Originally Posted by
ofajen
Also, a bike made just for standing but with circular crank motion, like the Elliptigo SUB, will have shorter cranks, like say 150mm. That gives a reasonable “step size” of about 300mm or 12 in. Normal 170-175 mm cranks give too tall of a step size to be optimal for stand up only.
Otto
Good to point that out.
I actually found it easier for either seated and standing efforts to use shorter cranks. In fact, I find I can sustain it longer climbing standing on the pedals on a BMX bike with short cranks than a road bike even if the road bike had easier gears. Additionally, the much wider handlebar of the BMX bike made it much easier to stay balanced and sway the bike while standing.
Perhaps it's my technique because legends like Marco Pantani prefer to use long cranks when climbing out of the saddle.