Advice on widening cranks.

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Tom B

Guru
Location
Lancashire
I have a Boardman Team FS MTB.

It is currently playing host to my Weeeride front baby holder.

As the baby & seat sits between my legs I could really do with pushing the peddles further apart..

My first thought was a combination of wider pedals, probably flats and some pedal extenders.

Does anyone have any other ideas - perhaps cranks?
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Bigger platform pedals possibly. You can't alter the axel width as it will mess up gear changes/chain line, and you can only do that with square taper BB, although the Team may have square taper - my Pro is GXP)

I'd stay away from 'pedal spacers'
 

Milkfloat

An Peanut
Location
Midlands
I think you have to modify how you pedal - a lower saddle and point your knees outwards. Pedal extenders will only take you so far.
 
OP
OP
Tom B

Tom B

Guru
Location
Lancashire
Pedal extenders can be prone to break very painfully.

That's a definite concern... The most painful thing ive ever done on a bike involved a broken pedal.

Bigger platform pedals possibly. You can't alter the axle width as it will mess up gear changes/chain line, and you can only do that with square taper BB, although the Team may have square taper - my Pro is GXP)

I'd stay away from 'pedal spacers'

I wasn't so much thinking changing the width across the BB more using crank arms that were more angled or bowed out. The FSA arms fitted seem pretty flat and narrow.

I think you have to modify how you pedal - a lower saddle and point your knees outwards. Pedal extenders will only take you so far.

Lower seat is next thing to try, but I need some proper flats first. I've been trying with Shimano M424 pedals but they're not particularly wide or great in trainers.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
There are plenty of pedal extenders out there, but they do have a genuine reputation for failing. If you go down that route try and find a set with a radius between the thread and the rest of the shaft - most are stepped, and that seems to be the point they break.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
You could try more 'bowed' out cranks, but it's likely they will mess up the chain line - the cranksets will be designed with specific length axels, and the ideal chain line will be 'preserved' but the bowed cranks are used to clear chain stays - e.g. MTB's.

I changed a straight set of cranks for a more 'bowed set'. This was down to my old crankset being knackered and it was cheaper to get new. I had to change the BB, as the chainrings were too far out from the frame. This did increase the 'Q factor' - distance between cranks, but it didn't work well with the chain, so I put in a much shorter axel.

Try it, but don't expect great shifting ! That might not be an issue if the bike is a run around, and isn't used for 'other longer' rides. I personally wouldn't want to overly increase the Q-factor as this can knacker your knees. OK for transporting 'mini me' but you'll have problems over distances.
 
Top Bottom