175mm driveside crank arm + 170mm left side crank arm

[Bellsouth Ijit 2.0]

Broke the 175mm left crank arm on my commuter mtb bike. The only leftie I
have in my bin is a 170mm, and of a different make. Can I get away with
riding like this for while? I don't feel much difference when I pedal.
TIA.

 

[landotter]

Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 wrote:
> Broke the 175mm left crank arm on my commuter mtb bike. The only leftie I
> have in my bin is a 170mm, and of a different make. Can I get away with
> riding like this for while? I don't feel much difference when I pedal.
> TIA.

I'd do it if it were me. Adjust the saddle for the leg on the 170, or
lie down and have somebody measure your legs, if you're lucky the
correct one will be shorter! Wouldn't that be cool?

Disclaimer: may cause hip dislocation, barking dogs and eczema.

 

[Bellsouth Ijit 2.0]

"landotter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 wrote:
>> Broke the 175mm left crank arm on my commuter mtb bike. The only leftie
>> I
>> have in my bin is a 170mm, and of a different make. Can I get away with
>> riding like this for while? I don't feel much difference when I pedal.
>> TIA.
>
> I'd do it if it were me. Adjust the saddle for the leg on the 170, or
> lie down and have somebody measure your legs, if you're lucky the
> correct one will be shorter! Wouldn't that be cool?
>
> Disclaimer: may cause hip dislocation, barking dogs and eczema.
>

Heh. Actually, it turned out it's moot point because I have a Truvativ 5D
drive side crank arm, which isn't compatible with a Shimano LH arm I dug out
from the parts bin. The square taper orientation is different. It'll be
really funny try pedaling with cranks that are mounted 90deg of each other.

On my BMX beater, I have a 165mm drive side arm and 170 LH arm. I only go
around the block on that bike.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:56:26 GMT, "Bellsouth Ijit 2.0"
<[email protected]> may have said:

>Broke the 175mm left crank arm on my commuter mtb bike. The only leftie I
>have in my bin is a 170mm, and of a different make. Can I get away with
>riding like this for while? I don't feel much difference when I pedal.

Yes. It looks funny, it unbalances the leg motion and effort, it
makes standing to pedal feel odd, but it doesn't cause any inherent
problems *for the bike*.


--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 21:34:36 GMT, "Bellsouth Ijit 2.0"
<[email protected]> may have said:

>
>"landotter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>
>> Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 wrote:
>>> Broke the 175mm left crank arm on my commuter mtb bike. The only leftie
>>> I
>>> have in my bin is a 170mm, and of a different make. Can I get away with
>>> riding like this for while? I don't feel much difference when I pedal.
>>> TIA.
>>
>> I'd do it if it were me. Adjust the saddle for the leg on the 170, or
>> lie down and have somebody measure your legs, if you're lucky the
>> correct one will be shorter! Wouldn't that be cool?
>>
>> Disclaimer: may cause hip dislocation, barking dogs and eczema.
>>
>
>Heh. Actually, it turned out it's moot point because I have a Truvativ 5D
>drive side crank arm, which isn't compatible with a Shimano LH arm I dug out
>from the parts bin. The square taper orientation is different. It'll be
>really funny try pedaling with cranks that are mounted 90deg of each other.

ITYM 45 degrees; if the holes were off by 90, they wouldn't be off at
all...

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Donga]

Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 wrote:
> On my BMX beater, I have a 165mm drive side arm and 170 LH arm. I only go
> around the block on that bike.

Only one way, I guess.

Donga

 

[[email protected]]

Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 wrote:
> Broke the 175mm left crank arm on my commuter mtb bike. The only leftie I
> have in my bin is a 170mm, and of a different make. Can I get away with
> riding like this for while? I don't feel much difference when I pedal.
> TIA.

I've heard stories of people who rode quite a ways with different
length crankarms and never knew it. As long as they did not know the
crankarms were different length, they could not tell by pedaling. The
human body adapts quite well. Its only when the mind knows their is a
difference does the body feel the difference.

 

[dvt]

[email protected] wrote:
> I've heard stories of people who rode quite a ways with different
> length crankarms and never knew it. As long as they did not know the
> crankarms were different length, they could not tell by pedaling. The
> human body adapts quite well. Its only when the mind knows their is a
> difference does the body feel the difference.

I did it a few years ago with 165 and 170 mm cranks. When I would first
hop on the bike, it felt odd. After a few miles I completely forgot
about it.

I'd dare to bet that if I rode that bike solely for a few months, it
wouldn't feel odd at all. Matched cranks would probably feel odd after I
had adapted to the mismatch.

YMMV.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Everyone confesses that exertion which brings out all the powers of body
and mind is the best thing for us; but most people do all they can to
get rid of it, and as a general rule nobody does much more than
circumstances drive them to do. -Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and
novelist (1811-1896)

 

[John Forrest Tomlinson]

I usually can't tell if a brake is rubbing the rim on my bike just
from riding it, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea or doesn't
matter.


