mtnbke

There really are not many options for long cranks, defined here as longer than the 175mm that has become Shimanoculture. 177.5mm seems to have gone the wayside, and 180mm offerings are rare these days. I never see 182.5mm cranks being offered anymore.

Interestingly, frames are offered in 1cm increments and a serious cyclist understands that while they can make a decent range of frame sizes "fit", in reality they really don't want to stray more than a centimeter or so in terms of "size" on the top tube before "fit" really becomes completely compromised. So with fifteen frame sizes covering the standard range of sizes from 49cm to 63cm, are we really expected to believe that someone 5' 2" through 6'3" should be riding the same length cranks? Seriously?

To the rescue have been several manufacturers of longer (and shorter) cranks in custom lengths (up to 220mm): Zinn, High Sierra, and Custom Cranks.

daVinci Cycles a Denver, CO company specializing in tandems with independent drivetrains between stoker and captain, but who make components in house as well, are making a one-time run of 200mm cranks. These cranks are the best thing going for a C&V crank for your classic build in long length cranks longer than 185mm. There are no options on sizes, all cranks will be 200mm. The commitment needs to be made by midnight tonight (although I suppose cyclists could jump on the bandwagon in the next several days).

Also, the average five foot nothin' or even 6'1" cyclist almost never is able to comprehend the "need" for proportionately sized cranks. There is inevitably ramblings of no "need" for proportionately sized cranks. Well, trying to explain to someone who rides a clown bike why they would need correct crank length on their bike is all but impossible. I'm 6'7" with a 100cm cycling inseam. I ride 205mm cranks on my touring bike, 200mm cranks on my tandem, and I'm comfortable on anything over 195mm cranks, although according to Zinn I could be riding up to 216mm cranks. Comparing my 200mm-205mm cranks to what the average cyclist is on would be like a tiny person going from 175mm cranks down to 145mm or 150mm cranks. Trust me, you'd notice an INCREDIBLE difference. The wattage a cyclist generates with appropriately size cranks is considerably more. You comfortably use a broader muscle range. Its just more physically comfortable to not make teeny tiny little circles. You can actually climb with power. You can drop your friends on the flats, accelerations are huge. It just is the difference between night and day. This is not to say that clown size cyclists should switch from their clown sized cranks. Just an invitation for little people to not share anecdotal commentary regarding something they know nothing about, and have no frame of reference for.

The discussion on the Serotta forum where all of this started:

200mm daVinci Crank order thread

Discussions on cranklength:

Custom Cranks crank length data

Zinn

Sheldon Brown

At any rate 200mm cranks for around $230 is a screamin' deal. The cranks will be 'beefed up' from the standard daVinci profile to account for the increased leverage of longer arms and longer legged cyclists.

Spider options:

Four Arm 104mm - 64mm
Standard 110mm - 74mm
Road 130mm (with 74mm triple option)
Tandem

Hope this helps other Clydesdale cyclists out there, 'cause not every Clydesdale on a bike is a Fat Pony. Anyone serious about wanting to pounce on this one-time run of these needs to pretty much do so now. The request from the individual placing the order is that cyclists place their "commitment" by midnight tonight.

Agave

At 6' 9" I'll be sticking with my 175 mm cranks but thanks for the info.