Originally Posted by
jonathanf2
I just wanted to bump this thread and see if any shorter riders (5"8" and under) actually go with longer cranks? I find 170mm to work well on my road bike to give me better sprints on the flats and climbs and I like 165mm on my gravel bike where I can do seated climbs at higher cadence. I was thinking of trying 172.5mm or 175mm to get additional torque on my road bike or would I risk more toe strike by doing so? Curious to hear opinions, thanks!
The problem with the notion that longer cranks give you more torque is that our legs need to travel through a 360 degree motion of muscle and joint movements, and while you may get more torque at the 9-3 position you also get less torque at the 12-6 position. Shorter cranks smooth out the torque delivery rather than reducing it.
When moving from longer cranks to shorter cranks its quite important to move your saddle BACK, as well as up in order to maximise the torque from the shorter cranks.