All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Well hot damn! Now we're getting somewhere, thank you for the tip

 

Yolo'd on some 165mm cranks for the trail bike. My 170 are lookin pretty beat and making noises. I figured I'd try some cheap ones before getting something fancy and end up hating the size.

 

Curious to hear your thoughts after a few rotations. Been thinking of going the same route on my geared ride.

 

Think you'll notice a difference?

 

i definitely noticed a difference going from 170 to 175 then back to 170. (170 was out of stock for about a month when i got the 175)

 

I have two GX cassettes, one is a 10-50T and the other is 10-52T. It is a pain in the ass to constantly swap them between wheel sets; my carbon wheels are not downhill/enduro rated so I use the aluminum rims for rougher days, but really enjoy the climbing of the 52T cassette. Considering dropping down to a 30T front chain ring from a 32T and seems like that would make up the difference of running the 50T in the rear?

Ideally I should just run the 50T and work on strengthening the legs on climbs, but the easiest answer isn't always the most enjoyable. Hats off to you guys who run an 11 speed cassette and still climb well!

 

Realized I needed to sell this. Got it out of the shed, aired up the tires, lubed the chain, ran good as new. Pulled the brakes. No brake pads. Forgot I took them off. :|

Got new brake pads. Got it running, went out and dicked around for a few minutes just for fun. 20 minuted, my wrists/shoulders are killing me a day later. Elbows weren't good but are fine now. God, the abuse I put my body through when I was younger

Now I'm on the fence. It was fun to get back out and whip it around a bit.

 

I've been on 165 cranks this year on my Following. I think I can tell a difference. Caveat is I bought the bike this way and never got to do a back-to-back with different sizes. It was also my first 29er so there is some gearing difference there too. They are not the best if you are a consistent slow cadence masher, but if you can spin some decent cadence they are great. I just recently downsized my front ring, but I don't think the cranks were the only or even primary reason. I was running the same gearing as my old 27.5 bike (50T Eagle 12spd with 32T ring) and the combination of the smaller cranks and 29er wheelsize took enough off my granny gear that I needed a bit more.

I will say that I have absolutely noticed less pedal strikes and my bike is even a bit lower than the old one. Even with the Following in x-low (327 BB height) pedal strikes aren't much of an issue. I'd say 165 vs 170 is almost a wash pedaling-wise, but the extra ground clearance alone makes it worth going with the shorter size.

 

Yes. I definitely prefer to spin high rpms especially with an oval ring. I've also always struggled with ankle dorsiflexion so I think having my feet a little closer together will help there as well.

 

I’m not sure I climb well, but I run 11 speed with a 42T big cog and 30T chainring. I’ve never known any different so it feels fine. And I’m going to be 66 years old next month. 30/50 or even 32/50 sound easy to me All jokes aside, I do find that on some fire road climbs my minimum cadence forces me to pass riding companions who are spinning along with 50 or 52T 12 speeds. At the same time the taller gearing occasionally makes clearing technical bumps more challenging for me than for the 12 speed guys and gals. At least that’s my excuse.

 

I'm definitely a high cadence spinner. I'd rather be pedaling at 90 RPM climbing in the granny gear than pushing a 65 rpm with more force. I'm on the skinny side and don't have much leg mass to be able to stay on top of high wattage output for a long time - legs fill up too quickly.

 

There allegedly is a banana slug yellow chameleon frame in there. That’s how lazy I am. I bought this thing almost a year ago and I haven’t even started the build.

 

it's schrodinger's bike frame......don't ever look.

 

You can send that to me…I’ll build it up for ya

 

I put 160mm Canfields on one bike, the other has 170mm. The difference is about as noticeable as switching between round and oval chainring, you'll notice it for maybe 5 minutes after switching between bikes. After that you're just pedaling like normal.

The difference would be even less noticeable between 165/170 or 170/175.

 

The biggest thing you'll notice going to shorter cranks is that you now have to readjust the seat height and possibly bar height.
At 5mm it's no big deal, I went to 155 and it's pretty drastic, but good now.

 

Outbound Lighting has popped up a few times recently. I like their advertising guy

 

@whitedlite

Hahaha! I can’t believe the reviews some people actually take time to write, not just for OL but in general. I tell you……the world is…..

 

Haha! Snowbird had a 1 star review "Too steep" and they took it strong into their marketing material. lol.

 

One of my best friends/flight crew chief that crashed at Snowbird thought this one was hilarious