Crank length and angle headsets (or 2 questions, 1 thread)

mike14

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Having spent last weekend watching on as my pedals and the local rocks got to know each other intimately; I feel it's time to ask, will switching to 170 or even 165mm cranks have an adverse effect on anything (pedaling, geometry, attraction from the opposite sex)? Or is changing out cranks not going to have much of an impact on my rock strike ability?

Also, is there anything to be wary of in using an angle headset? Thinking of reducing the HTA on the Django by a degree or so to 'modernize' it a bit
 

moorey

call me Mia
175 to 165 is a noticeable difference for me, mainly with pedalling. I have settled on 170 on all my non DH bikes, and generally run thinner pedals to help clear strikes.

Haven’t used an Angleset. Most of my bikes are also older and need a geo facelift, so pretty much all run offset bushes, and slightly more travel in the fork. Even the 26” bikes run 27.5 forks.
Keeps the BB about the same height, but slackens HA by 1-1.5 deg.
 

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
If you have long legs 170mm cranks can feel a bit weird.

Changing to 170mm cranks and fitting an angleset will be self defeating as the angleset will drop the bb height. Better to go for a longer fork and offset bushings.

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
 

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
175 to 165 is a noticeable difference for me, mainly with pedalling. I have settled on 170 on all my non DH bikes, and generally run thinner pedals to help clear strikes.

Haven’t used an Angleset. Most of my bikes are also older and need a geo facelift, so pretty much all run offset bushes, and slightly more travel in the fork. Even the 26” bikes run 27.5 forks.
Keeps the BB about the same height, but slackens HA by 1-1.5 deg.
Did you notice any difference from a comfort perspective? I'm 178 and have wondered if 170mm cranks might suit me better than 175mm. Especially with cramping over a long distance ride possibly due to being slightly over stretched? How tall are Moorey?
 

moorey

call me Mia
Changing to 170mm cranks and fitting an angleset will be self defeating as the angleset will drop the bb height. Better to go for a longer fork and offset bushings.
Bees dick drop in BB with 1deg angle set.
But agreed on the fork/bushes option. I’d still recommend 170 cranks with them.
 

moorey

call me Mia
Did you notice any difference from a comfort perspective. I'm 178 and have wondered if 170mm cranks might suit me better than 175mm. Especially with cramping over long distance due to a slight over stretch? How tall are Moorey?
172cm.
If you’re shortening cranks, surely you set your saddle height to suit?
 

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
172cm.
If you’re shortening cranks, surely you set your saddle height to suit?
Yes. So really is the only advantage for around our height in 170 cranks to give slightly more pedal clearance?
 

mike14

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Worth asking. Is there enough air in your shock? Checked sag lately?
Yeah it's all good. Funnily enough it was the first ride back on this bike after a major service, and because I'd spent so much time on the other bike I think I noticed the strikes more than usual.

Thanks all for the quick responses. Sounds like shorter cranks might be worth exploring while I put some more thought into slacker head angles (or just save up for a Ripley...)
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
If you have a lot of spacers under the stem, and angleset will reduce your reach a little.

I prefer 170mm cranks to 175mm, partly for pedal clearance and they feels more natural when pedalling while standing to me. Most other folk my height seem to prefer 175mm cranks, so I'd say it's largely personal preference.
 

mooboyj

Likes Dirt
My tallboy LT has a 2 degree Works Angleset, and I rate it highly. I live in Tassie so every bloody thing is steep and it has helped immensely with confidence on the bike. Oddly enough it has helped cornering the most as I find I'm happy to put more weight towards the front.

If it's a decent bike, then I wouldn't hesitate to drop the money on a Works Angleset. As my bike is an older 29er, it isn't super low so I wasn't worried by putting a 2 degree Angleset on it. I've had no pedal strikes either, even with 175mm cranks.
 

SummitFever

Eats Squid
I have two almost identical bikes. One with 170mm cranks and the other with 175mm cranks. I haven't noticed any difference in pedal strikes (although I rarely ever experience them) but the shorter 170mm cranks suck on techo climbs where you're on the limit of adhesion. I find the 175's give me a bit more leverage to smoothly apply the power and not spin out.
 
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