Message #15597

[jim-ratliff]

Living Proof:

I started out with the intent of just addressing Lynn's comment about longer cranks create torque on the knees.  There really isn't any torque on the knees from a pedaling motion (not like pivot slipping skis, which does torque the knee I think).

Then I got carried away.  The link that BushWacka included makes the point that crank length is more of an arrived at compromise (much of which is ground clearance) rather than an optimal setup, and he recommends much longer cranks in general (and sells same).  Kind of an interesting read.

But in general my assumptions have been the same as yours, that there was a reason that shorter cranks were used on smaller frames and for shorter people and longer cranks on larger frames and for taller people, and that the difference may not be performance driven.