What crank arm length does Lance run with?

[2tonedlegs]

I'm 5'10 and just moved to a 175 from a 172.5 after 2 years of riding. For me there's a sweet spot that makes everything click. Doing high cadence is not my cup of tea as my HR skyrockets! With the new length, I'm able to chop off a couple of seconds in my TT and power climbs better. No knee issue also.

 

[David Henderson]

Crank length generally isn't a big deal

Jim Martin did a study of power production with varying cranks lengths from 120mm-180mm. The short of it is that is makes no difference.

Your power output is your power output. So go with what feels good. A shorter cranks could be good in TTs as it would allow a lower position.

Correct! Jim Martin's study is the focus of this post: http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/08/dude-your-crank-lengths-fine-you-just.html

Crank length isn't a super big deal. Saddle height is probably more important.

Oh, that's the focus of this post: http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/05/lemonds-sizing-chart.html

Regards,
David Henderson

 

[buckwheat]

What, is Armstrong 5'8"? He's using 175's.

I'm 5'9" 175cm ,(45,46 shoe) 80kg, and riding 175's for 4 years and can't tell much difference between the 172.5's I was using for years before that.

I got a cheap Record square taper crank right before they went to ultra torque. With a Record BB I can"t tell much (if any) difference between alloy Record square taper and Carbon Record UT either.

I have two kg 381's, a matte black 2002, and a Jalabert 2003, and an S-Works 2009 Roubaix. All nice riding with the 2002 381 riding very nice and comfortable, a little flexier than the Jalabert.

The Roubaix is the stiffest bike of the three. Why people who aren't racing want a very stiff feel is beyond me.

I'm JRA but none of this crap seems to matter much. Who in the heck is flexing frames or cranks at 80 or 90 rpms?

BTW, you can even pedal smoothly at 60 or 70 rpms, it's not necessarily "mashing."

The whole issue seems quite stupid IMHO. If the bike's fit is close to what it should be, and built up properly, just get out and ride.

It seems a lot of old school pro's also liked relatively "flexy" stuff so the stiff issue doesn't seem to matter much either.