Originally Posted by
unterhausen
Just make sure to lower the seat 5mm when you put the new cranks on, or it's not really a fair trial.
my experience with crank length is that confirmation bias dominates. ...
Confirmation bias dominates, yes, that's for sure.
But no, if you shorten your crank arm by 5 mm, you will want to
raise your saddle by 5 mm, not lower it.
Before I had my Squarebuilt custom frame made, wanting to try 26 x 2.3 Rat Trap Pass tires, I built up an old MTB frame for long distance riding. The bike was designed for 1.75" tires and 175 mm cranks, so when I adjusted the saddle height to account for my fatter tires and shorter cranks, I was so far off the ground that I almost fell over at stops. I know short women are familiar with this sensation, but I hadn't experienced it since I was a little kid riding my brother's bike.