Suddenly my pedal stroke is ruined.



At 6' 1" my road bikes have been 172.5 for many years. I started out on 170 (everyone did, back in the day).

My track bike has 170 mounted. I used 165 on my first track bike and wind up was too slow for most of my gearing. It's always about finding the right balance of RPM's and power. For road use with lots of climbing I, personally, would go longer before dropping to a shorter crank. I often wonder 'what if?' had 175's been the accepted practice back in 1972...

I have always enjoyed reading the details of the pro bikes on Bike Radar and CN and written sources long before the internet. Especially those reviews that publish the rider's weight, height, etc. Studying the side profile shots of riders in action has been an interest of mine as long as I can remember...bike setup and rider preferences and, of course, the styles of any given era. As a trend and for what little it's worth I've watched saddle height drop and crank arm length grow over the spectrum of rider size and specialty (sprinter, climber, rouleur, trackie, etc.). Like anything, there are some notable exceptions and whatever works, works...and that's all that really matters.

As age and its effects infiltrate my body and my cycling, I have noticed a drop in average RPM's. The only thing that I can think of that will help to get my leg speed back is buying one of Fabian's hidden seatpost motors!
 

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