The challenge is procuring shorter cranksets at a reasonable price to try them out. My daughter had a H2 BB and 105 cranks and one can get 165s for H2 but that's about it. Spa Cycles do a range of shorter cranksets (and chainsets) but they require a square taper BB. When doing the maths, I calculated that replacing the H2 BB'ed 105s with a UN55 and a Spa Cycles 160mm crank double would mean a 140g weight penalty. In the event she found a new (as in 'last year's but unused') TT bike with a small frame and a 165 crankset fitted. @dave r @simonali @DCLane had a surplus 165mm Ultegra chainset his son had grown out of.
Typically, with a shorter crank you can get a better lean angle without risking grounding the pedal as well, which is useful for tight, Crit circuits, and can’t hurt with being able to corner faster and being able to pedal through the corners in road rides either.
I went that route. Went back to square taper and bought a set of SINZ expert cranks. Actually got my LBS to fit the new square taper BB as I didn't have the tools to remove the hollowtech and I wasn't sure of the BB axle length needed. They did a great job.My Eastway has a Hollowtech bottom bracket on it, and on a search I did it looked like a square taper conversion would be needed to put a shorter crank on it. Weight wise extra weight isn't a problem, I'm only a leisure rider these days, but I did have concerns about whether I could convert the bottom bracket.
I went that route. Went back to square taper and bought a set of SINZ expert cranks. Actually got my LBS to fit the new square taper BB as I didn't have the tools to remove the hollowtech and I wasn't sure of the BB axle length needed. They did a great job.
In total, I have now 4 bikes running with short cranks (145mm & 150mm). Two with Sinz cranks and two re-drilled by Highpath engineering.
I used sram red 165s on my Ti.........now i got sram rival 165s as i switched to single chainring upfront and wasnt happy paying £200+ for the force crankset
Yes standard English thread sizeWas the bottom bracket a straight swap?
Good point but it's millimetres in'it, so not "much" higher. The shorter rider will already likely be on 170s so going to 160s (say) means a saddle height rise of 10mm: less than 1.5% of saddle to road distance.If you look at the BB height across the range of frame sizes, for almost every make and model the height is constant. This puts smaller riders much higher up off the ground than necessary when using short cranks and makes mounts and dismounts harder.
They’re popular, so harder to get hold of. 165mm is a bit too short for my liking anyway. Riding up to 20000 miles a year gives one an idea of what suits, 170mm is as short as I’d ever go personally.I had a quick search for 165mm Force cranks and they appear to be rarer than unicorn droppings.
It's not about power output though, it's about stress on the knees and comfort.......having used 175 down to 165 I always feel better on 165s and my knees do feel the difference
I also ride a custom Ti with sram etapI would have thought crank length would be largely irrelevant riding an E-bike as you have the motor assisting you?