cranks...

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

Does anyone know of where Vernon can get a 165mm triple
crank set? At a reasonable price? His tourer - Camag
equipped has a 170mm triple - and as Vernon is short of
leg, he's wanting to give 165mm cranks a go. Do
Stronglight do such a thing?

Cheers, helen s

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I've always meant to ask about the relationship between leg
length, height, and crank length. I seem to have long legs
for my height, yet am short. I have trouble touching one
foot down whilst on the saddle, yet when pedalling the only
way I get decent leg extension is with heel down at quite a
pronounced angle.

Lower bottom bracket and shorter cranks would presumably be
the way to go, since shorter cranks would exacerbate the
touching down problem, and longer cranks would lead to
pedal fouling?

Purely hypothetical of course, since I love my bike despite
the niggles and only a free three-wheeler from the dark side
would possibly lure me away from it...

--

Velvet

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers [email hidden]
opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Does anyone know of where Vernon can get a 165mm triple
crank set? At a reasonable price? His tourer - Camag
equipped has a 170mm triple - and as Vernon is short of
leg, he's wanting to give 165mm cranks a go. Do
Stronglight do such a thing?

<quote>

TRIPLE SPEEDLIGHT 5 lengths:
165/170/172.5/175/180 mm

Hot forged 2014 T6 alloy

Cranks finishing: Silver + silver or black chainrings

Triple combination
165/171/30 CNC machined 7075 T6 with polished anodization
and CSA 9/10 speed shifting ramps and pins
chainrings.

118 mm MX model (Isis Drive) 111 mm SBB model (Conical
Square)

</quote>

IIRC correctly, Stronglight make all their cranksets in a
choice of lengths. Your first challenge may be to find a
Stronglight supplier. You'll almost certainly have to order
them in specially. If your foreign language skills are up to
it, it might be worth ordering them from abroad since there
is no import tax to pay and the Euros - Pounds (Replace Euro
symbol for Pound symbol) still appears to be in use for
British prices.

Jon

Quoted message said:

I've always meant to ask about the relationship between leg
length, height, and crank length. I seem to have long legs
for my height, yet am short. I have trouble touching one
foot down whilst on the saddle, yet when pedalling the only
way I get decent leg extension is with heel down at quite a
pronounced angle.

There's mention of it in Cycling+ and how to work out what
crank length to use.

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get
correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$

--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel
is switched off--

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

Does anyone know of where Vernon can get a 165mm triple
crank set? At a reasonable price? His tourer - Camag
equipped has a 170mm triple - and as Vernon is short of
leg, he's wanting to give 165mm cranks a go. Do
Stronglight do such a thing?

SJSC do own brand triples in that length. Might be best to
ask if they're forged or cast (forged is a lot better).

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

Does anyone know of where Vernon can get a 165mm triple
crank set? At a reasonable price? His tourer - Camag
equipped has a 170mm triple - and as Vernon is short of
leg, he's wanting to give 165mm cranks a go. Do
Stronglight do such a thing?

AtoB magazine had an interesting piece by Ian Sims of
Greenspeed suggesting going to shorter cranks (they went
down to 100mm!) had no effect on power output but did take
some getting used to. Shorter cranks did have pedalling
advantages though.

Tony

Tony Raven [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

AtoB magazine had an interesting piece by Ian Sims of
Greenspeed suggesting going to shorter cranks (they went
down to 100mm!) had no effect on power output but did take
some getting used to. Shorter cranks did have pedalling
advantages though.

I don't remember where, but I do remember someone (A frame
builder) commenting that 170mm cranks were suitable for the
average adult male of adult proportions and that anyone else
should consider alternative lengths. A friend who is quite
short, but has a proportionally longer torso than average
now has 145mm cranks on her bike. Changing the circle you
make with your legs can only be a good thing. Common sense
(A dangerous thing I know!) would suggest that crank length
was more important than frame size in these days of sloping
top tubes and 'compact' concepts.

