s were standard, you would think of 150s as
slightly longer - see what I mean?

The difference between 150 and 125 is significant. You would be able
to ride with either length. 125s would give more speed (noticeably
more) but konger stopping distances, and less control at low speed.

As experience grows, the effect of changes in cranks becomes less
important. The way to ride a Coker is lots.

(Saying that, mine now languishes, but I did put int he miles for a
long time to develop confidence and control on it.)

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IMHO, going from 150s to 125s is dramatic, and going from 150s to 140s
is significant. You will notice slighly more speed and slightly less
control. It may be enough of a difference to plunk down the $$.

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I ride with 140's on my Coker. Like Mikefule says the difference
between 140's and 150's is mostly fine tuning. The difference is not
dramatic. I notice slightly smoother pedaling on the flats when using
the 140's. The difference is noticeable enough that I stick with the
140's for most of my riding. The level of control with the 140's is
very close to the 150's. Give the 140's a try.

I have not even tried 125's on the Coker. I don't really have a desire
to try cranks shorter than 140. I like having a very comfortable
margin of control. The 140's let me ride fast enough and handle the
hills along my regular routes around the Seattle area.

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Daytripper63 said:

I will install and go for a ride tonight and let you know

excellent.

i have tried 125's on my 28", they took a little getting used to but
now they're great for that uni. the 36" is a lot heavier though and i
don't want to give up too much control because i'd hate to fall off
right into some traffic. my father rides the 360 as well and he would
never get used to 125's because he doesn't ride much. i suppose it is
just fine tuning, but the 140's sound like they may be worth giving a
try next time i order stuff from UDC.

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john_childs said:

Like Mikefule says the difference between 140's and 150's is mostly fine
tuning. The difference is not dramatic. Give the 140's a try.

It may have something to do with general skill level as well. For me,
the shift from 150s to 140s was significant, and it took some getting
used to, and it took some extra climbing practice before I could make
it up all the same steep hills on my 140s that I could on my 150s. But
they are definitely smoother and faster, still very controllable, and I
have no plans to go back to the 150s.

That said, I tried some 125s recently, but just for a couple hours in
fairly challenging conditions. They seem interesting, and I could
definitely see the potential for great speed if you had some long,
fairly flat rides. I'm thinking about getting a set, just to see if I
could get as used to them for climbing as I did to the 140s.

I'm also weighing just getting the 3-hole DaVinci's with 170/150/130.
Not ideal, but saves on swapping out cranks frequently, which can't be
good for the hub tapers.

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O.K. The new Dotek 140mm cranks are on and I got about 18 miles in and
as a few people said it is just fine tuning, WELL I feel it is GREAT
tuning! I stopped a few times while riding to get the seat height set
right for max comfort and max cruising speed. Things I noticed:
1) I had to climb two overpasses and a long somewhat steep hill on this
ride (same route I normally ride) and the 140s still gave me enough
leverage to make the climbs
2) Smoother pedal/leg action
3) Still can maintain good control for quik stopping or avoidance of
obstacles ( my dog )
4) According to computer my average speed on rides has been between
8.3mph and 8.6mph but this ride came in at 9.1mph
It may only be fine tuning but I will take it, and who knows maybe I
was not ready for my earlier attempt at 127mm cranks but maybe in the
future I will give them another try. But at the moment the 140s were
well worth it and they are staying on for a while.

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yeah i definitely want to try 140's. i've read through some previous
posts about the doteks though and it sounds like they bend easily.
anybody know where i might find steel 140's or at least strong aluminum
ones?

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