--
JT
****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************

 

[dvt]

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
>> I did it a few years ago with 165 and 170 mm cranks. When I would
>> first hop on the bike, it felt odd. After a few miles I completely
>> forgot about it.
>>
>> I'd dare to bet that if I rode that bike solely for a few months,
>> it wouldn't feel odd at all. Matched cranks would probably feel odd
>> after I had adapted to the mismatch.
>>
>> YMMV.

> I usually can't tell if a brake is rubbing the rim on my bike just
> from riding it, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea or doesn't
> matter.

I don't see that anyone suggested that mismatched cranks were "a good
idea or doesn't matter."

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

 

[JeffWills]

Werehatrack wrote:
> On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:56:26 GMT, "Bellsouth Ijit 2.0"
> <[email protected]> may have said:
>
> >Broke the 175mm left crank arm on my commuter mtb bike. The only leftie I
> >have in my bin is a 170mm, and of a different make. Can I get away with
> >riding like this for while? I don't feel much difference when I pedal.
>
> Yes. It looks funny, it unbalances the leg motion and effort, it
> makes standing to pedal feel odd, but it doesn't cause any inherent
> problems *for the bike*.
>

Hmm-- a friend of mine rode with his cranks 5 degrees out of phase for
quite a while (Bullseye splined cranks). He finished the bike just
before riding it Cannonball- the Seattle to Spokane, rode that ride,
and then rode Seattle to Portland before I pointed out the oddity. He
hadn't noticed it at all.

Jeff

 

[* * Chas]

"JeffWills" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Werehatrack wrote:
> > On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:56:26 GMT, "Bellsouth Ijit 2.0"
> > <[email protected]> may have said:
> >
> > >Broke the 175mm left crank arm on my commuter mtb bike. The only
leftie I
> > >have in my bin is a 170mm, and of a different make. Can I get away
with
> > >riding like this for while? I don't feel much difference when I
pedal.
> >
> > Yes. It looks funny, it unbalances the leg motion and effort, it
> > makes standing to pedal feel odd, but it doesn't cause any inherent
> > problems *for the bike*.
> >
>
> Hmm-- a friend of mine rode with his cranks 5 degrees out of phase for
> quite a while (Bullseye splined cranks). He finished the bike just
> before riding it Cannonball- the Seattle to Spokane, rode that ride,
> and then rode Seattle to Portland before I pointed out the oddity. He
> hadn't noticed it at all.
>
> Jeff
>

172.5 = 2.5mm or 0.098" - less than 1/8"
175 = 5mm or 0.197" less than 1/4"

I hadn't ridden in about 5 years and I forgot about the crank lengths on
my bikes - 170, 175 & 180. I never noticed the difference between 170 &
175. I had 180s on my MTB and there was definitely a slight improvement in
climbing. I changed cranks on that bike and now they are 175, can't tell
any difference between those and my other bikes.

Ever hear the children's fairy tale about "The Princess and the Pea"? Some
folks may be more sensitive than others.

Prior to hip replacement my right leg was 3/4" shorter than my left. After
surgery it was still shorter but after 2-3 months my pelvis adjusted and
I got used to it.

Chas.

 

[* * Chas]

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 wrote:
> > Broke the 175mm left crank arm on my commuter mtb bike. The only
leftie I
> > have in my bin is a 170mm, and of a different make. Can I get away
with
> > riding like this for while? I don't feel much difference when I
pedal.
> > TIA.
>
> I've heard stories of people who rode quite a ways with different
> length crankarms and never knew it. As long as they did not know the
> crankarms were different length, they could not tell by pedaling. The
> human body adapts quite well. Its only when the mind knows their is a
> difference does the body feel the difference.
>

There were some experiments done with prism glasses that made everything
look upside down. After some time, the subject's visual perception
adjusted to the glasses and everything appeared normal to them. Don't ask
me to site this but I read it in a Psych text book years ago so it must be
true...

Chas. Don't believe everything that you think!

 

[Aeek]

On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 02:00:04 -0800, "* * Chas"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Prior to hip replacement my right leg was 3/4" shorter than my left. After
>surgery it was still shorter but after 2-3 months my pelvis adjusted and
>I got used to it.

That's very different from a shorter crank, it's closer at 6 o'clock
but further away at 12 o'clock which is why it doesn't work to counter
a shorter leg.

 

[* * Chas]

"Aeek" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 02:00:04 -0800, "* * Chas"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Prior to hip replacement my right leg was 3/4" shorter than my left.
After
> >surgery it was still shorter but after 2-3 months my pelvis adjusted
and
> >I got used to it.
>
> That's very different from a shorter crank, it's closer at 6 o'clock
> but further away at 12 o'clock which is why it doesn't work to counter
> a shorter leg.

My leg was shorter because my hip joint had completely deteriorated. After
surgery I was concerned that my right leg was still shorter and asked my
doctor about it. He said "don't worry you'll get used to it". He was
right.

The point I was making was the human body is great at accommodating to
minor physical differences and most people get used to these
circumstances.

On the other hand some people are very sensitive to minor differences. If
my bars are not dead nuts aligned it bothers me until I adjust them.

Chas.