Jon

Velvet <[email hidden]> wrote in news:jnnnc.6317$jV2.59823156
@news-text.cableinet.net:

Quoted message said:

I seem to have long legs for my height, yet am short. I
have trouble touching one foot down whilst on the saddle,

Don't fixate about being able to touch the ground when in
the saddle. I'm 6'2" with leg length fairly in proportion
to the rest of me and I find when I get my saddle at the
best height for me I can't put my foot down without leaning
the bike over at an angle or sliding forward off the
saddle. The important thing is getting the bike right for
you when you're actually cycling. A little bit of
inconvenience when stopped is nothing compared to knackered
knees after a long ride.

Graeme

Graeme said:

Velvet <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:jnnnc.6317$jV2.59823156 @news-text.cableinet.net:

Quoted message said:

I seem to have long legs for my height, yet am short. I
have trouble touching one foot down whilst on the saddle,

Don't fixate about being able to touch the ground when in
the saddle. I'm 6'2" with leg length fairly in proportion
to the rest of me and I find when I get my saddle at the
best height for me I can't put my foot down without
leaning the bike over at an angle or sliding forward off
the saddle. The important thing is getting the bike right
for you when you're actually cycling. A little bit of
inconvenience when stopped is nothing compared to
knackered knees after a long ride.

Graeme

Yeah, I know, but I can't get going again unless my bum's on
that saddle
- I can't get out of the saddle while pedalling, it all goes
horribly wrong. As it is the bike's at an angle while
stopped - and I can't stop any more and stay on, I
stop/hop off, but have to get back on prior to pedalling
away again.

--

Velvet

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

Does anyone know of where Vernon can get a 165mm triple
crank set? At a reasonable price? His tourer - Camag
equipped has a 170mm triple - and as Vernon is short of
leg, he's wanting to give 165mm cranks a go.

Could Vernon bear to have Shimano cranks on his bike? Maybe
the badge could be removed or disguised somehow.

By the way, a new bottom bracket will be required for any
alternative cranks.

~PB

Velvet said:

I've always meant to ask about the relationship between
leg length, height, and crank length. I seem to have long
legs for my height, yet am short. I have trouble touching
one foot down whilst on the saddle, yet when pedalling the
only way I get decent leg extension is with heel down at
quite a pronounced angle.

Lower bottom bracket and shorter cranks would presumably
be the way to go, since shorter cranks would exacerbate
the touching down problem, and longer cranks would lead to
pedal fouling?

Lower BB and/or *longer* cranks would enable the saddle to
be lowered but that would be really bad reason for changing
cranks. You need the appropriate crank length for pedalling.

Road race bikes tend to have lower BBs than mountain bikes
and hybrids (tourers/audax: similar-ish to race bikes). Ulta-
low BB combined with long cranks can ideed be a problem when
it comes to pedal clearance. Nasty! But BBs that low and
cranks that long are rare. Not a problem with an average
example of any sort of bike and 175mmm cranks, at least.

Using the kerb can help you put a foot down whilst seated
but otherwise you need to master alternative starting
techniques to be comfortable and safe.

~PB

Velvet <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Yeah, I know, but I can't get going again unless my bum's
on that saddle - I can't get out of the saddle while
pedalling, it all goes horribly wrong.

Can you stand out of the saddle when the cranks are
horizontal? You should be able to. From this position come
to a halt, you should be able to get one foot on the ground
without leaning the bike over, unless you have a strangely
high top tube (cross bar).

To start from this position, get the cranks horizontal
again, with the foot that is still on one pedal pointing
forward. As you stand on the pedal to get your other foot
off the ground you will start moving forward. Once you've
got your other foot on the pedal, then plonk your bum on the
saddle. By the time you've sat down the bike should be
moving at a reasonable rate.

Depending on the height of your saddle you may be able to do
this without getting totally out of the saddle. I often stop
with just part of my thigh remaining on the saddle, that may
be enough to get you going again.

If this sounds all horribly condescending, I don't mean it
to be. I've helped other people in a similar situation to
the one I think you are describing. If I've picked things up
wrong and you're thinking "What is this dosy git talking
about?" don't worry, I reserved the right to be dosy at
random intervals many years ago :-)

Graeme

Quoted message said:

Could Vernon bear to have Shimano cranks on his bike? Maybe
the badge could be removed or disguised somehow.

I'm fairly sure he could - I'll just disown him ;-)

Quoted message said:

By the way, a new bottom bracket will be required for any
alternative cranks.

