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Crank Shortener for Catrike?

Old 05-08-22, 01:37 PM
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newbert
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Crank Shortener for Catrike?

I have a slight, but annoying hip, impingement in my right hip, at the "top" of the stroke, when riding my Catrike Villager. I figure that a crank shortener for the right side might be helpful. I'm looking at the Hase, but they warn that they aren't compatible with "tapered cranks". TBH, I'm not sure whether the crank on the Villager is considered to be tapered or not.

So can anyone confirm whether the Hase would be compatible? If not, which crank shortener would you recommend?

Thanks!
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Old 05-08-22, 05:22 PM
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Lol, I just use shoes with thicker soles. But I'm not riding clipless.
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Old 05-09-22, 08:14 AM
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One place you can get authoritative information would be the Hostel Shoppe in Wisconsin https://hostelshoppe.com/. They will know if any of the Hase products will work with your Villager trike as they sell both brands and carry a variety of Hase crank shorteners. Wow, they are expensive.
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Old 05-09-22, 10:39 PM
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If the impingment is at the 'top' of the stroke (leg compressed) a crank shortener is not going to help. In any case, the minimum adjustment is likely 1/4". You might make matters worse just jumping into a solution without a better assessment of exactly what is going on. I have to think there is 1/4" or more of adjustment possible in your seating just from skootching a little bit forward or back until things feel better.
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Old 05-09-22, 10:59 PM
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Yup. Lots of cheaper alternatives. If you don't want to wear thicker soles, consider a lumbar support pad; the best are inflatable. You will gain the reach you need and also likely improve your back comfort as well.
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Old 05-10-22, 09:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Leisesturm
If the impingment is at the 'top' of the stroke (leg compressed) a crank shortener is not going to help. In any case, the minimum adjustment is likely 1/4". You might make matters worse just jumping into a solution without a better assessment of exactly what is going on. I have to think there is 1/4" or more of adjustment possible in your seating just from skootching a little bit forward or back until things feel better.
The impingement is indeed at the top of the stroke, when the hip is flexed to its maximum (ie-compressed). I don't understand why a crank shortener would not help though. Wouldn't it allow the leg/hip to compress LESS, which is what I'm looking for? I'll try skootching in the seat in the meantime. Thanks.

Originally Posted by linberl
Yup. Lots of cheaper alternatives. If you don't want to wear thicker soles, consider a lumbar support pad; the best are inflatable. You will gain the reach you need and also likely improve your back comfort as well.
Cheaper alternatives are always good, Thx. But again, how would a lumbar support (inflatable or not), or thicker soles, help to lessen the angle of compression of the hip? I would think that it would force the hip to compress more, which is exactly what I don't want.

Originally Posted by VegasTriker
One place you can get authoritative information would be the Hostel Shoppe in Wisconsin https://hostelshoppe.com/. They will know if any of the Hase products will work with your Villager trike as they sell both brands and carry a variety of Hase crank shorteners. Wow, they are expensive.
In the meantime, I'll contact hostelshoppe.com for compatibility, pricing and whether this would help my situation. Thx.

EDIT: It doesn't look like Hostel Shoppe carries the item I'm considering. FWIW,
.

Last edited by newbert; 05-10-22 at 09:13 AM.
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Old 05-10-22, 09:31 AM
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Originally Posted by newbert
The impingement is indeed at the top of the stroke, when the hip is flexed to its maximum (ie-compressed). I don't understand why a crank shortener would not help though. Wouldn't it allow the leg/hip to compress LESS, which is what I'm looking for? I'll try skootching in the seat in the meantime. Thanks.



Cheaper alternatives are always good, Thx. But again, how would a lumbar support (inflatable or not), or thicker soles, help to lessen the angle of compression of the hip? I would think that it would force the hip to compress more, which is exactly what I don't want.



In the meantime, I'll contact hostelshoppe.com for compatibility, pricing and whether this would help my situation. Thx.

EDIT: It doesn't look like Hostel Shoppe carries the item I'm considering. FWIW, this is it.
If you shorten a crank, then the leg does not extend as far when you are at full stroke. I didn't read carefully enough and thought that was your problem, overextending. If, in fact, you are complaining about being too rightly angled on the closer position when the other leg is at full stroke, then a lumbar cushion could help you sit more upright and shift the hip back a little bit reducing the angle. Fold up a towel and stick it behind your back and try it - free. See if it helps. Think of the towel or cushion as a fulcrum; as it pushes you slightly forward, the hips and butt move backward (unless you slouch which is a no-no, lol).
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Old 05-10-22, 09:44 AM
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Originally Posted by linberl
If you shorten a crank, then the leg does not extend as far when you are at full stroke.
Not usually the case. I think it's safe to assume that people will adjust the reach to the pedals when they switch to short cranks so that they have the same bend in the knee at the "bottom" (max extension) of the stroke. At least they should, and especially so in the OP's case. With proper boom extension / reach to the cranks, short crank arms do reduce the hip angle at the top (min. extension) of the stroke, which is what the OP is after.

OP - just get some short cranks unless you specifically want a pendulum type device (which you haven't mentioned so far; don't be distracted by me mentioning it if that's not what you want). Bolt-on shorteners are a bit of a hack, and add lots of Q factor which is often non wanted. And having one crank longer than the other is also probably not a good idea.
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Old 05-10-22, 10:17 AM
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Seat angle - if anything, reclining more would reduce your hip angle, but would require moving the boom in. If you can, that's the cheapest thing to try first.
Short cranks (both, not just one) could help. After readjusting the pedal-to-seat distance, you'll end up with 1/2-3/4" of reduced hip flex. I agree, crank shorteners are almost the cost of a cheap short crankset, are clunky, and increase the 'Q' factor.
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Old 05-10-22, 10:39 AM
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Originally Posted by Steamer
Not usually the case. I think it's safe to assume that people will adjust the reach to the pedals when they switch to short cranks so that they have the same bend in the knee at the "bottom" (max extension) of the stroke. At least they should, and especially so in the OP's case. With proper boom extension / reach to the cranks, short crank arms do reduce the hip angle at the top (min. extension) of the stroke, which is what the OP is after.

OP - just get some short cranks unless you specifically want a pendulum type device (which you haven't mentioned so far; don't be distracted by me mentioning it if that's not what you want). Bolt-on shorteners are a bit of a hack, and add lots of Q factor which is often non wanted. And having one crank longer than the other is also probably not a good idea.
Maybe it's different on trikes but I went to shorter cranks on my 2 wheel bike specifically to reduce the angle of my knees during rotation. Shorter cranks are better for bad knees.
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