proper crank length measurement

You can find 165's, though they're fairly rare.

agreed, i ride a set of 165s from shimano, took a few days of looking around but found a pair.

Because if i find out that 172.5 is my proper length, then that opens up options on used cranks.

let me save you some time.

You'll get as many answers on the right length as their are options for cranks out there.

If you have no issues with the current cranks, i would not switch unless you have a good reason for doing so.

Fair enough!  But your options were 163 and 170, but you might go to a 172.5 despite both the recomendations?

Mainly it comes down to your flexibility.  If you are in aero...a longer crank will bring your knee closer to the chest/elbow.

flexibility is only one (and a very very small one) of the many things that go into picking the right crank.


I just dropped from 172.5 to 165.

I have no real flexibility problems, but i wanted to change my position.

care to elaborate on some?  If a 172.5 will in fact fit me, i'd hate to pass up an awsome deal on a used sram red crank.

i ride shorter cranks because they let me ride a position i want to be in, where longer ones would not. it was that simple.

again, fitters will put you on diff length for diff reasons. just like you'll find people liking them for diff reasons.

they feel diff, and you may change how you ride a bit.

If you go longer or shorter, you will have to change your saddle height around to make up for that diff in length.

so more aggressive positions would generally call for a shorter crank i'm assuming?  I ride relatively aggressive right now.

not on their own, but i was at the limit of what i could do with my bike (bars all the way down, saddle where it should be).

So the shorter cranks let me raise the saddle some.

I naturally ride at a higher cadence anyway, so this seemed like a good idea to try. i like it, climbing has suffered some, but riding on the flats in aero is more comfortable.

i'm dropping the bars even more tomorrow with a new stem and its just been a trial.

It also lets me get over the top of the pedal stroke a bit easier.

I know others my height that ride 175s, so it really is a personal pref for the most part.