Yup.

Cheers, helen s

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correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$

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is switched off--

On Sun, 09 May 2004 12:31:07 GMT, Velvet <[email hidden]>

wrote in message : said:

I can't get going again unless my bum's on that saddle
- I can't get out of the saddle while pedalling, it all
goes horribly wrong.

No problem. On my bike I can touch the ground with both feet
comfortably while seated - and both hands, come to that :-)

Guy
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88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

Just zis Guy said:

No problem. On my bike I can touch the ground with both
feet comfortably while seated - and both hands, come to
that :-)

Bikes for prehensiles? ;-)

Tony

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

Does anyone know of where Vernon can get a 165mm triple
crank set? At a reasonable price? His tourer - Camag
equipped has a 170mm triple - and as Vernon is short of
leg, he's wanting to give 165mm cranks a go. Do
Stronglight do such a thing?

I specified 160mm cranks on my Trice, they are TA.

How about, you let him order you a Trice with shorter
cranks, then swap them over on arrival?

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Graeme said:

Velvet <[email hidden]> wrote in news:fwpnc.6450$OB2.59598961@news-
text.cableinet.net:

Quoted message said:

Yeah, I know, but I can't get going again unless my bum's
on that saddle - I can't get out of the saddle while
pedalling, it all goes horribly wrong.

Can you stand out of the saddle when the cranks are
horizontal? You should be able to. From this position come
to a halt, you should be able to get one foot on the
ground without leaning the bike over, unless you have a
strangely high top tube (cross bar).

Nope. I can do it with one foot at 6 and one at 12 o'clock.
Tob tube height is fine :-) Bars are too low (but since
they're about level with the saddle, they are, apparently,
not too low).

Quoted message said:

To start from this position, get the cranks horizontal
again, with the foot that is still on one pedal pointing
forward. As you stand on the pedal to get your other foot
off the ground you will start moving forward. Once you've
got your other foot on the pedal, then plonk your bum on
the saddle. By the time you've sat down the bike should be
moving at a reasonable rate.

Yeah, see, this is where I don't seem to have time to get on
the saddle before the speed's disappeared. Or my shorts
catch on the saddle nose. Etc.

Quoted message said:

Depending on the height of your saddle you may be able to
do this without getting totally out of the saddle. I often
stop with just part of my thigh remaining on the saddle,
that may be enough to get you going again.

If this sounds all horribly condescending, I don't mean it
to be. I've helped other people in a similar situation to
the one I think you are describing. If I've picked things
up wrong and you're thinking "What is this dosy git
talking about?" don't worry, I reserved the right to be
dosy at random intervals many years ago :-)

Don't worry about explaining it like that, it's often
when you are told things that you realise some
fundamental and often overlooked nugget of info that
makes the difference :-)

I'm sure at some point I'll get the hang of it, maybe when
other muscles are stronger. I used to be able to do it on my
more upright teenager girly bike - but of course the bar
height is much higher compared to the saddle on those sorts.

--

Velvet

Tony Raven said:

Just zis Guy said:

No problem. On my bike I can touch the ground with both
feet comfortably while seated - and both hands, come to
that :-)

Bikes for prehensiles? ;-)

Tony

I'm not sure I wanted the vision of what could possibly
be a tail..

--

Velvet

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

Does anyone know of where Vernon can get a 165mm triple
crank set? At a reasonable price? His tourer - Camag
equipped has a 170mm triple - and as Vernon is short of
leg, he's wanting to give 165mm cranks a go. Do
Stronglight do such a thing?

Try ringing Spa Cycles; In my experience they seem to know
about Stronglight and what's available.

Adverts in CTC magazine, and elsewhere.

Check which rings are replaceable on the cranks; I have a
set (170mm) where the outer 48T is integral with the crank
arm. I'm quite content and knew about it in advance, but
others may not be happy with the arrangement.

- Nigel

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Quoted message said:

I specified 160mm cranks on my Trice, they are TA.

How about, you let him order you a Trice with shorter
cranks, then swap them over on arrival?

regards, Ian SMith

Ye gads! Ian! You are a *genius*! This seems the best
solution yet!

Cheers, helen s

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