Short Cranks, Should You Switch? The Pros & Cons Explained by an Expert

Short cranks? Stiff neck? Constant chafing? In this video pro bike fitter Lee Prescott tackles your questions.

Content
00:00 intro
00:18 Shorter cranks yes or no?
3:09 Saddle discomfort solution
5:32 Persistent neck pain
7:06 Stiff neck and shoulders
8:49 Constant chafing
10:41 Short inseam issues

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[christopher]

Would like to hear more about what is considered short, normal and long cranks relative to leg length etc.

[joeschmoe]

We were going thru this back in the late 70's! Crank length is commensurate with leg length. It's STRICTLY based on rider physiology.

[seandunderdale]

I think every bike change in any given area to address an issue (knee pain, shoulder pain etc) should also come with the caveat, "you should also be doing lots of mobility work, stretching and strengthening of those areas". I have found major improvements from bike setup changes, but mostly from improving my bodies range of motion and ability to move the way it should. No amount of bike setup is going to solve a problem where you simply cant use your muscles the way they want to be used. Ive actually held off going for a pro bike fit until I feel like the problems on my end, my body, have mostly been resolved. No point going in and paying £300 for a fit, when the problem is my joints.

[andras.]

really good explanation on "opening hip" and negatives in this video. I have seen many, this was the best!
170cm here, from 172, 5mm switched to 165mm crank and I love it since

[jean-paullanglois]

I remember having once a bike fit by so call experts ! Started having knees pain ! Then fit myself by tries and errors and soon realised that when you understand the basic you're the expert ! BTW i'm 70, with 87.5 cms inseam, always on the drops, 175mm crank of course !

[aluminati]

Been on 165mm for 3 years and don’t look back. (I’m 5ft, 10 / 180cm) Besides the bike fit aspect it made it easier for me to up cadence after knee surgery. The 172mm standard was developed in an age with completely different, much heavier gearing. If you watch 70s race vids, they had like half the cadence going up the climbs😅

[atgnicyclist]

179cm tall and I ride a 165mm crank. Saddle is -3 degrees at the nose due to severely rotated pelvis (sway back). The shorted crank was great along with a more forward saddle position, both opened up the hip angle and stopped impingement. Also allowed me to get lower on the front end.

Narrower bars. Measure the distance between your acromion process (the bony points on your shoulders) and use that as a guide for bar width. My measurement is 31cm (almost a deformity at my height) and I ride 34cm bars (only because I can't find a nice looking 32cm bar). Stopped all neck and shoulder pain straight away. I'd suggest acromion width -2cm being the ideal bar width.

Custom Sidas insoles solved a lot of issues for me as I have stupidly thin feet (274mm x 91mm) and no shoes actually closed tight enough before the sides touched. Once I had the insoles done it stopped all knee pain and gave me a level platform to push on and get more power down.

Strength/mobility work. Virtually free and will make the most difference. In lockdown I was determined to get into yoga. After a few months of it I was able to drop 40mm and lengthen 30mm on the front end and be more comfy as well as faster (aero).

[JIMMYHIBBS]

Tried smaller cranks, and I just didn't like it ... didn't feel like cycling to me just spinning tiny little circles ...

[niklaskristensson]

Good & informative video😊 Besides pros & competitors: Who needs aggressive positions for several miles at a time?

[jou]

It is funny how everyone assumes Pogi went to shorter cranks for efficiency. Maybe he had some pain or discomfort with longer ones before.

[archieman]

170mm -> 160mm cadence naturally increased by about 7rpm knee pain went away. I’m 170cm 78cm inseam so probably the correct crank anyway

[mmurmurjohnson]

Yep, short legs long torso here and own and comfortably ride a small, medium, and large bike frames and they all fit fine for me. The small for more endurance style riding, and can get super long and low aero position on the larger frame.

[Jackster]

I don't quite agree with the bar width opinion. I have around 40cm shoulder width and use a 36cm wide handlebar with slightly inward shifters and never rode more ergonomically! I'm also a huge fan of using 165mm cranks (180cm with 85cm inseam) and am blown away about pedalling efficiency and less stress in the hip area. Maybe thinking about switching to even shorter cranks.

[gerlachsieders]

I switched to 165mm back in 2019, so much more comfort and way smoother pedalling, never looked back....

[UltraDM.]

Ride medium 54 bikes usually with 172 cranks but a wahoo kickr bike allowed me to experiment with different lengths . Tried 165 on zwift and felt great so converted to them on my 2 road bikes . Knees and hips have arthritis sadly . Works for me

[saracen]

Found 170mm to be the sweet spot at 178cm.
Did not enjoy riding 165mm at all as I already have a high natural cadence of 90-95rpm. Also, when sprinting or closing a gap, the difference in leverage was noticeable for short bursts.

[ciprian]

I have 30 years experience and took great interest in the saddle, body position, power delivery . I have watched every expert on youtube covering the issue and while some of them have really good advice none mentioned the most evident situation that happens when one rider goes low on aero position, no saddle will support your seat bones at the point, you are riding on the perineum just like TT riders do, when riding more upright the rider has way better support on the seat bones, seats a little back on the saddle and uses more muscle, bigger muscle to rotate the crank, plus could pull onto the bars for more support and leverage . When fully rotated on the aero position what supports the upper body is the Perineum and not the seat bones, when riding on the drops or with the arms bent and want to stay low at the front the only way to do it is with high cadence and high speed, the moving force will lift the body enough to compensate for the gravity pulling down so my advice is to understand how these 2 positions work and get a saddle that can offer both, a good seat bones support and good perineum support, learn how to use both and ride with purpose, donțt pay anyone that tells you there is ONE POSITION FOR ALL THE TIME and must pay $500 to find it . welcome your thoughts

[frienduro]

tadej pogačar is 5’9 and using 165mm cranks. That’s NOT short for his height. It’s spot on.

Max crank length is 20% of your inseam

[defiancecycling]

I have ridden 170mm cranks for years. I tried 165s years ago and didn't see any advantage. Stay with what you have based on your bike fit!

[PersonaNGrata]

Why doesn’t anyone ever show power numbers between longer and shorter cranks?