Ryon

Hi everyone

I'm about 6'6" and I currently ride a bike with shimano ultegra 175 cranks. Apparently, 175 is the max size for anything less than dura race. I am interested in obtaining longer cranks, but I don't want to pay the $400-500 to get Dura race cranks. Is there another brand that would be cheaper for cranks longer than 175? What would be the best way to go about obtaining longer cranks?

much thanks
-Ryon

Cyclist0383

TA makes long cranks. https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/carmina.asp

socalrider

Campy Record has 177.5 and 180 lengths..

Soil_Sampler

https://cgi.ebay.com/SRAM-Rival-GXP-6...2em118Q2el1247

https://cgi.ebay.com/SRAM-Rival-GXP-6...2em118Q2el1247

Disco Stu

Dura Ace cranks sell on Probikekit for $256, but they don't seem to have 180s at the moment.
Perhaps email them for an order

https://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=D1039

vic32amg

I have a used set of campy ultra torque at the shop that are 180mm if you are interested PM me.

NattyTerp

How do you determine what size crank you need? And what are the benefits to using a longer crank?

Jancouver

I was looking for 180mm compact crank and I decided on SRAM Red.

carpediemracing 

lots of threads on this.

Long - more leverage, bigger gears, less speed, helps the midrange the most (70-110 rpms).
Short - the opposite of Long.

I think anyone who is not in tip top form will benefit from long/er cranks. I used 175s until last winter and I have a 29" inseam. I trained 3x as much as I've done previously and now use 170s.

cdr

MichaelW

"Longer" is the key word. 175mm is not a long crank for a tall guy, it is in fact quite short. Short cranks limit the angle of your leg movement and you cant take full advantage of your larger legs.
A "medium" crank such as 180 allows tall riders to pedal with the same hip and knee angles as the average rider.
If you need longer than 180, see Zinn Cycles
which also has further discussion on cranks length and for the changes in bike design required to accomodate long cranks.

uberclkgtr

You can always buy used cranks on eBay - no need to get new. Though the long ones are a bit rare.
Here's a Dura-Ace and a Record in 180mm length though.

https://cgi.ebay.com/Shimano-Dura-Ace...d=p3286.c0.m14

https://cgi.ebay.com/Campagnolo-Recor...d=p3286.c0.m14

barndoor

The Cannondale "Coda" line of cranks come in 180's

...they are on my Waterford:

carpediemracing 

I forgot to mention - cranks are usually long term investments as far as bike parts go. You can move them from bike to bike (usually) and they don't wear out. Okay, the chainrings wear out, but usually not the crank. I used the same cranks for 5-7 years at a time, changing them not because they were worn but because I wanted something new.

This does NOT apply to anything that is not cold forged aluminum. And I have no idea how carbon cranks hold up.

So for aluminum it means DA, Chorus, and Record.

cdr

saturnhr

self is the man - see attached self made 200mm cranks

sers

this thread title belongs on craigslist personals. all the same, i've seen pictures of sram rival in longer than traditional lengths, not sure about their availability outside of a team sponsorship. would longer cranks with shorter legs create more of a dead spot in a pedaling rotation, leading to more chugging up hills and potentially wasting energy?

OnTheRivet

Do you want long cranks or looooooooooooooonnnnggggg cranks. Leonard Zinn does Aluminum and Ti cranks up to 220mm long.

https://www.zinncycles.com/cranks.aspx

RT

Ryon, I was just surfing through CL and found a Dura Ace 180mm crankset. He is asking for reasonable offers, lots of stuff he's selling. Most of it is new, or in like new condition. Think he was some rich guy who took up cycling as a hobby and became a pack rat with his new addiction. PM me if it's something you might want and we can work it out. I'm going to his estate to check out some of the other stuff.

How cool - a bicycling-only yard sale.

Ryon

Good advice, everyone! Thanks a bunch. I'm really tall and lanky, I have a 99cm inseam. By the calculations on those sites I would be looking at a 200mm or 210mm crank as ideal. hmmm... What would be the best way to find one that size without breaking my wallet? I don't need new, just functional.

Thanks!
-Ryon

SushiJoe

I believe Tom Zirbel runs 180mm SRAM Rival cranks. They'll work well with Shimano too.

saturnhr

here is another attempt for the picture a promised in the post above - 200mm[IMG]

531Aussie

nah, don't do it. Just get 180s for now, and see how you go. Standard frames aren't designed to handle very long cranks. If you go longer, you'll mostly like have problems with your heels hitting the chain-stays (the bit of frame near the back wheel), your toes hitting the front tyre (which isn't a huge deal, I suppose), and ground clearance issues

The bottom line is, no pro in the world over about 5ft7" is using those '21.6% of inseam' methods

CranialCrusader

I'm 6'6" also and ride a 63 cm Trek 1500 which is just barely big enough for me. It has 175 mm cranks but I just wonder if longer would be better sometimes.

I've actually been pondering this issue ever since I bought my road bike in '06, but I never get a straight answer at a bike shop. However, it seems like the center of the crank is too low to safely accept significantly longer crank arms.

Let us know how the longer cranks feel.


CranialCrusader

531Aussie

^ Yeah, at 6'6, I reckon 180s are a good bet for you. I had 180s a couple of years ago, and I didn't have any problems with them fitting my bikes, and one of them was a 56cm!!!

I'm only 6ft, and I eventually found the 180s to be too long, but if I was 6'6 I'd definitely give them a go

carpediemracing 

Two good friends (they were my best man and groomsman respectively) are both about 6'2". One rides a 60 cm, the other a 63 cm, but they've swapped bikes at races without a problem (just adj seat height, reach is similar). Both run 180s and couldn't imagine running anything else. One spins everywhere, even up climbs, and the other just like to go fast.

Personally, if I were 6', I'd be on 180s. 6'6"? 200s or so, whatever custom I could get. In turns just do as the Euros do - lift the inside pedal and coast.

Some more thoughts on long cranks:

https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...m-lengths.html
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...ng-cranks.html

I moved from 175s to 170s this year, thinking I'd be training more and therefore better able to utilize the shorter cranks for higher top speeds (i.e. well into the low-mid 40 mph range). I did, but my top speed hasn't increased (40 mph on a good day), and I notice that on short, steep climbs that my perceived effort is higher with the shorter cranks. My max wattage is also down about 100-125 watts, but as there are two different measuring devices, I'm not sure if that's what it is.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but right now I can't afford to buy a set of 175 SRMs. I may train a bit on my old primary bike (with 175s) to see how I do. I've ridden both the 170s and 175s back to back but only when I was unfit. It'll be interesting to see how it goes when I'm "fit".

cdr