Originally Posted by
Dolamite02
On my road bike, I'm running 172.5 cranks, while my stock Pista has 165's. I'm interested in swapping cranksets for DA before I start buying rings, but don't know the right length to go with. I've heard that shorter lengths help prevent pedal strike on the track, but I'm wondering a) if that's true, and b) either way, what's the common advice for crank sizing on the track?
Let me confuse you:
1) The rule of thumb is to go 5mm shorter than your road cranks.
2) If you are over 6' use 170mm, under 5'8 or so use 165, in between use 167.5
3) If you are a pursuiter add 2.5mm. If you are sprinter subtract 2.5mm
4) Measure your femur.
5) If you mash, go longer. If you spin go shorter.
6) Do what feels good as one study has shown that self-selected length made the most power.
Soooo... basically you have to try several out to see what works.
There is no magic formula or right answer.
I'd suggest buying 167.5mm which is in the middle of the most common 165, 167.5, and 170mm trio. It's really going to come down to trial and error. I've raced 165, 167.5, and 170...and you know what? It didn't make that much of a difference in my results. What I lost in torque I gained in leg speed and vice-versa.
So, how tall are you?